(Just The News)—A congressional watchdog says it is again unable to determine if the federal government’s financial statements are reliable.
The federal government reported net costs of $7.4 trillion in fiscal year 2024, but it couldn’t fully account for its spending. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which is Congress’s research arm, said that the federal government must address “serious deficiencies” in federal financial management and correct course on its “unsustainable” long-term fiscal path.
U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, head of the GAO, said many of the challenges are a result of financial management problems within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Pentagon previously said it will be able to accurately account for its spending by 2027.
“The federal government has again come up short in managing its finances and achieving a clean audit due to challenges in adequately supporting its costs, revenues, assets and liabilities,” Dodaro said in a statement. “These serious financial management weaknesses and unsustainable long term fiscal path further underscore the need for urgent attention, accountability, and transparency.”
The report noted three major problem areas: “serious financial management problems” at the Department of Defense; the federal government’s inability to adequately account for intragovernmental activity and balances between federal entities, and “weaknesses in the federal government’s process for preparing the consolidated financial statements.”
Dodaro said the federal government has made progress, but still has work to do.
“To ensure our readiness as a nation to confront both domestic and international challenges, it’s imperative for Congress and the executive branch to come together and craft a plan for long-term fiscal sustainability,” he said.
Congress has run a deficit every year since 2001. In the past 50 years, the federal government has ended with a fiscal year-end budget surplus four times, most recently in 2001.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to cut “hundreds of billions” in federal spending in 2025 through the reconciliation process. Trump’s hand-picked leaders for the newly created Department of Government Efficiency have also promised to cut spending. DOGE co-leader and Tesla boss Elon Musk initially suggested DOGE could cut $2 trillion in spending. Musk more recently said the group will aim for $2 trillion, but likely come up with half that amount.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
