America Inc.’s Balance Sheet

Even the smallest business understands the importance of the balance sheet: what it owns vs. what it owes. The inspiring news is that Republicans are refocusing the federal government on the black-ink side of its ledger. Credit Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a businessman himself, who is pitching Washington and voters on a better way to look at the country’s financial picture, via “America’s balance sheet.” Federal scribes minutely document everything the country owes—in entitlements, debt payments, employee pensions and tax credits. Everyone knows that the liability side includes $36.5 trillion in national debt. But what about the value of what...