USA Today: What's the real federal deficit?:

The set the government doesn't talk about is the audited financial statement produced by the government's accountants following standard accounting rules. It reports a more ominous financial picture: a $760 billion deficit for 2005. If Social Security and Medicare were included — as the board that sets accounting rules is considering — the federal deficit would have been $3.5 trillion.

As if that weren't bad enough, the government doesn't even hold their own accounting practices to the same standard they hold private companies to.

Congress has written its own accounting rules — which would be illegal for a corporation to use because they ignore important costs such as the growing expense of retirement benefits for civil servants and military personnel.

This is also not just about the Bush administration.

The Clinton administration reported a surplus of $559 billion in its final four budget years. The audited numbers showed a deficit of $484 billion.

I suppose we all just have to learn to swallow big government, spending and legislation, as part of the collective good of the people.