I'm talking about tangible non-financial assets -- e.g. hydrogen bombs, hospital beds in VA hospitals, US and interstate highways, national parks, national labo

I'm talking about tangible non-financial assets -- e.g. hydrogen bombs, hospital beds in VA hospitals, US and interstate highways, national parks, national laboratories, etc. IIRC, state and local governments are required to either report the value of similar state-owned assets and recognize their depreciation as an expense when it occurs, or, in some cases, to maintain them so that they do not significantly depreciate. The federal government doesn't do that. That means that whenever federal borrowing (debt) increases, people somewhat inaccurately infer that the government is operating at a loss. Private firms can increase their borrowing while they are profitable, and many have done that to pay higher dividends or buy stock in themselves in relatively recent times. But the figures in the unified budget of the US government and its various related trust funds don't tell us much about the net costs and benefits of having a government or how much it is worth.