From The Oregon Politico:

Government officials have long been aware of OPEB budget deficits. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the private sector version of GASB, required disclosure and the accounting of OPEB almost two decades ago. Founder and CEO of the Institute for Truth in Accounting Sheila Weinberg says: “They knew they were circumventing the balanced budget requirements by using deferred compensation tricks to reduce the costs they had to include in the budgeted expenses.”

In Oregon, if the true costs of OPEB were to be included in budgets, deficits would reach at least $149 million annually. Budget rules have not changed with regard to OPEB, and most of Oregon’s governments have not volunteered to include the true cost of OPEB. Instead, they have chosen to accrue debt. More here.

From  Kankakee's Daily Journal:

For Sheila Weinberg, the "aha" moment on the national debt came during the 2000 presidential debates.

Democrat Al Gore was talking about taking the Social Security "surplus" and putting it away in a "lockbox," a phrase that got him harpooned on Saturday Night Live.

Republican George W. Bush, the eventual winner, was talking about tax cuts to return the "surplus" to the taxpayers.

The only problem was the "surplus" was an illusion, a form of creative accounting that a responsible accountant would not let a private corporation or nonprofit charity get away with.

"I felt like shaking my television," Weinberg said.

Weinberg is the head of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) agency based in Northbrook. Weinberg founded the group, which is supported by donations, in 2002. She now travels the state, passing on the message of the true national and state debts.  More here.