astroanalyst
48 posts
msg #69290
- Ignore astroanalyst
modified |
11/19/2008 10:10:42 AM
David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General and the star of "I.O.U.S.A.", a documentary about our ballooning national debt...
Question: Just how bad are things?
Answer: Even worse than advertised. Everyone talks about this year's deficit, which is $455 billion. And the national debt, the accumulation of all our past deficits over the years, recently passed $10 trillion.
But the real problem is the nearly $41 trillion in unfunded promises and off-balance-sheet obligations.
Source: http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/17/pf/scared_straight.moneymag/index.htm
More info...
"I.O.U.S.A." is a documentary based on the writings of Addison Wiggin, co-author of "Empire of Debt: The Rise of an Epic Financial Crisis" (2006). The film's message is that since the 1930s, the U.S. government has spent more than it raised through taxes, and has used annual federal deficits - financed by foreign investors who buy $650 billion in Treasury bonds each year - to pay for an expanding military and civil service, as well as generous entitlement programs.
As Mr. Walker reiterates, by 2008, the U.S. government had unfunded future liabilities of over $53 trillion, including $34 trillion for Medicare and Medicaid, $11 trillion in public debt and $7 trillion for Social Security. These are huge liabilities, nearly four times the size of the entire U.S. economy ($14.5 trillion).
Since "I.O.U.S.A." was filmed early in 2008, $165 billion in government stimulus checks were mailed to U.S. taxpayers, and the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis accelerated with the March collapse of Bear Stearns investment bank, later acquired by JP Morgan Chase to avoid bankruptcy. In July, IndyMac Bank failed, the fourth largest bank failure in U.S. history. In September, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went bankrupt and were nationalized, the Federal Reserve loaned insurance giant AIG $85 billion to avoid bankruptcy, and Washington Mutual Bank was acquired by JP Morgan Chase to avoid bankruptcy. In October, a $700 billion rescue package for the U.S. banking system (the largest since the Great Depression) was signed into law. One estimate puts the 2008 federal deficit at nearly $1 trillion, with the multi-year total cost of all government stimulus and rescue packages at $2.6 trillion. These are all taxpayer liabilities; we will pay for them through higher taxes and dollar devaluation as the U.S. Treasury runs the dollar printing presses, resulting in 1970s-like stagflation.
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StJoe
91 posts
msg #69301
- Ignore StJoe |
11/19/2008 4:39:51 PM
Praise God I have my health, my family, my friends, freedoms, food, and nice cloths. Life is GOOD :)
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marine2
963 posts
msg #69314
- Ignore marine2 |
11/20/2008 9:58:28 PM
If our government doesnt stop this slide you won't have any of that in the future. Greed has toppled many powerful countries. Could this happen to us?
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astroanalyst
48 posts
msg #69315
- Ignore astroanalyst |
11/20/2008 10:57:39 PM
@ StJoe...You're right! Life is GOOD! The problem is many people choose to worship at the altar of the almighty dollar, summarily losing sight of what's most important...health, family, friends, etc...
@ marine2...IMO, I think the Gubbermint, the Fed and the "Plunge Protection Team" a/k/a Clown College graduates have already done more than enough in creating and prolonging this epic fiasco. Unfortunately, with the elections in the books, the opportunity to remove the Bozos appears to have come and gone...
Like it or not, our illustrious "leaders" have created a situation where rampant greed and all-consuming self interest put our country in a dire position to be the next "too big to fail" entity perched precariously on the edge. We need real leadership and a clear vision not distracted by special interest and partisan bull$hit...something sorely lacking at this critical juncture...
If you're as outraged as I am about being continually lied to and fed up with the ongoing larceny of our country's future, contact your elected representatives and let them know how you feel...
Maybe they'll actually listen if enough of us taxpayers finally stand up and just say,"NO!!!"
GLTA...
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marine2
963 posts
msg #69329
- Ignore marine2 |
11/22/2008 10:12:49 PM
I hear you and feel you on this. Contacting the people we hire to represent us begins the process of change. If the numbers aren't there for them to care then we will see the loss of a once great nation. May God save us!
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