2006 - The Year Americans Will Begin To Pay the Piper

[strizi64]

By Peter Grandich

January 10, 2006

<snip>

“The imbalance in the federal budgetary situation, unless addressed soon, will pose serious longer-term fiscal difficulties. Our demographics-especially the retirement of the baby-boom generation beginning in just a few years- mean that the ratio of workers to retirees will fall substantially. Without corrective action, this development will put substantial pressure on our ability in coming years to provide even minimal government services while maintaining entitlement benefits at their current level, without debilitating increases in tax rates. The longer we wait before addressing these imbalances, the more wrenching the fiscal adjustment ultimately will be.”

Most Americans I counsel have little or no idea of exactly how dire our debt and deficit situation in America is. I believe when historians look back, they will recall Mr. Greenspan’s comments in Jackson Hole to be among the most profound comments of his entire career. And, I believe Greenspan’s commentaries reassured me of my desire to get as many Americans as possible to change their ways before the tidal wave of debt, deficits and the aging crisis washes away the house of cards they currently live in and off of.

<snip>

President Bush and the current administration have borrowed more money from foreign governments and banks than the previous 42 presidents combined, a group of conservative to moderate Democrats said Friday.

According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions. But in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion.

<snip>

No American political leadership has ever willfully and deliberately mortgaged our country to foreign interests in the manner we have witnessed over the past four years, said Tanner. If this recklessness is not stopped, I truly believe our economic freedom as American citizens is in great jeopardy, he added

<snip>

http://www.kitco.com/ind/grandich/jan102006.html

BushBoom = Boom build on debt :woohoo:

[wake.up.america]

1. The fat cats, who caused the problem in the first place, will be living...

high on hog.

[katty]

8. they always do

[punpirate]

2. WooHoo?

Nothing you excerpted indicated the underlying problems--grossly excessive defense spending combined with tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy for much of the last twenty-five years.

This guy actually applauds Greenspin, when, in fact, Greenspin, for virtually all his career in the Fed, has helped cause the problems we have now.

Nowhere in this article do the words "wealthy," "rich," "defense" or "wages" appear.

[libodem]

3. remember when all those tax rebates were

supposed to stimulate the economy? Everyone went out and spent their $600.00 bribe, to vote for Bush, in the next election? How come spending tax rebates stimulate the economy and spending a higher minimum wage won't? Yes, those bastards have mortgaged our country to the hilt while the quarterly profits of the oil companies are up 9 billion. Thanks, George. No wonder the say they hate government, they are bankrupting it, for punishment. If they hate government and taxes so much why do they run for office in the first place? And secondly, why to people elect them? Now they are cutting all the 'entitlement' programs. Jackasses, it will directly impact the widows, children, elderly, crippled, sick, weak, mentally ill, handicapped, homeless, working poor, the outright poor, and the people who have so little they are too poor to be poor. Oh yeah, they can go to the 'churches' for some faith based help. Jerks. Oh, heck maybe those entitlement people will just freeze to death before they have a chance to riot and start breaking into the gated communities. Shoot, we have Afghanistan's opium we can make sure there is enough dope in the ghettos to keep them from burning them down. Sorry enough. off rant:rant:

[izzie]

4. Reason tells us it will have to happen,

No family could live this way unless you are like Bush and some one always gets you out of the trouble you have made. One wonders when it will all come down on us. It is some what like a bank that is backing a man who is putting in a large housing sections. The bank can not let him fail as the bank will lose to much money. These countries will have to keep us up for a little while more. When the man can only pay the int. on the bank loan he gives in before the bank does. How can he live if he only pays the int. on the loan? So the point seems to be what the bank will do. Does any one trust China and places like Saudi to not step in?

[izzie]

5. Reason tells us it will have to happen,

No family could live this way unless you are like Bush and some one always gets you out of the trouble you have made. One wonders when it will all come down on us. It is some what like a bank that is backing a man who is putting in a large housing sections. The bank can not let him fail as the bank will lose to much money. These countries will have to keep us up for a little while more. When the man can only pay the int. on the bank loan he gives in before the bank does. How can he live if he only pays the int. on the loan? So the point seems to be what the bank will do. Does any one trust China and places like Saudi to not step in?

[leftchick]

6. dollar = 21st century peso!

I’m often asked how can this continue and what is the most likely ramification? I always answer the same- it can’t continue indefinitely and when it does break, our dollar will become the 21st century peso. I believe sophisticated foreign investors have recognized this, saw that alternative currencies like the Euro are not much better choices and have begun to buy gold in a big way (an investment instrument that has 5,000 years of history on its side as an alternative to paper money. (Please see The Grandich Letter at http://www.grandich.com/docs/GL_01-03-06.pdf.)

.... what a depressing read. :(

[teryang]

7. The trillion dollars borrowed by schrub doesn't include SS funds

...which he liberated for defense department and police state usages because of the 911 "trifecta" which allowed him to break his promises concerning the social security "lock box."

These SS revenues converted almost entirely to defense contractor budget increases are never discussed by the media. We only hear about the problem of baby boomer "entitlements" which have been and are being converted to the bush family dynasty's military industrial complex "entitlements." Baby boomers will just have to give up and up while bushco shareholders, the "haves and have mores" get richer and richer. This is why bushfraud plan was to sabotage social security. Plan B is sabotaging CPI data and attacking SS entitlements with the compound interest of inflation.