19 May 2005

Almost Unnoticed, Bipartisan Budget Anxiety

The timing could not have been more apt. On the eve of a titanic partisan clash in the Senate, eggheads of the left and right got together yesterday to warn both parties that they are ignoring the country's most pressing problem: that the United States is turning into Argentina.

(Conservative economists, left-leaning economists and the US Comptroller gathered recently to agree and...) to bemoan what they jointly called the budget "nightmare." ...what the three spoke about will have greater consequences than the current fuss over filibusters and Tom DeLay's travel.

Walker put U.S. debt and obligations at $45 trillion in current dollars -- almost as much as the total net worth of all Americans, or $150,000 per person. Balancing the budget in 2040, he said, could require cutting total federal spending as much as 60 percent or raising taxes to 2 1/2 times today's levels.

But such haggling seems premature when both parties still deny the problem. "I don't think we're there yet," Walker said. "The American people have to understand where we are and where we're headed."

And where is that? "No republic in the history of the world lasted more than 300 years," Walker said. "Eventually, the crunch comes."

He wasn't talking about filibusters.


What a mess... Ask your congressman what he/she will do about it... Let's spread this word, don't bankrupt our country. I'll be in my early-seventies in 2040, and my children will be in the prime of their life... what will they have? What will the world be like? What about you and your children?

Charlie

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