national debt

In America, today, there are three kinds of drivers: those who look at the other gas pumps down at the ol’ gas station and think: “Oh my God, I can’t believe how much that guy’s spending on gas”, those who look at their own pump down at the ol’ gas station and think: “Oh my God, I can’t believe how much I’m spending on gas” – and those who are doing both at the same time.

Tea-baggers, Republicans, and Blue-Dog Democrats in Congress use their convoluted “values” and the deficit as excuses to slash and burn social safety net programs ... witness Planned Parenthood. Social Security and Medicare appear to be next on the chopping bloc, never mind that “we the people” have actually paid for these “entitlements.” So, I suggest we actually test their resolve and commitment to reducing the deficit by demanding they implement a “Deficit Reduction Tax.” It goes something like this:

telemachusleaps.com/2010/11/what-heck-is-tax-expenditure-and-why.html

http://www.telemachusleaps.com/2010/10/what-do-we-do-now.html

Even Robert Redford didn't know what he wanted to do when he got 'elected' in 1972.

Maybe we all need to force our favorite candidates on both sides to be perhaps a little more specific as to what they would do. I prefer candidates who will say: "I will raise your taxes to pay for these new programs!' or 'I will cut other spending to pay for these new programs!' and then tell us what, when, how and where.

None of them do it and then we wonder why we have this $14 trillion national debt heading to $24 trillion by 2020?

Not hard to figure out why....

http://cboblog.cbo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/07-27_Debt_FiscalCrisi...

The alternatives are unspeakable.

Pretty good summary from current director of the CBO appointed by Democratic leadership in Washington

Since Blue NC is 'where people come to think' in North Carolina, what do you think about this?

http://www.telemachusleaps.com/2010/09/was-john-maynard-keynes-keynesian...

Sovereign debt is fast becoming a world-wide problem. Here at home, the political calculations and machinations that will be undertaken in an attempt to deal with our own debt - and to do so without angering a majority of the voting public - means higher taxes for the productive and, through increased business taxes, on the unsuspecting masses as well. Expect to see a VAT imposed here in the U.S., and expect to see the imposition of carbon taxes - not because it's the right thing to do (it's not), but because it's anticipated as an important revenue source in the administration's forward-looking budget.

Tax enforcement, which in the U.S. is already the most systematic and stringent in the world, will only get tougher. With a special focus on the wealthy or those who look to move assets overseas- the same people who already pay the vast majority of the nation's tax revenue. Fair share be damned. From here on out, if you've got any fleece left, it's getting sheared.

http://economicedge.blogspot.com/2010/03/most-important-chart-of-century...

A very good chart that shows for every dollar spent today results in a loss of GDP! We're in trouble. We either start producing more than we consume, or we're doomed.

An excellent article from Casey Research's very own Chris Wood below:

The federal government’s big secret isn’t that its spendthrift ways are destroying the country; it’s that it knows its spendthrift ways are destroying the country and it’s doing absolutely nothing to remedy the situation. In fact, all recent government action has exacerbated the decline. And it knows that too.
For instance, “The 2009 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds” (http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/2009/trTOC.html) reports, in black and white, that the Social Security unfunded liability is a whopping $15.1 trillion. Furthermore, the “2009 Annual Report of The Board of Trustees of The Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds” (http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2009.pdf) reports that the Medicare unfunded liability is an even more staggering $36.4 trillion.

When did it become acceptable for Americans to allow

Torture? Yesterday, after congress failed to override a presidential veto of a bill outlwaing "Torture". The president referred to "Torture" as a valuable tool in America's ability to fight terrorism. Now it is absolutely our national policy.

Rendition; Where was the outrage?

When we all learned about the Secret prisons, where we took people to be tortured and that our President and Vice President had approved them; Why was our President not impeached?