Why the bankruptcy of the government is inevitable.

[Speck Tater]

One financial Armageddon is entirely, easily predictable: the bankruptcy of government in the U.S.A., at every level: Federal, State, County and City. The prediction follows from very simple mathematics: entitlements which grow at 8% a year cannot be supported by an economy which grows at 3% or less.

This simple truth is already playing out. San Diego is just one example. Here is a report which lays out the basis of San Diego's impending bankruptcy: structural deficits. The same can be said of California, which managed to increase state spending by 44% over the past few years even as the economy which must support those expenditures grew a total of less than half that rate.

more at http://www.oftwominds.com/blogjuly08/bankruptcy7-08.html

[Warpy]

1. "Entitlements?"

I call bullshit. This is pure GOP propaganda.

What our economy can't continue to support is lavishing so much of our national wealth on a runaway military industrial complex. Eisenhower was absolutely right about that one. We can no longer afford squandering our resources on providing hired muscle for multinational corporations.

The stingy misanthropes on the far right have totally missed this part of the equation. Our military needs to be redefined as one of defense of our borders and scaled down accordingly.

The Pentagon needs to go on a diet. The rest of us have been slowly starving since liberals went out of power and the rich started robbing us blind in 1969.

[unpossibles]

2. great point. The only entitlements I have a problem with

are the military and the insane idea to give tax breaks to companies which make record-shattering profits quarter after quarter. Corporate welfare costs us so much more than personal, as does our insane drive to kill people.

Let's get realistic.

[indepat]

4. But how are we going to continue to launch pre-emptive wars of aggression with magnificent

kill ratios unless we have all the most advanced killing weaponry and gadgetry in large numbers, something that we've had since the early-Gipper days and for which others have been gladly funding our madness? :shrug: :P

[napoleon_in_rags]

5. Well said. And the other question is, what gives an economic return?

Entitlements or military? Every dollar spent on Iraq is more or less leaving our economy. Money spent on entitlements makes it stronger. We're all GOING to take care of our aging parents if we must for example, even if it makes us poor and we have little time to go to work. But have the government help, and we'll all work more, produce more, and spend more. Entitlements make sense. Our current military industrial complex does not. I mean there are great aspects of the military, but the current situation is madness.

[2Design]

8. that is reaganonmics meme - they only people GOP like to entitle

are themselves through huge military spending and their own government jobs and their yearly raises and untold benefits - bs is right

[Common Sense Party]

9. Medicare is an inevitable oncoming trainwreck. The program

is doomed unless some drastic changes are made. It will gobble up all government spending in the next 20-30 years.

Google David Walker, the former comptroller general. It's truly scary, and what is most frightening is that no politician will say a word about it.

That's not GOP propaganda. It's demographic reality, and it's going to plow us under.

[just3ants]

10. The Pentagon will be FORCED to go on a diet

When Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities the Strait of Hormuz will be shut down preventing oil super tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf which supplies more than 40% of the world's oil supply (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc.)

Considering we consume more than 25% of the world's oil production, our economy will be paralyzed without our much needed oil. The government will ration oil for consumers and will be forced to reduce our military presence around the world which would very positive.

QUICK STATISTIC:
Out of the 190+- countries in the world, the United States has military bases on 130 of them.

Adam L Tucker
just3ants

[Angleae]

12. Less than 20% of US imports come from the gulf.

And even then, the military *will* get what they need first over consumers.

[Common Sense Party]

14. It's not GOP propaganda that Medicare is grossly underfunded.

Social Security has its problems, too, but Medicare is a ticking time bomb, and experts of every political stripe know it. The problem is we can't get any politicians to show a spine and get serious about cutting spending, raising taxes, and solving the problem.

[Common Sense Party]

15. It's not GOP propaganda that Medicare is grossly underfunded.

Social Security has its problems, too, but Medicare is a ticking time bomb, and experts of every political stripe know it. The problem is we can't get any politicians to show a spine and get serious about cutting spending, raising taxes, and solving the problem.

[Wapsie B]

3. Entitlements, you mean like korporate welfare?

Instead of drowning the government like a baby in the bathwater as Grover Norquist would love, why don't we drown 'ol Grover in it instead?

[Dover]

6. Drowned in a GOP bathtub of inflation, debt, deregulation and corruption...n/t

[Turbineguy]

7. Conservatives are correct about this

but are limited by their view of the world. Sell government assets to cronies at dirt cheap prices, lower taxes and borrow money to offset.

In San Diego's case, they had a rather well run electrical utility that they privatized and became part of the Enron lights-out drill.

It's just possible that these idiots have taken the government past the tipping point.

[AdHocSolver]

11. It is the offshoring of jobs that is bankrupting the government.

Unemployed Americans don't pay income taxes, and underemployed Americans pay less income tax. Corporations that set up dummy corporations in tax havens to avoid taxes is another problem.

If the federal government paid back all of the money it borrowed from the Social Security fund to finance its deficit spending, then that fund would be solvent for decades.

If the income was there, then financing the entitlements would not be a problem.

[clarence swinney]

13. How long to sunset

14,000B= economy

Entitlements = How much of it?

8% of ? and 3% of?

14,000 X .03
? X .08

[philb]

16. Energy dependency, huge transfers of capital and wealth, increasing debt; when does it end?

www.flcv.com/natdebt.html

[Ah Xoc Kin]

17. default?

Both russia and argentina defaulted on debts. It didn't hurt their economies. When a government defaults, the angriest person is the (affluent) foreign investor. Western investors were furious that Argentina defaulted, but who cares?