The Cost of the Last Seven Years: $32 Trillion

[Lemur]

Yup, that's trillion with a "t." The GAO has a new report on the drunken spending orgy we call our government. Most sobering element:

In a speech today at the National Press Club, he said, "If the federal government was a private corporation and the same report came out this morning, our stock would be dropping and there would be talk about whether the company's management and directors needed a major shake-up." Walker urged greater transparency and accountability over the federal government's operations, financial condition, and fiscal outlook...

"The federal government's fiscal exposures totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007, up more than $2 trillion from September 30, 2006, and an increase of more than $32 trillion from about $20 trillion as of September 30, 2000," Walker said. "This translates into a current burden of about $175,000 per American or approximately $455,000 per American household."

[Xiahou]

Most of that's entitlements, Im guessing?

[Lemur]

There's a decent breakdown on page 5 of the PDF report. Having a hard time grabbing a screenie, sorry. What's interesting is that Social Security only rises slightly, while Medicaid and Mecidare rise rapidly. The big killer, if you believe these numbers, is Net Interest.

I'll have to read the report in detail when I find the time. I'm reminded of a conversation I had with the wife recently:

Me: [General grousing about the government's debt.]
Her: Didn't we take care of the deficit under Clinton?
Me: Imagine you've been using a credit card for a hundred years. And you have never, ever paid down the principle. Now you manage to make one payment on it, and then proceed to spend on it without making any payments for the next ten years. That's where we're at.

[Xiahou]

There's a decent breakdown on page 5 of the PDF report. Having a hard time grabbing a screenie, sorry. What's interesting is that Social Security only rises slightly, while Medicaid and Mecidare rise rapidly. The big killer, if you believe these numbers, is Net Interest.

Yup, Medicare/Medicaid is the big budget killer, Social Security is next. And we have yet to have any politician talk seriously about fixing either. Forget about pork barrel spending- yeah, it's offensive but it's completely insignificant compared to the big entitlements.

As an aside, which party is it that "trades on fear" every time the topic of Social Security reform is brought up?

[Lemur]

Oh, I know it. The Dems are useless when it comes to entitlements. But which party introduced a whole new class of medical entitlements in the last decade?

At least when the Dems try to introduce or expand entitlements, they have demagogues to howl them down. What scares me about Republicans is that when they want to rob the cookie jar, nobody bats an eye.

[Xiahou]

Oh, I know it. The Dems are useless when it comes to entitlements. But which party introduced a whole new class of medical entitlements in the last decade?

Worse than useless. If they were just useless, at least they wouldn't stand in the way. Privatize Social Security? Oh noes, you want to steal the fillings out of grandma's mouth! Ignore the fact that any changes wouldn't even affect her. And then when asked what they would do- you get a range of responses from "nothing" to "raise taxes".

At least when the Dems try to introduce or expand entitlements, they have demagogues to howl them down. What scares me about Republicans is that when they want to rob the cookie jar, nobody bats an eye.

Well, I was opposed to it Lemur.... pity no one listened.

[Lemur]

The political problem is that old people vote in huge numbers. To put it in boxing terms, they punch way above their weight. I'm not clever enough to see a way around that.

I guess I'm hoping that we can at least hold the line on SS and Medicare/Medicaid. (It would certainly help if we could get a handle on out-of-control costs on the medical front. I could live with either a Social Darwinism experiment in all-cash medical care or socialized medicine as in Europe. Either would be preferable to what we have now.)

You're right, the Dems are worse than useless on entitlements. Between that and their obstinate refusal to stand up to the Teachers' Unions, I grind my teeth with outrage on a regular basis.

You may begin to see why I'm unable and unwilling to join either political party ...

[JR-]

*wrong thread*

[Vladimir]

At least when the Dems try to introduce or expand entitlements, they have demagogues to howl them down. What scares me about Republicans is that when they want to rob the cookie jar, nobody bats an eye.

Are you serious? That's one reason why they lost the majority.

What burns me (and "us") is that the Republicans are hypocrites. We expect it from Democrats.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Are you serious? That's one reason why they lost the majority.

What burns me (and "us") is that the Republicans are hypocrites. We expect it from Democrats.

I'm registered conservative. Being a Democrat or Republican is for small minded sheep.

I tend to vote Republican because they pretend to support what I support more often than democrats.

If I vote 3rd party in any election, I just make it more likely for the Democrats to win. It's a sort of political blackmail.

[KukriKhan]

The Cost of the Last Seven Years: $32 Trillion

A wag might say that 32 tril is merely the price.

The cost being much higher.

[seireikhaan]

The political problem is that old people vote in huge numbers. To put it in boxing terms, they punch way above their weight. I'm not clever enough to see a way around that.

Heh, reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my speech and debate teammates. Apparently, the three largest lobby groups in the United States are(excluding the really blatant military-industrial complex groups):

3. The pro-Israel group.

2. The NRA.(National Rifle Association)

1. The AARP.

I'd guessed 2 and 3 when he'd asked me if I knew, but it took some major hints for me to guess the AARP for numero uno.

[Xiahou]

I'd guessed 2 and 3 when he'd asked me if I knew, but it took some major hints for me to guess the AARP for numero uno.

The AARP is right up there with the Teacher's Unions on my lobbying "axis of evil".
They claim to be all about seniors/students respectively, but both are primarily interested in lining their own pockets....

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I'm registered conservative. Being a Democrat or Republican is for small minded sheep.

I tend to vote Republican because they pretend to support what I support more often than democrats.

If I vote 3rd party in any election, I just make it more likely for the Democrats to win. It's a sort of political blackmail.

That's why I love to live in Vermont! Third parties at least win enough elections to appear to have power, though really they have almost no seats in the state legislature and probably hold seats at the federal level so often due to blind chance and very good candidates more than actual party clout.

[English assassin]

"If the federal government was a private corporation and the same report came out this morning, our stock would be dropping and there would be talk about whether the company's management and directors needed a major shake-up."

Kind of makes you wonder whether it might not actually be better to let Omnicorp run the show, doesn't it?

[Lemur]

Any excuse will do to repost that clip.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Uh...I know Americans don't do, erm...'socialism', but have you guys ever considered raising taxes? Like all debts, spending isn't decisive. Nor is income. Only the difference between them is.

I know it is a capital offence in states like Texas and Arkansas to even mention raising taxes to the level of communist states like Sweden, Germany or France, so I won't. But here are two still very sobering comparisons with the likes of the UK and Canada:
Total tax burden:
United States 32.69%
United Kingdom 42%
Canada 46.5%

So, Gah! All peoples get the debt burden they deserve.

[Strike For The South]

why the hell do we get lumped in with people from arkansaw?

[Spino]

The political problem is that old people vote in huge numbers. To put it in boxing terms, they punch way above their weight. I'm not clever enough to see a way around that.

Two words...

SOYLENT GREEN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c25tTzGJmcs



Chuck and an AARP member ponder the inevitable...


Chuck realizes method acting cannot change the future!


Chuck surrenders to fate and fattens up an AARP member... chunky old people make the best Soylent Green!


Sorry but I cannot come up with anything serious to contribute to this thread. I really don't have much confidence in the Boomer or X'er generations to set things right. When you consider how poor those generations are at... well, just about everything, it doesn't leave me with great optimism for the future.