Reactions to story from USAToday
Taxpayers' bill leaps by trillions - USATODAY.com
http://www.usatoday.com/ news/ washington/ 2008-05-18-Redink_N.htmReactions / posts that link to this article
View all reactions »-
CURRENT ECONOMIC APOCALYPSE
http://www.politopics.com/2008/05/current-economic-apocalyps...CURRENT ECONOMIC APOCALYPSE 5.20.2008 The market has tanked so far today as Oil reaches $129 a barrel. Good times. The retiring baby boomers are causing this and its only going to get worse. Bill for taxpayers swells by trillions - USATODAY.com
-
TAXPAYERS' BILL LEAPS BY TRILLIONS
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?page=article&Article_I...The federal government's long-term financial obligations grew by $2.5 trillion last year, a reflection of the mushrooming cost of Medicare and Social Security benefits as more baby boomers reach retirement, says USA Today. According to a USA Today
-
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/06/nations-fiscal.html#m...
Nation's fiscal crisis Jim Nussle, Director, White House Office of Management and Budget - Washington I applaud USA TODAY for its article on the long-term fiscal challenge the nation faces due to rising costs in entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare ("Bill for taxpayers swells by trillions," News, May 19). It is important that we understand the magnitude of the fiscal crisis that threatens economic security for our children and grandchildren and the exponential cost of Congress' do-nothing approach. Continue reading.
-
Entitlement Train Wreck
http://swineline.org/2008/05/22/entitlement-train-wreck/Entitlement Train Wreck Posted on May 22, 2008 by Leslie Paige A frightening story from today’s USA Today on the coming entitlement train wrecks bearing down on us. Make sure you try out the cool interactive chart located aboce the header that allows you to view financial breakdowns for our entitlement liabilities by discreet program (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) Filed under: Pork |
-
Each American Family Owes Uncle Sam Half-a-Million Dollars
http://cameronweber.blogspot.com/2008/05/each-american-famil...Out of control It's true, the USA Today newspaper of middle America has shown that with Social Security, Medicare, interest on the debt, federal pensions, and loan guarantees the US Government has promised that each family will pay $531,472 in today's dollars for future promises made by the government. Compare this with private debt per household of only $119,173. And this is Democracy? What will happen when universal health insurance gets tacked on? Just say no.Workers of the World Relax Cameron Weber Washington DC cameron_weber@hotmail.com
-
Unchecked Government Marches On, II
http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2008/05/unchecked_gover....(May 22, 2008 07:52 AM, by Arnold Kling) USA Today reports, Taxpayers are on the hook for a record $57.3 trillion in federal liabilities to cover the lifetime...
-
A Number to Remember
http://thelastbestplace.blogspot.com/2008/05/number-to-remem...$531,471. That's the per-household share owed by all of us for federal entitlement liabilities. And that's before a potential President Obama or President McCain increases our share exponentially with all of their facockda promises. At least someone is paying attention. Remember Congressman Paul Ryan, author of the Roadmap for America's Future? Ryan wrote a letter to the non-partisan and objective Congressional Budget Office asking them to detail the grave fiscal situation our country will be in should Congress fail to reform Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Their reply? Under current law, rising costs for health care and the aging of the population will cause federal spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security to rise substantially as a share of the economy....In response to your letter of May 15, 2008, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has prepared the attached analysis of the potential economic effects of...using higher income tax rates alone to finance the increases in spending.... With no economic feedbacks taken into account and under an assumption that raising marginal tax rates was the only mechanism used to balance the budget, tax rates would have to more than double. The tax rate for the lowest tax bracket would have to be increased from 10 percent to 25 percent; the tax rate on incomes in the current 25 percent bracket would have to be increased to 63 percent; and the tax rate of the highest bracket would have to be raised from 35 percent to 88 percent. The top corporate income tax rate would also increase from 35 percent to 88 percent. Such tax rates would significantly reduce economic activity and would create serious problems with tax avoidance and tax evasion. We're not going to be able to smoke or tax ourselves out of this coming crisis, but when I listen to the non-sense concerning the demise of conservatism I'm reminded that it's forward thinking conservatives who seem to be the only ones who even recognize the problem. Perhaps they'll join me in the Cayman Islands or Liechtenstein as the road to serfdom continues to be paved with the professed misplaced "good intentions" of others. Mike
-
The Mathematics of Government
http://tan.gy/thoughts/the-mathematics-of-government/The Mathematics of Government Ahh… I spent a relaxing Saturday and Sunday on Willows Beach in Victoria laying lazily in the sun and turning a slight bit darker, and it was great. There aren’t too many things as handy as a long weekend right when you need one, and the two hottest and sunniest days of the year falling on the same weekend. Alas, it’s now over, the rain has returned, and it’s back to work tomorrow. What if I told you that right now you owe me a minimum of $530,000 - with no chance to escape owing me that debt? On top of that, the dollar figure I just said is an estimate, and I can raise it at any time. Well, that’s what’s happening in the USA right now. The mathematics of government dictate that you can’t inform the people of the true cost of running government, hence they notice that the numbers don’t balance and you must borrow heavily to do it. The US Federal Government’s solution follows typical government math laws: discuss only what we spent today, not what we committed to spend tomorrow. Discuss only what we spent today: the $162 billion the government officially announced as last year’s deficit, down from $248 billion a year earlier. Not what we committed to spend tomorrow: The $2.5 trillion in federal liabilities dwarfs the $162 billion the government officially announced as last year’s deficit, down from $248 billion a year earlier. That’s correct. In the last year, the Bush administration has managed to not only put the US $162 billion in the red for the current year, but also another $2.4 trillion for future US taxpayers. This brings the running total for unfunded liabilities (federal, state and local governments) to a whopping $61.7 trillion. Each US household right now owes over $530,000 in taxes to pay for programs promised to taxpayers such as social security and health care. So - why only report $162 billion as the deficit? Easy. First of all - it’s technically the truth. The US only spent $162 billion more than it collected last year. Second of all - who the hell is going to tolerate hearing numbers like $61 trillion? You want to talk about consumer confidence issues! $61 trillion is the entire gross domestic product of the United States for 6 years. There isn’t a hope in hell that the country is going to be able to fill the hole it dug itself, even with the inevitable tax hikes laid on future generations. If I was an American, I’d think it’s a pretty crappy situation, and then I’d get on with living my life. There’s nothing at all you can do about it, so why worry? The country is going to drown in its backyard pool, and probably take half of the world with it, but this is nothing new. Remember that “Empire” on which the sun never set? Or all of the dynasties and kingdoms that have fallen before it? It’s the way human society works, and we’re probably due for a correction soon enough. It’ll be pretty cool to see what happens, eh? share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. 2008 19 May Posted by erik at 09:28 pm No comments published Filed under: Thoughts Latest posts
-
The Big Broke
http://www.adamsweb.us/blog/the-big-broke/The Big Broke Posted by Adam Graham in : Abortion, Government Spending, Podcast, Presidential Race 2008 , add a comment Podcast Show Notes McCain gives out points for friendly blog comments. (Hat Tip: Red State.) Who is smarter? Howard Dean or the Founding Fathers? And why do Democrats want to get rid of the electoral college? McCain fires back at demagoguery by Obama over the G.I. bill. Our deficit is in the trillions, not the hundreds of billions as we’re told with our real national debt at $57.3 trillion. (Hat Tip: Instapundit.) One of Washington’s newest Democratic Congresswomen defaults on her mortgage on her second home while running her campaign. (Hat Tip: Patterico.) A Million pounds is spent to protect a non-existent great chested newt colony. (Hat Tip: Right Mind.) A pro-life Democrats wins a key victory in the passage of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act. Click here to download, click here to add this podcast to your Itunes. Try GotoMyPC free for 30 days! For this special offer, visit www.gotomypc.com/podcast. . Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Woman Honor Thyself, Right Truth, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Wolf Pangloss, , Dumb Ox Daily News, Conservative Cat, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
More rising blog posts
More rising news stories
-
Entertainment »
Op-Ed Contributor: Paying Doctors to Ignore Patients -
Business »
Satellite radio companies to pay $19.7 million -
Lifestyle »
CDC: ADHD Increasingly Common in Older Kids -
Politics »
Richest Americans See Income Share Grow -
Sports »
Braves should take good offer for Teixeira -
Technology »
Publicis Groupe 2008 First Half Results
