Obama's debt commission: "We're ****ed"

[sgreger1]

Obama’s debt commission, which he created through executive order, has this to say regarding our current debt crisis:


The commission leaders said that, at present, federal revenue is fully consumed by three programs: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. "The rest of the federal government, including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans -- the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries," Simpson said.

"We can't grow our way out of this," Bowles said. "We could have decades of double-digit growth and not grow our way out of this enormous debt problem. We can't tax our way out. . . . The reality is we've got to do exactly what you all do every day as governors. We've got to cut spending or increase revenues or do some combination of that."

Bowles said that unlike the current economic crisis, which was largely unforeseen before it hit in fall 2008, the coming fiscal calamity is staring the country in the face. "This one is as clear as a bell," he said. "This debt is like a cancer."

[tom502]

Country is going down fast.

[truthwolf1]

I think Bowles is finally coming off the kool-aid.

[sgreger1]

Debt commission: Judging by the fourth quarter annual returns exchange exemptions fiscal po.....
Obama: Damnit men, just give it to me in plain English!
Debt commission: "Lol, your screwed"

[danielan]

The worst part, IMO, is that people are already lining up against the commission no matter what they recommend.

[bipolarbear1968]

Does that mean our credit score will go down? (lol)

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[sgreger1]

The worst part, IMO, is that people are already lining up against the commission no matter what they recommend.

That's because they are trying to push the idea that we are in a recovery, that Obama has fixed things and that they are getting better. No one wants to hear "yah so debt has increased as well as spending and unfunded liabilities, and it looks like there may be a double dip recession after all. My bad guys."

[truthwolf1]

A recession is when your neighbor loses his job.

A depression is when you lose your job.

http://economics.about.com/cs/busine...epressions.htm

[danielan]

It's disturbing that influential places like Huffington are still going on about a Social Security Trust Fund, etc. Like there is actually a pile of money sitting somewhere in a box marked, "Social Security Trust Fund - Do not touch".

As long as anyone believes in this mythical trust fund they fail to see the nature of the problem.

[NorSnuser]

It's disturbing that influential places like Huffington are still going on about a Social Security Trust Fund, etc. Like there is actually a pile of money sitting somewhere in a box marked, "Social Security Trust Fund - Do not touch".

As long as anyone believes in this mythical trust fund they fail to see the nature of the problem.

There are differing opinions on the Social Security trust fund, but the following is a pretty good overview of the "problem". I think the real problem is well delineated by this article:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/200...ty-trust-fund/

"What we really have is a looming crisis in the General Fund. Social Security, with its own dedicated tax, has been run responsibly; the rest of the government has not. So why are we talking about a Social Security crisis?"

[sgreger1]

There are differing opinions on the Social Security trust fund, but the following is a pretty good overview of the "problem". I think the real problem is well delineated by this article:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/200...ty-trust-fund/

The problem with social security is very simple to understand.

How it was supposed to work: You pay into SS, old take out from SS. Circle of life.

How it did work, because this is America(tm): You pay into SS, this money goes into a giant bank account, bank account is not restricted to JUST paying out SS claims, Gov then uses this general fund to pay for other shit (basically stealing from your grandpa) and now there is no money left.


If they are going to tax me for something, or if they are going to allocate spending for ANY program, it needs to be designated to pay JUST for that. Just pilling it all up into a giant pile of money with no oversight or restrictions on where it can be spent will obviously lead to disaster. If the bags of money say social security on them, don't touch them...not yours (i'm looking at you clinton!).

[danielan]

There are differing opinions on the Social Security trust fund, but the following is a pretty good overview of the "problem". I think the real problem is well delineated by this article:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/200...ty-trust-fund/

Right. If I give my wife $1000 a year in return for a future payback, she gives me an IOU.

My wife spends the $1000 on hats.

At the end of 50 years, there is not $50,000 to be had. Sure, I have $50,000 in IOU's.

But here's an overview of our financial situation: http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html

How am I going to get my $50,000 from her without both of us going bankrupt?

"All you can have is a general budget crisis."

Right. But you can't ignore it, even if you want to call it a "general budget crisis" and not a "social security crisis" (which might be fair, given that the prescription drug program and Medicare are in worse holes). The people that will be affected by the crisis are us.

The trust fund analogy only works from a strictly consumer perspective. But, unfortunately, "the government" which has these obligations is also us (and our children).