Dangerously in Debt?

If "An Inconvenient Truth" sounded the alarm on global warming, "I.O.U.S.A.," a new documentary opening in theaters Friday, hopes to do the same for the rising federal deficit.

Backed by Blackstone Group Chairman Peter Peterson, "I.O.U.S.A." follows former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and the Concord Coalition's Robert Bixby on a "fiscal wake-up tour" across America. In the movie, which is co-written by "Empire of Debt" co-author Addison Wiggin and directed by "Wordplay" filmmaker Patrick Creadon, Messrs. Walker and Bixby argue that unless the government alters its policies and spending habits, the U.S. will be in for a serious financial meltdown.

Mr. Walker, who headed the Government Accountability Office from 1998-2008, exited his official U.S. post five years early in order to head the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and dedicate himself fulltime to fiscal education before, as he says, "we face a real economic crisis." Mr. Walker spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the dangers of the debt and what needs to be done to prevent what he foresees to be an economic catastrophe.

Secondly we are going to have to make the public more responsible for their retirement. What does this mean exactly?

I think what you mean is "we are going to have to make INDIVIDUALS more responsible for their retirement.

I agree. Start with privatizing Socail Security. Bush's plan was idiotic - almost designed to fail. It wasn't really even a privatization plan. Here is my plan.

You get only what you have earned.
No more hitting the jackpot because you are 65. No more scamming where 58 year old screw-ups work the 12 quarters needed to get Soc. Sec. for life.
All workers who have not retired get their contributions + their employers contributions + compound interest paid at the rate of T-bills for the period they have invested.
This lump sum can be converted into an annuity at any time after age 62.5.
No special deals for spouses. You get what you earn. Married couples each get what they have each earned. They may combine it to buy a joint annuity.
Single earner couples may convert to a joint annuity
Persons not needing to draw on the Social Security may continue to leave it to earn interest in the treasury. At death it is inhereted as a cash benefit to their designated beneficiary.
All welfare programs disguised as Social Security are seperated from the program, renamed, and paid for from the general fund of the US Government.

To me this is a real privitazation scheme. You OWN your money, all of it.

The national debt is about $9 trillion, I think. Then to that, you have to add the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare, which could be as much as $20 trillion more, from some reports I have seen.

The debt hit $10 Trillion already.

According to Peterson the unfunded future liabilities of only Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are $99 Trillion dollars, not $20 Trillion.

I agree on the excellence of Travis's book - Domestic enemies - The Reconquesta. Everyone should read it because it's a great book, plus Travis is a legendary Freeper!

The first book in the series - also requied reading.

The 2nd book, the one we were discussing:

What we have in Washington DC is too many politicians, not enough statesmen. They are more interested in their own political future (power and money) than the interest of our nation. Some may enter as ideologues, but DC changes them all.
If Ronald Regean were POTUS today, he’d succumb to the system as it has become today.
If you dance with the devil, the devil don’t change. The devil changes you.

Obama: “Just Tax the Heck Out of People”
National Review | 8-22-2008 | Mark Hemingway
Posted on 08/22/2008 8:43:47 AM PDT by Hadean
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2066182/posts

[snip] If you talk to Warren [Buffet], he’ll tell you his preference is not to meddle in the economy at all — let the market work, however way it’s going to work, and then just tax the heck out of people at the end and just redistribute it,” Obama said. “That way you’re not impeding efficiency, and you’re achieving equity on the back end.” He continued by saying that he thought there was some merit in Buffett’s argument. [end]

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