“What we know is that all governments make promises they can’t fulfill.”
Not w/o the complicity of the electorate. The electorate in general has believed the lie that they can be enriched by allowing the govt to steal from their neighbors — a nation of idlers, coveters and robbers.
“Government obligations for Social Security and Medicare may soon exceed the combined net worth of every household and nonprofit organization in the country.”
This is based on using a misleading 75-year time horizon. Using a more neutral “infinite” time horizon, we have already passed this point. Every person in the U.S. would need to pony up $369,000 TODAY to bankroll all the future promises related to SS/Medicare and the current national debt. http://conoverc.wordpress.com/
ping.
I would guess that would be a number on the downside.
I am expecting Medicare to morph into Assisited Suicide while it will be illegal for the elderly to purchase health care on their own even outside the country. Of course, that will fix the SS problem in short order. I give it 5 yrs. max before the whole thing crumbles or they impose the sort of things that turn us into Zimbabwe. Naturally, the "elites" will be exempt from the laws the rest of us live by.
We’re so broke we can’t even pay attention.. KMFDM
Our debt holders should devise a “Stress Test” for the US. It will not be pretty as the debt is uncoverable....
About to? I’d say we are already there when every dollar Congress is spending .50¢ of it is borrowed!
America ain’t about to go broke! It be done already broke!
I’ve heard observed, that it would take about 6 months for the ‘Bamster and his crowd of communists to realize just exactly how empty the Treasury really is. and for that, although it sticks in my craw to say so, we can all heartily thank GW Bush....because, as my grandmother once observed about an errant uncle, the only thing worse than the Obamunists broke, would be Obamunists with resources to try to push their scams. Although it ain’t gonna be a pretty sight when the Acorn crowd realizes he’s out of pie.