CBO chief says debt 'unsustainable'

Politico ^ | 4/8/2010 | JONATHAN ALLEN

[DrC]

“We will never be able to tax ourselves out of this debt! NEVER! It cannot be done, ask ANY country in Europe!”

Chris Christie? I didn’t know you posted here at FR! :-)

[dr_who]

The question is whether congress could pass a VAT when they are most likely to have the votes to do it. I doubt they'll have a snowball's chance in hell this year or any time soon. But I figure that Obama will try to run in front of this "issue" next year and use it as part of his attack on Republicans. As it is, the first item on the Republican agenda will be big spending cuts, and not just inflation adjusted "cuts". But are Republicans going to be prepared for real, sustained government shutdowns in order to get those cuts enacted? I'm afraid that Obama and the remaining Dems will offer them a way out in the form of an itsy-bitsy phased-in VAT and a few token spending reductions. In other words, the same strategy as Obamacare applied to the rest of the federal government. This strategy might have a better chance of working than an overwhelming Democrat majority.

Interesting times? Not really. I'm getting sick and tired of this shit.

[Bryanw92]

He just figured this out?? Where was he a month ago when the Obamessiah was passing the largest debt increase in world history? This is the kind of traitor that would be hanging on a tree, if we were the kind of nation that still had a set of functioning balls!

[dynachrome]

Looks good. I'd probably cut more. (Dept. of Education? Gone. Dept. of Energy? Gone.)

and

16) Any person on welfare gets 1/4 of a ZERO vote in any election.

[Presto]

I really want to encourage fellow Freepers that we need a well reasoned tax revolution. You can find one at my Google Docs web page: http://docs.google.com/View?id=d9zrjs6_12g68ptbg5

It comes in the form of a Constitutional Amendment.

[omega4179]

It might be better if a bloc ofstates seceeded leaving a blue carcass behind

[SeattleBruce]

“As a percentage of gross domestic product, the debt would rise from 53 percent to 90 percent, CBO forecasted. The last time the percentage was that high was right after World War II.”

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste, and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you didn’t think you could do before.”
Ram (sic) it down our throats Emanuel

[SeattleBruce]

“CBO chief says debt ‘unsustainable’”

'All I can think to say, at this point, is NO SH*T SHERLOCK!!'

[SeattleBruce]

“Cannot wait to hear obama and the libs, as the CBO is their most quoted source recently.”

They’ll just quit quoting them. Then try to force the chief out - or offer him a high level job...

[SeattleBruce]

‘Welcome to the VAT. “it’s for the children”’

Right. After selling our kids and grandkids down the river, now they want to go save them.

NO THANKS!

11/2010

[SeattleBruce]

I’m movin’ south to the USS - United States South! Or perhaps we drop the left and right coasts with a few noted exceptions - and we’ll be the United States Heartland.

The United Socialist States of AmeriKa can have their lousy, friggin’ debt.

[SeattleBruce]

Bagdhad Bob will be twisted like a pretzel to turn this into good news.

[ohioWfan]

Love the middle photo, Bruce. That’s not photoshopped is it. That’s what he really looked like, isn’t it? SCARY!

[jveritas]

So the socialists will increase taxes, increase spending and tell us that they are cutting the debt and deficit.

Folks, we must win the House this November and increase our numbers in the Senate or else we are in for a lot of pain that would be inflicted on us by the socialists.

[SeattleBruce]

#2 is legit, I’m pretty sure. What a goof and a wonk Gibbs is.

[supercat]

It seems to me that it is very sustainable. It’s even growing.

The term "debt" implies that either the borrower or the lender expects that either the borrower will repay the lender or the lender will be able to punish the borrower for failure to do so. I really don't think the present debt will be sustainable unless drastic steps are taken.

[garbanzo]

But are Republicans going to be prepared for real, sustained government shutdowns in order to get those cuts enacted?

They had six years with a Republican Congress and a Republican White House to enact tax reform and entitlement reform and they pissed it away. They added a new entitlement program, did nothing with tax reform, and increased spending. What makes you think this time it'll be different with a Democratic president?

[CriticalJ]

I gotcha.

It was tongue in cheek.

[SunkenCiv]

Doug Elmendorf, best known for arbitrating the costs of various health care proposals, added his voice to a growing chorus of economic experts who predict dire consequences if political leaders don't scale back spending, increase taxes or both -- and soon.