7 Reasons Americans Are So Complacent About Our Country's Impending Bankruptcy

Townhall.com ^ | June 26, 2012 | John Hawkins

[no-to-illegals]

Raise taxes now on the middle and lower classes (i.e., people that cannot easily evade taxes) to pay for this garbage.

Former President Ronald Reagan tried this approach. He shook hands on the deal which never came to be. Once upon a time a handshake was a person's bond to an agreement and those shaking hands would not go any other way than to cause that handshake agreement to be. The handshake and pat on the back is currently a what or why do I care (maybe) and everyone is on their own. Cannot trust anyone anymore. Attorneys love that. Our nation's people no longer think about surviving, instead we enjoy our conveniences and think not what would happen if they were suddenly and swiftly taken away. If it should happen the old and the very young would suffer in the extreme. We (as a nation) may be headed in this direction to raise taxes. Most appear to agree (those in power) it is the best way Forward. Forward ... there is that word again. Good Luck to all of us!

[outpostinmass2]

I am 44 years old and I don't expect ss or medicare to be there for me when I am 67. I have planned ahead, I don't think I will ever be able to fully retire. Most my age think this way. At this point I would make a deal where I no longer pay ss and medicare taxes and in return the government can keep my money that it has already spent.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

We need to stop fighting ourselves over our future.

USA first. With tariffs and protected markets. Now.

Then everyone else.

This “giving away the store” is leading to America’s collapse.

[Roccus]

What do we do?

Raise the "debt ceiling"........again.

[Night Hides Not]

And it's high time the taxpayers of the US stop funding the defense of Europe and the rest of the world.

There are two books worth reading at this time;

1. The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. It's a great study of the Great Depression. The first 20 pages are scary; change a few names and you're in the 21st century.

Atlas Shrugged: Obama's Executive Orders and economic policies are a modern day Directive 10-289.

[Michael Barnes]

One thing we have that other countries don’t is a worldwide infrastructure to prop up the dollar.

Minus that 16.1Trillion in secret loans the Fed Reserve handed out to "too big to fail" banks here and abroad. The 15Trillion we "hear" about is just scratching the surface.

Now lets toss in un-funded liabilities to the mix; we are hundreds of trillions in debt. There is not enough precious metals on the planet right now to equate to or "back" our debt. It's just a matter of time now.

[sergeantdave]

“Think that’s possible? I don’t. For all the reasons that cleverer folk than me have elucidated on this thread.”

The Founders had a much tougher road to travel, and look what they accomplished. They left a blueprint for us to follow. It starts by electing patriots to local offices and county sheriffs who believe in the 2nd Amendment. These two actions provide us with a secure political base that’s located in our neighborhoods and armed muscle when needed.

Do that, and we have our 21st century version of the Founder’s Committees of Safety.

All this is very possible if patriots get involved locally. My sheriff is a 2nd amendment supporter who publicly urges citizens to be practiced owners of all manner of weapons. The local citizens are active in their village councils and have tossed dozens of liberals out of office and even thrown a few in state prison.

[DH]

How have the clowns in the federal government managed to kick the can this far down the road without total collapse?

---

Give thanks to the GOP who’s motto “go along to get along” and “do anything for a vote” we find ourselves in this situation.

COMPROMISE is the tool they use to pry defeat from the jaws of victory. They are all as spineless as jellyfish.

[PieterCasparzen]

What has been going on for the last 50+ years is morally wrong and we have expected to see punishment for it...

An immoral society produces immoral leaders, including immoral government officials. They are a part of society like everyone else.

Some points to add to the basic thread...

A) Business owners are the primary decision-makers for a business

B) Much of American business is not directly owned by individuals as is the case with owner-operated privately-held businesses. The owners of publicly-held businesses are millions of people with very little individual (personal, human) control over the business operations of the companies they own. For the most part, the board of directors and upper management direct the business. These people have, for the most part, very little concern about keeping jobs in America, which is a primary concern for the millions of shareholders they represent and work for, respectively. These people also have no concern for serving God or living according to Scripture.

C) Union leadership, leaders of education, leaders of many activist groups, publicly-held business management, leaders of lawyer associations, leaders of trade associations: these and other similar "powers that be" effectively write the legislation that Congress votes on. Communications between lobbyists and members of Congress take place behind an absolute veil of secrecy. Members of Congress not only don't write the legislation, they typically don't even read it before voting on it. Instead, they rely on their staff, which is composed of a group hired through a revolving door with lobbying groups.

D) The Executive Branch has begun to flagrantly i) disregard the law and b) work actively against the long-term sovereignty of America.

E) Congress and the Supreme Court have basically no power to cause the Executive Branch to submit to their will.

IMHO, it's no so much that the American citizenry has directly caused our predicament, but by allowing the defiance of God's law-word by politicians, from the local level and up, to become acceptable socially and legally, they now find themselves with government that defies God's law-word. Such a government then takes the next logical step and becomes hostile to God's law-word.

Why did the American citizenry allow this to happen ? Because of the corruption of doctrine within the various Church denominations. They lost their way from a doctrinal point of view, believing all sorts of heresies. This happened in the nation of Israel in the Old Testament various times and resulted in God's chastisement of Israel. It started in America about the time of it's founding, continued through the 1800's, and became disastrously salient in the first half of the 1900's. Post-WWII America, with all it's social decay, was simply a reaping of what was sown earlier.

Corrupted doctrine preached by preachers results in the people of congregations being led away from Scriptural truth to falsehoods. Once the population becomes misguided concerning God and the Bible, they lose a correct understanding of right and wrong. Such a population elects ever more immoral politicians and grows ever more tolerant of abhorrent behavior by them.

Our Federal government alone has now spent about $16,000,000,000,000 (about 8 years worth of taxes) more than it has received in taxes to date. And the money was spent satisfying the desires of those "powers that be" described above. This can only happen in a nation where the government does not do it's Biblical duty.

[semantic]

"It's just a matter of time now."

Anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of exponents could have projected this outcome with the adoption of our credit-money system back in 1913. (Collateralized by the personal income tax.)

In fact, they did, and by design. It doesn't take a grand conspiracy, it only requires those who understand cause and effect. "Financial farmers" deliberately planted the seeds of destruction, and waited (generations) for the "harvest".

The problem with the type of "conservative porn" offered up by Rush, FR, Beck, et al, is that 'addicts' really buy into the idea that somehow their opinions, ideas, and/or votes matter. The sad reality is they don't - it's all a mirage designed to confuse.

For the entire history of mankind, a select few have used the power of the state to control the many. The USA was a weird historical aberration that is now finally reverting back to the mean.

Our so-called leaders have absolutely no intention or desire to 'represent the people'. That is the biggest joke of all. The smart money knows how this is going to play out, and is positioning itself to be the ruler of a downtrodden, defeated people.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Economic recovery is actually theoretically pretty easy, and the medicine needed is mostly to the irresponsible and greedy. The vast majority of people can be guided back to sensible economics with a minimum of pain.

1) To start with, the government must be made to stop assuming the debts of those individuals and organizations that neither produce goods nor services, but only, in effect, gamble and speculate. For many years now, such individuals and organizations have been gambling, but with a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” attitude, with the taxpayers theoretically stuck with having to pay their immense losses.

The government has been regularly taking over the debts of such as these, based on the idea that if they ever lose their gambles, it will somehow hurt the economy. It will not. In exchange, these people give big campaign contributions to the politicians that support their excesses. Instead, they must be forced to assume all the risks of their gambles.

2) Government created programs of “false largess”, in which they taxed money and immediately spent it, while promising repayment in the future. Such programs now are taxed to the equivalent of an equal amount to federal income taxes, for such things as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This must end, but how to do it without harming vast numbers of people?

Easy. The government unfairly profited from it by effectively doubling the income tax, so government must take the hit with lost revenue.

For everyone currently receiving benefits, offer them instead tax deductions even greater than their benefits, if they turn down those benefits. By turning down, say, $1000 a year in benefits, they can, voluntarily, get $2000 in real tax breaks, if they still pay taxes. If they don’t, and need the largess, they can choose to keep getting it.

A similar deal for those still paying in to the system, by which they get a better deal in tax breaks than they would by remaining in the system. With their increased income going to their retirement savings account.

Importantly, though the federal government takes a big hit at first with this, all that money going back into the economy will strongly increase their overall tax revenues.

3) Once the economy is improving, a balanced budget amendment can finally be added to the US constitution, along with automatic across the board spending cuts if that budget is not actually achieved. Create a new program? No problem. Just eliminate an existing program of equal or greater value to pay for it. Your choice.

[wita]

It seems to me number 2 is not too bright as a solution for too much spending by government. Just take a look at the democrats number one congressional talking point on the economy that they cannot live without, the “increasing revenues” ploy/scam. Can you imagine what more money to a free spending congress would mean?

My number one would be an instant 10 percent cut across the board first year, that means everything, positions people budgets, you name it, including SS and medicare, followed by 10 percent each of the next four years, and no tax or fee increases whatsoever. At the end of four years of real cuts, evaluate how long it will take to get to a balanced economy and budget with zero debt and continue accordingly.

One other major issue is one you mentioned in number 2 option. EVERYONE needs to be paying Federal taxes no exception. That alone would increase revenues and would have to satisfy the greedy democrats who don’t seem to give a hoot about the future of the Republic. Methinks they just may rue the day we turn into Mexico.

[Wolfie]

My point, made rather facetiously, is that if you mention to the average Conservative that our debt problem requires a cut to defense spending, they will go bat shit crazy at even the suggestion of a reduction in planned increases. Suddenly, the debt doesn’t matter. And if the debt doesn’t matter there, then it doesn’t matter anywhere.

[no-to-illegals]

Your idea would work if politicians were not beholding to global economics and a New World Order. We could be isolationists as was before WWII, if the political will existed. Eventually it takes conflict to recover from Depression(s) imho, as eventually we Americans were drawn into WWII. So in some senses of the Word of God, we are destine and destiny has arrived, and one must be resigned for no solution(s) exist, or do solutions exist. Here comes the future. What does the future hold? It could be joyously unimaginable or it could be a fate one cares not to imagine. God gave mankind freewill. The freewill of man has proved itself to be fatal in many instances of our history. Will God allow America to survive? Have heard Pastors state (all my life) America is not there at the end times. Can one trust America and Americans will not be there at the end times? Am not certain though as many Pastors have said no, and I too when reading my Bible have found no references I can safely point to and say no Pastor look at this ... America will be there for what will be. There are many Biblical people here at FreeRepublic and if they have found a reference which says America will be here at the end times, it would ease my heart somewhat, for I want America to survive. In spite of all of our faults, I pray we will be here as a nation continuing to offer ourselves to our founding philosophy which was preordain (imho) by God to stand for Liberty, and Justice. May it be. May America survive. We cannot offer Liberty and Justice to everyone because America cannot and should not hold all people of the world inside of America. America can point the way, and a nation's people should have the right of freewill offered rather than forced subjugation, as Americans begin to know it is pinch time, and forced subjugation is the only offer as the solution to problems currently being kicked down the road toward a cliff may solutions come, and may those solutions not come from demons. And my apology. I spent too little time on your original thought within your post. This post is too long, and reading a long post is difficult. If you made it to the end of this post, you are a better person than I.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Thanks.

America first.

[PieterCasparzen]

Our so-called leaders have absolutely no intention or desire to 'represent the people'. That is the biggest joke of all. The smart money knows how this is going to play out, and is positioning itself to be the ruler of a downtrodden, defeated people.

Smart money ruling a downtrodden people is not as good as smart money ruling a wealthy people. The smart money makes more money.

I know when facing a catastrophe such as we are, the idea of leadership trying to make everyone poor seems inviting. However, what leadership really wants is our money. The government gets at it through taxes, and big business gets at it through consumer spending. Both of those leadership groups wish that we gave them more. But at the same time, they're both doing stupid things that cause us to have less money.

Government stupidly imposes immorality on us because lobbyists think that the immorality will help us all be happy and get rich. Politicians also wants to puff themselves up and be viewed as wonderful, so they love to write laws that "control" us; lobbyists push these sorts of laws because they (the lobbyists) write them in such a way that it makes it easier for them (big business) to make money or (unions) get more power or (enviros, etc.) "save" the world, well, in their mind at least. Politicians are more than happy to vote in laws for lobbyist groups who bring them votes. This way they can stay elected and "save the world" in their own mind.

Big business stupidly takes everything that works well at a small scale and scales it up infinitely, assuming that it will continue to work well at a larger scale. Case in point, outsourcing jobs and encouraging immigration.

If they weren't so stupid, government and big business would realize that meanwhile, back in the real world, if they stopped aspiring to save the world and just did their jobs without laziness, greed and thirst for power, Americans would be free to work and prosper. And then Americans would have more income, which would benefit both government and big business, of course.

Most people don't understand the difference between wealth and income, and realize that they will always have an income. It will simply be small or large. And their expenses will be either small or large. Where income meets expenses is where standard of living resides. Even in simplistic societies livng or hiding in the hills. Having a big pile of wealth means nothing if one spends fast enough or if prices for food and essentials are high enough relative to income generating potential.

[zzeeman]

Yup, 1913. Interesting, next year is the 100th anniversary. I’ve been wondering over the past few years if 2013 has been the target date all along. And, I couldn’t agree more with the rest of your post — nice summary of what has been happening (by design), all along. Good job nailing the bulk of it with a few paragraphs!

[redgolum]

Which is by design. Remember Bush said to go shopping when we invaded Afghanistan.

We don’t fight “wars” anymore.

[PfromHoGro]

#1: Morrissey nailed it with Interesting Drug:

There are some bad people on the rise
There are some bad people on the rise
They’re saving their own skins by
Ruining other people’s lives
Bad, bad people on the rise
Young married couple in debt
- ever felt had ?
Young married couple in debt
- ever felt had ?

On a government scheme
Designed to kill your dream
Oh mum, oh dad
Once poor, always poor
La la la la la
Interesting drug
The one that you took
TELL THE TRUTH - IT REALLY HELPED YOU
An interesting drug
The one that you took
God, it really really helped you
You wonder why we’re only half-ashamed ?

“Because ENOUGH is TOO MUCH!
...and look around ...
...can you blame us ? CAN you blame us ? “

On a government scheme
Designed to kill your dream
Oh mum, oh dad
Once poor, always poor
La la la la la
Interesting drug
The one that you took
TELL THE TRUTH - IT REALLY HELPED YOU
An interesting drug
The one that you took
God, it really really helped you
You wonder why we’re only half-ashamed ?

“Because ENOUGH is TOO MUCH!
...and look around ...
...can you blame us ? CAN you blame us ? “

[SMARTY]

Overall, Americans have become fat, lazy cattle.

The whole country has given up on itself.

Our ‘elected leaders’ sell themselves to the highest bidder the instant they hit DC.

The whole ‘hyper democracy’ concept has reached its full and final expression.

There is no hope for a return to accountability, honesty and proper conduct until/unless ALL hope of gain is gone...(when the money runs out). When there is NO MORE money to be had by lying, cheating, stealing, defrauding taxpayers, etc. someone will hatch the bright idea that taxpayers have a voice and deserve to be represented with integrity and honesty.

What a novel concept THAT will be when grown adults revisit the basic common sense of free and fair government!!