Posted on 05/12/2014 10:36:33 AM PDT by BulletBobCo
(CNSNews.com) - Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen, referencing the Congressional Budget Office's long-term budget projections, told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress today that under current policies the federal government’s deficits “will rise to unsustainable levels.”
In the 10-year budget projections it released in April, the CBO estimated that the federal government will run $7.618 trillion in deficits from 2015 through 2024. At the same time, the CBO projected that the federal government’s debt held by the public would rise from $11.983 trillion at the end of fiscal 2013 to $20.947 trillion by the end of 2024.
The debt held by the public is the part of the U.S. government debt that is not held by the federal government itself. It primarily consists of marketable Treasury securities, including bills, notes and bonds. It does not include what the government calls “intragovernmental debt," which is the money the Treasury has borrowed out of the Social Security Trust Fund and other government trust funds to pay current expenses.
The total debt of the federal government at the end of fiscal 2013--including both the debt held by the public and the intragovernmental debt--was $16.719 trillion. The CBO estimates that by 2024, the total debt of the federal government will be $27.159 trillion—of which $20.947 trillion will be debt held by the public.
If that projection holds up, the federal debt held by the public in 2024 would be more than four times the $5.035 trillion federal debt held by the public at the end of 2007.
Yellen made her statement about unsustainable deficits when she was questioned by Sen. Dan Coats (R.-Ind.). Coats remarked that businessmen in Indiana told him that their businesses were underperforming at this time because of the uncertainty they felt as result of federal taxation and regulatory policies.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Bookmark.
Just mint a $20 trillion coin. It has to be platinum, though.
The logical solution is green jobs, raising the minimum wage, grant amnesty to all illegal aliens, Roads’n Bridges, raise taxes, “free” healthcare, restrict energy production, obscene government regulations, and another ride in the Choom Wagon.
5.56mm
Like we are too stupid to already have figured it out. :-)
Ultimately a currency is only as strong as the attractiveness of the People behind it. Think about that.
If the USA was filled with virtuous people of such values that were attractive to other groups and cultures around the world, its currency would reflect that attractiveness.
Gold in only a yellow metal. A central bank is ultimately just a printing press or digital maker.
As long as people of the world value American traditions and lifestyle, the US Dollar is safe.
And America’s traditions and lifestyle reflect the values held by its people.
If America continues to slide towards Gomorrah, the currency will break. That is a given.
People of the world want what Americans have and take for granted; the clean streets, sidewalks, water, power, schools, homes, safety and freedom. These everyday things are symbols that attract most of the inhabitants of the world.
Happily poverty around the world is on the decline. As entire populations climb from 3rd world hell holes to the fringes of 2nd world infrastructure, the symbols of America become more irrelevant. In order for America to remain a leader, to remain strong, it requires that the attractiveness of the American lifestyle and heritage be turned on fully and that entails reforming taxes, cutting out excessive government regulation and reaffirming the traditional line on morality; in other words decentralizing to unleash the American spirit.
No matter what remarks Yellen may make, the currency and the budgetary matters are ultimately a reflection of American choices, of American values.
The next time you see a young person, tell them their manner of dress, behavior, lifestyle, views; their choices ultimately determines the value of their dollar and hence the value of their life.
There are two types of dems on this issue. DLC dems like Yellen and Mondale dems like Elizabeth Warren.
The Mondale dems haven't been in power since Mondale. Bill Clinton was DLC. Obama told them he wasn't DLC but has governed as DLC, which infuriates the leftwingers because they think Obama lied to them, which is why Obama has low polling numbers. Hillary and Biden are DLC and the leftwingers pushing Warren to run.
Clinton appointed Yellen to head his office of economic advisors then gave her the job at the San Fran Fed. Obama gave her a job at the central fed and then nominated her for chairman. Since she is a market economist, the GOP confirmed her even tho some may disagree with her as to how wide and high the safety net should be.
Most dems and most GOP are corporatists with leftwing and rightwing groups who aren't.
Amen. The same people that whine about any attempt to ensure that voters are informed, or even to ensure that they are citizens of this country, would NEVER permit a stranger to sit down at their table and have a say in what their family was having for dinner. Yet that analogy is infinitely less important than the decisions that face voters.
So many people these days believe the lie that we can just plug any assortment of people into our system and continue on as we always have. What they fail to grasp is that the American system of government grants unprecedented power to the people to govern themselves, but with great power comes great responsibility. The freedom inherent in our system is a blessing when the country is populated by self-restrained people who look to God for standards of morality. But it becomes a curse when the populace instead casts God aside and determines what is "moral" for themselves, for then the electorate will vote for politicians and support laws that continually redefine what is "moral" or "good" downward until the country descends into anarchy and a dictator becomes the only solution to the ensuing chaos. We are approaching that point.
This need for a moral consensus is why it is also essential that Americans generally share a common culture. Our system cannot survive with culturally isolated factions continually trying to remold America in the image of the countries from which they originated. Each group ultimately has a different vision for the country and it is nearly always at odds with the vision of the Founders.
It is strange to me that people could be so foolish as to desire the dismantling of America's unique constitutional republic, yet believe that somehow they will magically continue to enjoy the benefits that only such a system can provide. Such people are like parasites that feed off a host but then kill it, depriving themselves of the nourishment that it once provided.
It was never envisioned that every uninformed fool would have the right to vote, nor should it be today. The addition of the vast entitlement apparatus makes the problem infinitely worse as corrupt politicians literally buy votes from the selfish and stupid.
How dare you criticize our Great Emperor. He has everything all planned out, you silly fool. Yes, he can borrow his way to prosperity. The technique is rather simple and was originally used by the King of France against the Knights Templar.
Once you get so far in debt that you cannot possibly ever pay it back, you simply kill all the people holding your debt notes and then take the notes and destroy them. Viola. No debt and you still have their money. You must have faith in our Glorious Leader.
(Greece has a GDP of a quarter Trillion. Germany is at 3.5 Trillion. Germany has kept Greece afloat, because they can. They are 14 times bigger. Japan is at 6 Trillion. The US and China combined are only 24 Trillion, only 4 times larger... and China's willingness to help Japan surely must be questionable.)
Be prepared, folks
Wait until the FSA (Free Stuff Army) finds out that the safety net is torn and there are spikes in the salt pit below.
Where did you get your info? I’d like to see the GDP ratios for various countries before WWII, if you know what I mean.
That's well and good but there is not a lot of money to be saved there.
It all comes back to SS, Medicare, Medicaid, and defense. What and how much?
Do you want your Medicare money or do you want to invade Ukraine and defend Viet Nam from China. That's a joke, so don't get excited.
Should have stopped after the 1st question. Why would cons have the ability the vote (ex-cons are Free Citizens again, are they not)? Define habitual...2 beers a night/365 days? A ‘habitual’ runner = ‘dopamine/endorphin junkie’?? Loon...please.
If there were/are to be others, they would be better asked of Civics: How many Senators? How many Rights are enumerated in the 1st Amendment? How does a license differ from a Right? etc.
And a simple ‘solution’ is to send out to EVERY man and women (no children as they can not vote) a ‘bill’ showing what they ‘owe’ for the gov’t provided....broken out in line-item fashion.
Fact, it should be sent out to receive after April 15th and before elections.
Yeah, I know, and I want to hear the rationalizing of the USSC on how slavery != income taxes (or what % finally constitutes the former), or how traveling by car == ‘driving’ (as in PAID for the job of the same) in lieu of ‘operating’ [how did roads exist before cars, but is no longer a Right but a privilege] or....
Could not have said it better.
Now what do we do to restore the Republic?
Glenn Beck once had an author on (whose name escapes me) who wrote about "the normalcy bias." He spoke about how many people will die in emergency situations, like a plane crash, because they fail to grasp the dire circumstances surrounding them and act accordingly. They refuse to acknowledge their actual situation, and instead act as if everything is OK (the normalcy bias).
We all talk to people every day who are deeply infected with the normalcy bias. Even people who agree with us about public policy and the state of the country fall victim to it as they allow the activities of everyday life to lull them into a false sense of normalcy. It is really difficult to get enough people to stand up because we have so many distractions, and to stand up for what is right might mean losing something ("stuff", relationships, job, etc.) as a result. But if we don't stand up in a real, tangible way soon we will reach a point where we won't have much left to lose anyway.
And maybe that's what it's going to take. Maybe the clueless idiots among us will only learn their lesson once they've tasted the bitter fruit of their choices. Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible to underestimate the foolishness of a large segment of society.
Had the Babylonians been apprised of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city, but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the street-gates which gave upon the river, and mounting upon the walls along both sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy, as it were, in a trap. But, as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and so took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts (as the residents at Babylon declare) long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learnt the capture but too certainly. Such, then, were the circumstances of the first taking of Babylon.
- Herodotus
All the while keeping interest rates low.
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