One of the greatest and ever-present frauds perpetrated by the financial elite and government upon the population is the notions being promoted about the meaning and potential effects upon the population and the economic and financial system of the National Debt, and continuous deficit spending.
They invariably call upon restraint, and belt tightening, and austerity plans. They call for reduction of Social security and other public benefits. They promote panic, and through fear try to persuade the public they should comply lest they lose everything altogether.
A "balanced budget" is unattainable...
Before Bush took office, the CBO projections were for a decade of rising surpluses. The reality: Not so much.
Putting Bush's record together with the latest projections for the future under Obama doesn't make things look exactly cheery, but it makes a mockery of attempts to blame Obama:
Tax time is reason enough to reflect on our budgets, personal and national. How realistic are our expenditures? Do we spend more than we earn? Does our income allow for a few irrational indulgences? Do discretionary dollars exist? Might we consider our ample debt. Does this represent a temporary deficit, easily resolved, or an obligation that cannot be paid promptly. We may wish to rethink our reality. At home, families have taken scissors to credit cards. More than the minimum payment is made. The intention is to lessen liabilities and increase savings. In the month of April, after we pay Uncle Sam, most of us concluded, it is time to clean our own fiscal house. Next, we move to the nation's ledger.
Expenses The largest share of our moneys go to military operations. The terror tax has become a tremendous burden of American household and communities. Yet, few wish to rethink this "duty."
While everyone was focusing on the fate of the bailout plan this week, the federal government's debt passed the $10 trillion mark with hardly anyone noticing. Of course, the bailout plan insures that this debt will climb even higher as there is specific language in the bailout plan authorizing the federal government to raise the debt limit and borrow up to $840 billion to fund the bailout.
As this is being written we are in the midst of the second day of testimony before Congress by Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson in support of the Administration's proposed financial rescue package.
The basic sales pitch is that the Nation's financial problems are at this moment so severe that the only solution is to expose to risk $700 billion dollars of taxpayer money to buy assets with a currently unknown price...and to give the absolute and total power over what those valuations are, what should and should not be bought, what repayment terms will be sought-and additionally, what happens to any money recovered--to one man, Henry Paulson.
There are those who are not on board. They have critics, who continue to stress the dire consequences of inaction.
With all due respect to those critics...we have been down this road before with this Administration-and last time, they weren't so big on telling the truth...or getting the job done effectively.
We'll cover that ground, we'll talk a bit about "mark to market" issues-and on a positive note, we'll address the role of "warrants", the negotiating power of Warren Buffett, and how the taxpayer could actually see substantial recoveries of money down the road.
The last few weeks have seen our nation's economic and financial institutions in the most critical condition since the days in 1929 when the stock market crashed and banks failed sending the country into the Great Depression. This morning I came upon an online headline that read "Bush team, Congress negotiate $700 Billion Bailout". At first glance, the general public probably feels that this is welcome news. However, there are many troubling details about this plan by the lame duck Bush administration that the American people need to be aware of. Below are some of the details about the plan found online at http://apnews.myway.com/articl...
1. The rescue plan would give Washington broad authority to purchase bad mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions for the next two years. It does not specify which institutions qualify or what, if anything, the government would get in return for the unprecedented infusion.
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