Raising America’s Debt Limit is a Sign of Leadership Failure
Tuesday, February 15, 2011 at 11:36PM The raising of the debt limit in the United State is causing a bit of a stir these days as all the politicos rally around and jockey for media sound bytes and photo opps.
If only there were only more men like this in the US Government then perhaps there would be hope:
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
Yes those were the wise, wise words spoken by Barack Obama about raising the debt limit in 2006.
Of course, now that he is on the other side of the fence he has created deficits so massive that they dwarf all before them. According to John Williams of Shadowstats.com, the US Government deficit for 2010, when calculated under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) was around $5 trillion which means total US Government debt, when calculated under GAAP, will be over $80 trillion this year.
That's only about $240,000 per person or nearly $1 million per family of four. But don't worry, President Obama has a big budget cutting plan.
He has stated he wants to cut $1.1 trillion... over 10 years! Averaging just over $100 billion per year... out of a total GAAP deficit of $5 trillion. Expressed in percentage terms, that is a cut of 2% of the total deficit. There would still be massive deficits, but 2% less than there is now.
If there is a silver lining it is that there is no conceivable way that the US Government can or will exist in its current form 10 years from now.
Possibly one of the only chances the US has at avoiding complete collapse at this point appears to rest in the hands of one man: Congressman Ron Paul who gave the following excellent speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) a few days ago.
Alas, Donald Trump doesn't think Ron Paul can get elected. However, on this point, we might agree with him.
Even if Ron Paul were to get enough support to drastically cut government entitlements and bureaucracy from a population from whom more than 50% are net tax recipients, he would likely succumb to the same fate of the last President to attempt to shut down the Federal Reserve and put the US dollar back on a precious metal (silver) standard.
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Reader Comments (2)
As much as I like Ron Paul, I have to agree with you. His ability to get elected is extremely slim. Especially after making some of his latest statements. It's a shame too because I honestly believe he is the only one capable of un-seating Obama even in this terrible economic crisis.
About the only way Ron Paul could make it to the White House is with a full on rebellion against the system and with Americans at their laziest, that's not likely to happen.
I wanted to leave one other post however. Even though Ron Paul's chances are slim. I will be voting for him in 2012. Last time I picked the lessor of two evils and sold my soul to vote for McCain. From now on I will be joining the many faithful sporting Ron Paul Shirts and leave the voting booth with my soul intact.