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Morning Bell: Pictures of America’s Fiscal Nightmare

There’s urgency in Washington to fix a problem that’s been a long time coming: America’s fast track to fiscal implosion. In The Heritage Foundation’s just-released, expanded 2011 Budget Chart Book, you can see just how bad the country’s spending problem is and how America racked up so much debt.

Congress is coming to grips with the need to enact reform, in part because there’s a new breed of Tea Party conservatives making their voices heard on Capitol Hill and also because the government has reached the legal limit on how much it can borrow. The Washington Post reports this morning that it’s crunch time in Washington, with legislators and the White House working to find a way to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget by 2021.

Now is indeed the time for them to take action. In roughly 20 years, the typical American’s share of the national debt will more than triple unless Washington gets the nation’s fiscal house in order. Right now, the national debt averages $31,871 for each American—nearly two-thirds of the median household income of $50,255. The Heritage Budget Chart Book illustrates that without any real spending cuts or reforms, debt will surge to $103,827 per American by 2032 and keep rising.

“For younger generations, the story gets worse,” says Alison Acosta Fraser, director of Heritage’s Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies. “By 2044, each American’s share of the national debt will redouble to $206,771. And it keeps going up after that.”

The expanded version of the Heritage Budget Chart Book contains 42 graphics that portray Washington’s unprecedented levels of spending, deficits and debt. Seven brand new graphics have been added since a 2011 preview edition of the chart book was released in April.

One chart compares President Obama’s 2012 budget with the Heritage plan to fix the debt and cut spending, “Saving the American Dream.” Under the President’s budget, net interest spending on the nation’s debt would more than triple in the next decade. But the Heritage plan balances the budget in 10 years and dramatically reduce the debt to 30 percent of GDP by 2035.

“What comes through strikingly in these graphics is that Washington has a spending problem that must be corrected,” Fraser says, noting that entitlement programs continue to be the main driver of increased federal spending. For example, an updated chart shows how a lack of entitlement reform pushes spending to engulf half of the economy by 2056.

Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warns of the damage that continued unchecked spending will have on America’s future:

Under both Republican and Democratic leadership, past Congresses have created a fiscal sinkhole that is so deep and so wide, it threatens to swallow up our prosperity and render our economy an abattoir. They have forsaken the most sacred responsibility they have to successor generations of Americans: Instead of passing the torch to our children, they have passed them the bill.

But one need not peer into tomorrow to see the effects that rampant government spending can have on a nation’s economy. Greece is in the midst of a continuing fiscal crisis brought about by years of irresponsible spending—and its woes are impacting world markets among fears of the country’s possible default.

The United States, too, stands at the brink. And as the 2011 Budget Chart Book compellingly shows, short-term fixes won’t solve America’s problems. Unless Congress and the White House address the root of the country’s spending problems—entitlement spending—it will remain on a path to ruin.

Quick Hits:

President Obama plans to announce on Wednesday a withdrawal of 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year—significantly more than General David Petraeus wanted.
Rising wages in China, increased transportation costs and changes in currency are leading to an increase in consumer prices for goods imported into the United States.
Suicide bombers detonated two car bombs near a government compound in southern Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 27 people.
Graphic warning labels depicting rotting teeth and tracheotomies will now accompany cigarette packages under new Food and Drug Administration regulations.
The Supreme Court stopped an abusive class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart that could have hurt our already-struggling economy. Read our expert analysis on Foundry.org.

Jim 5804 11253 Holiday	RE: MADE In the USA 6/21/2011 2:42:22 PM
	Morning Bell: Pictures of America’s Fiscal Nightmare There’s urgency in Washington to fix a problem that’s been a long time coming: America’s fast track to fiscal implosion. In The Heritage Foundation’s just-released, expanded 2011 Budget Chart Book, you can see just how bad the country’s spending problem is and how America racked up so much debt. Congress is coming to grips with the need to enact reform, in part because there’s a new breed of Tea Party conservatives making their voices heard on Capitol Hill and also because the government has reached the legal limit on how much it can borrow. The Washington Post reports this morning that it’s crunch time in Washington, with legislators and the White House working to find a way to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget by 2021. Now is indeed the time for them to take action. In roughly 20 years, the typical American’s share of the national debt will more than triple unless Washington gets the nation’s fiscal house in order. Right now, the national debt averages $31,871 for each American—nearly two-thirds of the median household income of $50,255. The Heritage Budget Chart Book illustrates that without any real spending cuts or reforms, debt will surge to $103,827 per American by 2032 and keep rising. “For younger generations, the story gets worse,” says Alison Acosta Fraser, director of Heritage’s Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies. “By 2044, each American’s share of the national debt will redouble to $206,771. And it keeps going up after that.” The expanded version of the Heritage Budget Chart Book contains 42 graphics that portray Washington’s unprecedented levels of spending, deficits and debt. Seven brand new graphics have been added since a 2011 preview edition of the chart book was released in April. One chart compares President Obama’s 2012 budget with the Heritage plan to fix the debt and cut spending, “Saving the American Dream.” Under the President’s budget, net interest spending on the nation’s debt would more than triple in the next decade. But the Heritage plan balances the budget in 10 years and dramatically reduce the debt to 30 percent of GDP by 2035. “What comes through strikingly in these graphics is that Washington has a spending problem that must be corrected,” Fraser says, noting that entitlement programs continue to be the main driver of increased federal spending. For example, an updated chart shows how a lack of entitlement reform pushes spending to engulf half of the economy by 2056. Richard Fisher, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, warns of the damage that continued unchecked spending will have on America’s future: Under both Republican and Democratic leadership, past Congresses have created a fiscal sinkhole that is so deep and so wide, it threatens to swallow up our prosperity and render our economy an abattoir. They have forsaken the most sacred responsibility they have to successor generations of Americans: Instead of passing the torch to our children, they have passed them the bill. But one need not peer into tomorrow to see the effects that rampant government spending can have on a nation’s economy. Greece is in the midst of a continuing fiscal crisis brought about by years of irresponsible spending—and its woes are impacting world markets among fears of the country’s possible default. The United States, too, stands at the brink. And as the 2011 Budget Chart Book compellingly shows, short-term fixes won’t solve America’s problems. Unless Congress and the White House address the root of the country’s spending problems—entitlement spending—it will remain on a path to ruin. Quick Hits: President Obama plans to announce on Wednesday a withdrawal of 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year—significantly more than General David Petraeus wanted. Rising wages in China, increased transportation costs and changes in currency are leading to an increase in consumer prices for goods imported into the United States. Suicide bombers detonated two car bombs near a government compound in southern Iraq on Tuesday, killing at least 27 people. Graphic warning labels depicting rotting teeth and tracheotomies will now accompany cigarette packages under new Food and Drug Administration regulations. The Supreme Court stopped an abusive class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart that could have hurt our already-struggling economy. Read our expert analysis on Foundry.org. Posted in Entitlements, The Morning Bell Print This Post Mike Brownfield
	May Wisdom and the knowledge you gained go with you, Jim Allen III Skype: JAllen3D Everything You Need For Online Success
	+0

Jim 5804 11253 Holiday	RE: MADE In the USA House Has No Time For Cabinet Secretaries But 6/22/2011 12:05:23 PM
	Warren Meyer Coyote Den 8Share 0diggsdigg 0 inShare Will We Ever See Another Constitutional Amendment? January 16, 1919 was a milestone in American history — passage of the 18th Amendment prohibiting alcohol. Frequent readers of this column will rightly suspect that I am no fan of prohibition, so why do I call this a milestone? The 18th Amendment was the last time that this country sought a Constitutional Amendment to expand the enumerated powers of the Federal government. Every subsequent amendment (other than the repeal of Prohibition) has been a tweak in election or office-holding rules. Think about the cascade of new Federal agencies we have seen in the nine decades since — The New Deal, the Great Society, Obamacare — with nary a hint that a Constitutional Amendment might be required for the Federal government to pursue these activities. As I said, I am not a big fan of prohibition, or the income tax (16th Amendment) before it, but in some sense these come from a better time. Instead of dealing with the Constitutional problems of these initiatives by having a series of judges stare at the Constitution with their eyes crossed until the problem disappears, they actually wrote and passed a Constitutional amendment. The took the wording of the Constitution seriously. Consider alcohol prohibition. Today, would we even bother modifying the Constitution? After all, we’ve driven a forty year war on drugs — with massive spending, highest in the world imprisonment rates, militarization of our police, and frequent slashes into the heart of the Fourth Amendment — with nary a hint of the need for a Constitutional Amendment. In fact, in Raich, the Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana legally (under state law) grown, sold, and consumed in California could still be prohibited by the Federal government under their Constitution powers to regulated interstate commerce. It seems almost quaint today that we sought a Constitutional change for Prohibition. Even the exception proves the rule. FDR’s National Industrial Recovery Act, America’s egregious flirtation with a Mussolini-style corporate state, was actually overturned by the Supreme Court. But the reasons they gave are virtually moot today. The Court said, for example, that the legislation set up vague goals that were only made real through rules-making processes in the Executive Branch, and that this was thus an un-Constitutional delegation of legislative authority to the Executive. Many of us would agree whole-heartedly, but the reality is that the Court since has allowed much more sweeping such delegations (for example, at the EPA). Obamacare probably goes even further on this dimension than the NIRA, particularly with its IPAB rules, but separation of powers is not even part of the mainstream court challenge to the law. The other night, my kids and I were watching 2081, the excellent short movie based on the Kurt Vonnegut short story “Harrison Bergeron.” That story posits a government department of handicapping that solves the inequality issue once and for all by handicapping the most able down to some lowest common denominator. The introduction to the movie said these handicapping laws were based on the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution. But I don’t think we are ever going to get that high. Certainly those who want more government power don’t need any more amendments, as the supposed enumerated powers of the Constitution are no longer constraining in the least. So if those who want to create an ever more powerful state no longer need to amend the Constitution to achieve their goals, what about those of us who fight for individual liberty — can’t we amend the Constitution? Sure, and I hope we do. But I am left in a bit of a quandary. What are we going to write? Consider this: 28th Amendment: We really, really were not kidding in the 10th amendment. Seriously. Or, perhaps, this: 29th Amendment: The Fourth Amendment applies even when police are in a hurry, and when it is a narcotics case, and when the President says we should all fear terrorism, and in airports, and when someone is driving on New Year’s Eve. Certainly we need to tighten up the Commerce Clause, and probably the General Welfare Clause as well, but what is the point when all three branches of government violate the clear language of the Constitution as it already is written? Won’t we just be adding more circumscriptions of Federal officials that just get ignored? A good first step would be for the High Court to draw a line in the sand and put some limits on use of the Commerce Clause to justify just about any Federal power. To this end, let’s hope the Court does the right thing and overturns the further expansion of power in Obamacare. The legal challenge to whether the Federal government can mandate economic activity is a great place to start in re-establishing the clear wording of the Constitution. http://blogs.forbes.com/warrenmeyer/2011/06/20/will-we-ever-see-another-constitutional-amendment/
	May Wisdom and the knowledge you gained go with you, Jim Allen III Skype: JAllen3D Everything You Need For Online Success
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