Recent Comments
Re: “Floating over the fiscal cliff in golden parachutes”
Mr. Weller your statements are contradicted by Mr. David M. Walker, both in his book, Comeback America, and by his recent statements. During his ten years as the head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), he also was responsible for administration of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs and knows their financial status intimately. He called the Social Security 'trust fund' an accounting trick no business could pull off. There is no 'fund' but instead the program relies on future payroll taxes on a smaller base of workers to pay out to a growing group of retirees who will live longer. The problem is that mandatory spending on the entitlement programs now is greater than 50% of Federal Government spending. Mr. Walker spells out specific recommendations which can save these programs for future generations but the math makes it clear that without changes, the growing debt threatens the future of the US itself. Regardless of the backing of 'the full faith of the US government' at some point, the Federal Government has got to spend less than it takes in to be solvent. The longer we wait to make changes to the program, the harder and more painful the changes will become.
I am not an expert on the subject, but I am not publishing articles on it either. If you disagree with what I have said, I encourage you to ask for an interview with Dave Walker. I suspect he might be willing to help you fully understand the facts and the undeniable math behind the dire situation out of control spending has caused, as well as some recommendations he has made to address it.
Re: “Floating over the fiscal cliff in golden parachutes”
The Federal Government has spent us into a crisis and your article contains major inaccuracies. Social Security is not "fully self-financed" because the government has been spending what it collects in payroll taxes which is supposed to fund Social Security. There is no savings account holding that money. It's gone. The reason it "does not contribute to the deficit" is that, due to deceptive accounting which would put any corporate Chief Financial Officer in jail, the Federal Government does not carry the future liabilities of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on its balance sheet. The US debt is not just $16 Trillion, it is over $70 Trillion when these obligations are included.
The mandatory expenses of the Federal budget are now greater than 50% of the annual expenses. These programs can be saved with some adjustments. Entitlement reform is not a conspiracy of greedy corporate fat cats. I saw Dave Walker, former US Comptroller under both President Bush (41) and President Clinton, explain the real US financial situation to a group of CPAs at the Friday Center. This man is the most credible expert on this subject. He is working to educate citizens and legislators on the financial facts. I suggest you visit the website of the non-profit, non-partisan group he founded for this purpose and educate yourself. http://keepingamericagreat.org/educate-you…
Re: “In the Obama-Romney debate, echoes of George McGovern”
There is only ONE candidate truly promising to end the wars now. Both Obama and Romney talked about how much more money they want to spend on the wars America is waging; wars that generate more animosity against America. How would we like it if Iran or North Korea built military bases in Canada and Mexico and Haiti, as America has done in the Middle East?
Gary Johnson is socially liberal and fiscally responsible and he is our promise of peace.
Re: “Some facts about the sequester and our most vulnerable citizens”
It is also interesting to note the fact there there was a documented $753M in Fraud in the SNAP program identified for calendar 2012 alone. The Federal Government is not capable of handling such a social program and is wasting money that should be managed locally.