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Economy | ||||
Obama's debt commission warns of fiscal 'cancer' | ||||
2010-07-12 | ||||
The co-chairmen of President Obama's debt and deficit commission offered an ominous assessment of the nation's fiscal future here Sunday, calling current budgetary trends a cancer "that will destroy the country from within" unless checked by tough action in Washington.
Bowles said that unlike the current economic crisis, which was largely unforeseen before it hit in fall 2008, the coming fiscal calamity is staring the country in the face. "This one is as clear as a bell," he said. "This debt is like a cancer."
"We can't grow our way out of this," Bowles said. "We could have decades of double-digit growth and not grow our way out of this enormous debt problem. We can't tax our way out. . . . The reality is we've got to do exactly what you all do every day as governors. We've got to cut spending or increase revenues or do some combination of that."
Most Republicans in Congress are opposed to any tax increases, which has made the work of the commission far more difficult. Bowles and Simpson appealed for support to the governors, who have been forced by their states' constitutions to balance their budgets with deep spending cuts and, in many cases, tax increases.
The presentation by Simpson and Bowles, which included repeated statements of determination to produce a bipartisan set of recommendations, drew praise from the governors. "I don't know that I've every heard a gloomier picture painted that created more hope for me," said Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe (D). Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) said that many governors fear that the commission's recommendations will result in more demands on the states. Bowles, who noted that the 1997 balanced-budget agreement between the Clinton White House and the Republican-controlled Congress included many provisions that put more burdens on the states, said that wasn't likely. "I don't think you're going to see a lot of devolution coming from us because the states are all broke," he said. Simpson also warned that the November elections could add another wild card to the work of the commission. "I have no idea what's going to happen on Election Day but it's going to be disruptive . . .," he said. "It's going to be a big wake-up call around the whole United States. I have no idea where it's going, but thank heaven we have a month then to work through the wreckage." | ||||
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#12 That is a national security problem! |
Posted by: JohnQC 2010-07-12 16:20 |
#11 The rest of the federal government [in addition to social security, medicare, and medicaid], including fighting two wars, homeland security, education, art, culture, you name it, veterans -- is being financed by China and other countries. It is SHAMEFUL that China and other countries are financing any part of our federal budget! |
Posted by: JohnQC 2010-07-12 16:19 |
#10 Massive deficits are teh Democratic Party's own version of "starve the beast": force huge cutbacks in the defense budget by starving the government of access to debt on affordable/sustainable terms. |
Posted by: lex 2010-07-12 15:57 |
#9 the whole rest of the discretionary budget is being financed by China and other countries," Simpson said. Shameful! And who created this fiscal cancer (addiction)? We need a guy like Gov. Chris Christie in the Presidency and people in Congress of a like mind (and with a spine). |
Posted by: JohnQC 2010-07-12 15:45 |
#8 Hmmm…so the Democrat controlled congress isn’t going to submit, vote, or much less…you know…actually vote on a budget this year. After all, why waste all that time debating when you can simply “deem” a budget to have been passed? Not to mention, it’s a good way to add a little slush to your programs in the event that Obama’s debt commission recommends those pesky spending cuts or freezes. Think about it…you can tell all the rubes you made “painful cuts” when your blowing the same amount of dough as last year. Brilliant! |
Posted by: DepotGuy 2010-07-12 11:53 |
#7 "Y'll stand back! I'm gonna have to perform an emergency cash-ectomy!" |
Posted by: mojo 2010-07-12 11:05 |
#6 The reservoir is almost empty, the level being maintained by China, et al. We need to cut, but politicians are unwilling to do the right but unpopular thing. We have been warned by our bondholders not to go to the trough big time again. Hell, the Chicoms have more fiscal sense than us. So, since we can't or are unwilling to get our fiscal house in order, economics will do it for us. And most everyone will share the pain. Big time. |
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-07-12 10:51 |
#5 ..a black hole. The way its looking, we might as well allow the whole system to collapse. At least then, all the special interests blocking real reform will be with everyone else, starting at zero. Hard to build a constituency upon promises made upon zero value and worth. It'll be social political deflation with a reshuffling of what is truly critical and new centers of power and influence made by those willing to do and sacrifice versus the parasitic and fluff of modern political patronage. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-07-12 10:22 |
#4 Cal Thomas said this morning it wasn't so much a cancer as an addiction... |
Posted by: IG-88 2010-07-12 08:58 |
#3 Not likely that our political weasel-class will cut either S.S. or Medicare. Which means that, with near-certainty, they will slash defense spending. Ferguson's right: if we don't get the deficit down asap, we will forfeit our military superiority. Or has that been Barry's game plan all along? |
Posted by: lex 2010-07-12 08:30 |
#2 I know what to do! Why not make another massive federal bureaucracy, bankrupt it, and then say we need another massive federal bureaucracy! And when the unions that work for that massive federal bureaucracy go broke, give them stimulus money! That'll fix it. |
Posted by: newc 2010-07-12 08:23 |
#1 Cut spending. Any Department or Bureau that didn't exist before 1970 are on the chopping block. No civil service cross department transfers. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-07-12 08:04 |