In his book Human Action, Ludwig von Mises wrote, “Continued inflation must finally end in the crack-up boom, the complete breakdown of the currency system." Similarly, we have Voltaire's wisdom, “Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value – zero.” So, Dr. Bernanke, we're not talking about a "tail risk" of this baby coming to term. It's coming. And, when the dust settles, it will be the very opposite of a really, really bad outcome.
One of the most poigniant peices I've read in some time is this little ditty by Arthur M.M. Krolman.
Showing posts with label US Default on Debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Default on Debt. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Obama's Fiscal Record - The actual record.
A Brief History of President Obama’s Fiscal Record
Setting the Record Straight
July 15, 2011
Despite newfound concern with the debt overhang stifling economic growth, President Obama’s record falls far short of his rhetoric. Let’s review the decisions made by President Obama and Congressional Democrats over the past couple of years, and the disappointing results of their policy choices:
January 20, 2009
President Obama sworn into office
•President tells the American people in his Inaugural Address: “Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”
•Debt Held By Public = $6.31 trillion
February 17, 2009
President Signs into Law the Spending Stimulus
•The stimulus adds $821 billion in new spending according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
•The White House promises this infusion of spending and borrowing would keep unemployment rate below 8%. As millions of Americans are painfully aware, that promise was broken.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.48 trillion
February 26, 2009
President Issues FY2010 Budget
•The President’s budget adds $2.7 trillion in new debt in FY2010 and imposes $1.4 trillion in new taxes.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.58 trillion
March 11, 2009
President Signs FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
•The massive spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks at a cost of $11 billion.
•The spending bill adds $19 billion in new spending above the baseline – an 8.6% spending increase.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.66 trillion
April 29, 2009
Congressional Democrats Pass FY2010 Budget
•The Congressional Democrats’ budget calls for a $2 trillion debt increase in 2010, and another 8.9% increase in non-defense discretionary spending.
•The reconciliation process is abused to later pave the way for health care overhaul to be jammed into law.
•Of note: this is the last time Congressional Democrats will bother budgeting.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.85 trillion
February 2, 2010
President Issues FY2011 Budget
•The President’s budget more than doubles the debt; pushes the FY2011 deficit to a new record of $1.6 trillion; drives spending to a new record of $3.8 trillion in fiscal year 2011; and raises taxes by more than $2 trillion through 2020, under the administration’s own estimates.
•Debt Held by Public = $7.85 trillion
March 23, 2010
President Signs Health-Care Overhaul Into Law
•The massive new law adds $1.4 trillion in new spending over the next decade, and over $2.5 trillion once the law is fully implemented.
•Despite sluggish economic growth and high unemployment, the law imposes over $500 billion in new tax hikes. CBO Director Elmendorf would later testify that the law would reduce employment by roughly half a percent – a reduction of approximately 800,000 jobs.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.18 trillion
April 15, 2010
Congressional Democrats Decide Not to Do a Budget for FY2011
•The 1974 Budget Act requires Congress to pass a budget each year by April 15.
•In an unprecedented budget failure, House Democrats not only failed to pass a budget – they opted to not even propose a budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.39 trillion
July 21, 2010
President Signs Financial Regulatory Overhaul Into Law
•In addition to heightened regulatory uncertainty, the massive new law adds $10.2 billion in new spending.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.69 trillion
February 14, 2011
President Issues FY2012 Budget
•The President’s budget yet again calls for the doubling of the debt in five years, and tripling the debt in ten years.
•The President’s budget spends $47 trillion over the next decade, imposes over $1 trillion in new tax hikes, and fails to address the drivers of the debt.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.45 trillion
April 13, 2011
President Delivers Speech on Deficit Reduction
•The President appears to abandon his own budget by offering a ‘framework’ that calls for additional tax increases, defense spending cuts, and Medicare price controls – yet lacks sufficient detail to back-up claims of deficit reduction.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.65 trillion
April 15, 2011
House Passes FY2012 Budget Resolution
•The House-passed budget cuts $6.2 trillion in government spending over the next decade, saves Medicare, strengthens the social safety net, lifts the crushing burden of debt, and spurs economic growth and job creation.
•Senate Democrats fail to meet their legal requirement to pass a budget by April 15.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.68 trillion
April 18, 2011
S&P Issues Credit Warning on U.S. Debt
•The rating agency sets off the latest alarm bells, warning of lawmakers of unsustainable fiscal course.
•President Obama has still not proposed a credible budget; Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.68 trillion
May 13, 2011
Medicare and Social Security Trustees Issue Warning of Looming Insolvency
•According to the programs’ own trustees, the unsustainable future of Medicare and Social Security threatens the health and retirement security of America’s seniors.
•President Obama and Congressional Democrats continue to engage in a partisan campaign to attack efforts to save and strengthen these critical programs – while offering no serious solutions of their own.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.67 trillion
May 25, 2011
Senate Unanimously Rejects President’s FY2012 Budget; Vote is 97-0
•While the President’s plan to accelerate our nation toward bankruptcy is unanimously rejected, the stunt on the Senate floor reveals the bankruptcy of Senate Democrats’ ideas.
•Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.72 trillion
June 23, 2011
CBO Director Further Discredits President’s Fiscal Record
•In testimony before the House Budget Committee, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf responds to questions on the President’s ‘Framework’: “We don’t estimate speeches. We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech for us to do our analysis.”
•Debt Held by Public = $9.74 trillion
July 8, 2011
Unemployment Hits 9.2%; Day 800 Since Senate Democrats Last Passed A Budget
•A devastating jobs report that shows the unemployment rate at 9.2% coincides with the 800th day since Senate Democrats last thought the federal government needed a budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.75 trillion
July 11, 2011
Senator Conrad Gives Budget Speech on Senate Floor
•On Day 803 since the Senate last passed a budget, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad takes to the Senate floor to deliver a speech about the Senate Democrats’ non-existent budget resolution.
•Senator Conrad makes the case for imposing over $2 trillion in new taxes, but provides no actual budget resolution and no credible details.
•Debt held by Public = $9.75 trillion
July 15, 2011
President Holds Press Conference: “We’re Running Out of Time” to Deal with Debt
•President Obama tells reporters: “I've got reams of paper and printouts and spreadsheets on my desk, and so we know how we can create a package that solves the deficits and debt for a significant period of time. But in order to do that, we got to get started now.”
•The American people have still not seen any “paper” or “printouts” of what specific spending cuts the President supports. The American people have still not seen any “spreadsheets” from the White House to corroborate their claims of having offered a deficit reduction plan.
•While it’s long past time for Washington “to get started now” on tackling our debt problems, President Obama has still not proposed a credible budget, and Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.75 trillion
source - Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman
Committee on the Budget: U.S. House of Representatives 207 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Setting the Record Straight
July 15, 2011
Despite newfound concern with the debt overhang stifling economic growth, President Obama’s record falls far short of his rhetoric. Let’s review the decisions made by President Obama and Congressional Democrats over the past couple of years, and the disappointing results of their policy choices:
January 20, 2009
President Obama sworn into office
•President tells the American people in his Inaugural Address: “Those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.”
•Debt Held By Public = $6.31 trillion
February 17, 2009
President Signs into Law the Spending Stimulus
•The stimulus adds $821 billion in new spending according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
•The White House promises this infusion of spending and borrowing would keep unemployment rate below 8%. As millions of Americans are painfully aware, that promise was broken.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.48 trillion
February 26, 2009
President Issues FY2010 Budget
•The President’s budget adds $2.7 trillion in new debt in FY2010 and imposes $1.4 trillion in new taxes.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.58 trillion
March 11, 2009
President Signs FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act
•The massive spending bill includes 8,696 earmarks at a cost of $11 billion.
•The spending bill adds $19 billion in new spending above the baseline – an 8.6% spending increase.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.66 trillion
April 29, 2009
Congressional Democrats Pass FY2010 Budget
•The Congressional Democrats’ budget calls for a $2 trillion debt increase in 2010, and another 8.9% increase in non-defense discretionary spending.
•The reconciliation process is abused to later pave the way for health care overhaul to be jammed into law.
•Of note: this is the last time Congressional Democrats will bother budgeting.
•Debt Held by Public = $6.85 trillion
February 2, 2010
President Issues FY2011 Budget
•The President’s budget more than doubles the debt; pushes the FY2011 deficit to a new record of $1.6 trillion; drives spending to a new record of $3.8 trillion in fiscal year 2011; and raises taxes by more than $2 trillion through 2020, under the administration’s own estimates.
•Debt Held by Public = $7.85 trillion
March 23, 2010
President Signs Health-Care Overhaul Into Law
•The massive new law adds $1.4 trillion in new spending over the next decade, and over $2.5 trillion once the law is fully implemented.
•Despite sluggish economic growth and high unemployment, the law imposes over $500 billion in new tax hikes. CBO Director Elmendorf would later testify that the law would reduce employment by roughly half a percent – a reduction of approximately 800,000 jobs.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.18 trillion
April 15, 2010
Congressional Democrats Decide Not to Do a Budget for FY2011
•The 1974 Budget Act requires Congress to pass a budget each year by April 15.
•In an unprecedented budget failure, House Democrats not only failed to pass a budget – they opted to not even propose a budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.39 trillion
July 21, 2010
President Signs Financial Regulatory Overhaul Into Law
•In addition to heightened regulatory uncertainty, the massive new law adds $10.2 billion in new spending.
•Debt Held by Public = $8.69 trillion
February 14, 2011
President Issues FY2012 Budget
•The President’s budget yet again calls for the doubling of the debt in five years, and tripling the debt in ten years.
•The President’s budget spends $47 trillion over the next decade, imposes over $1 trillion in new tax hikes, and fails to address the drivers of the debt.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.45 trillion
April 13, 2011
President Delivers Speech on Deficit Reduction
•The President appears to abandon his own budget by offering a ‘framework’ that calls for additional tax increases, defense spending cuts, and Medicare price controls – yet lacks sufficient detail to back-up claims of deficit reduction.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.65 trillion
April 15, 2011
House Passes FY2012 Budget Resolution
•The House-passed budget cuts $6.2 trillion in government spending over the next decade, saves Medicare, strengthens the social safety net, lifts the crushing burden of debt, and spurs economic growth and job creation.
•Senate Democrats fail to meet their legal requirement to pass a budget by April 15.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.68 trillion
April 18, 2011
S&P Issues Credit Warning on U.S. Debt
•The rating agency sets off the latest alarm bells, warning of lawmakers of unsustainable fiscal course.
•President Obama has still not proposed a credible budget; Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.68 trillion
May 13, 2011
Medicare and Social Security Trustees Issue Warning of Looming Insolvency
•According to the programs’ own trustees, the unsustainable future of Medicare and Social Security threatens the health and retirement security of America’s seniors.
•President Obama and Congressional Democrats continue to engage in a partisan campaign to attack efforts to save and strengthen these critical programs – while offering no serious solutions of their own.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.67 trillion
May 25, 2011
Senate Unanimously Rejects President’s FY2012 Budget; Vote is 97-0
•While the President’s plan to accelerate our nation toward bankruptcy is unanimously rejected, the stunt on the Senate floor reveals the bankruptcy of Senate Democrats’ ideas.
•Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.72 trillion
June 23, 2011
CBO Director Further Discredits President’s Fiscal Record
•In testimony before the House Budget Committee, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf responds to questions on the President’s ‘Framework’: “We don’t estimate speeches. We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech for us to do our analysis.”
•Debt Held by Public = $9.74 trillion
July 8, 2011
Unemployment Hits 9.2%; Day 800 Since Senate Democrats Last Passed A Budget
•A devastating jobs report that shows the unemployment rate at 9.2% coincides with the 800th day since Senate Democrats last thought the federal government needed a budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.75 trillion
July 11, 2011
Senator Conrad Gives Budget Speech on Senate Floor
•On Day 803 since the Senate last passed a budget, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad takes to the Senate floor to deliver a speech about the Senate Democrats’ non-existent budget resolution.
•Senator Conrad makes the case for imposing over $2 trillion in new taxes, but provides no actual budget resolution and no credible details.
•Debt held by Public = $9.75 trillion
July 15, 2011
President Holds Press Conference: “We’re Running Out of Time” to Deal with Debt
•President Obama tells reporters: “I've got reams of paper and printouts and spreadsheets on my desk, and so we know how we can create a package that solves the deficits and debt for a significant period of time. But in order to do that, we got to get started now.”
•The American people have still not seen any “paper” or “printouts” of what specific spending cuts the President supports. The American people have still not seen any “spreadsheets” from the White House to corroborate their claims of having offered a deficit reduction plan.
•While it’s long past time for Washington “to get started now” on tackling our debt problems, President Obama has still not proposed a credible budget, and Senate Democrats have still not proposed any budget.
•Debt Held by Public = $9.75 trillion
source - Rep. Paul Ryan, Chairman
Committee on the Budget: U.S. House of Representatives 207 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Ron Paul Warns GOP On Debt Deal, Predicts Bankruptcy
July 13, 2011 by Personal Liberty News Desk
Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) has predicted that the United States will endure a bankruptcy.
“I am very hopeful and positive in the long run, but I think we are going to go through a bankruptcy first,” the Congressman told Fox News. “Everything we have done so far has just spent more and run up the deficit.”
Lawmakers are currently attempting to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling. Republicans have said that if the debt ceiling is to be raised then equal cuts to spending must be made. Democrats have insisted that tax hikes be a part of any plan. Paul has warned that the GOP should be cautious about making a deal with the Democrats.
“In fact, reports are they may be ready to cave in to Barack Obama’s demands for a trillion dollars in tax increases in exchange for mostly phony spending and tax cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling,” the Presidential hopeful said in a statement. “In Washington, if you hear about a so-called deal, you can be sure the taxes will come, but the cuts never will. Republicans cannot take the bait and get fooled again.”
Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) has predicted that the United States will endure a bankruptcy.
“I am very hopeful and positive in the long run, but I think we are going to go through a bankruptcy first,” the Congressman told Fox News. “Everything we have done so far has just spent more and run up the deficit.”
Lawmakers are currently attempting to reach a compromise on the debt ceiling. Republicans have said that if the debt ceiling is to be raised then equal cuts to spending must be made. Democrats have insisted that tax hikes be a part of any plan. Paul has warned that the GOP should be cautious about making a deal with the Democrats.
“In fact, reports are they may be ready to cave in to Barack Obama’s demands for a trillion dollars in tax increases in exchange for mostly phony spending and tax cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling,” the Presidential hopeful said in a statement. “In Washington, if you hear about a so-called deal, you can be sure the taxes will come, but the cuts never will. Republicans cannot take the bait and get fooled again.”
Sunday, June 12, 2011
China is going to want their money and they are gearing up to take it.
...Western defense officials and experts were surprised to see more than 25 different Chinese models of the unmanned aircraft, known as UAVs, on display at this week's Zhuhai air show in this southern Chinese city. It was a record number for a country that unveiled its first concept UAVs at the same air show only four years ago, and put a handful on display at the last one in 2008.The apparent progress in UAVs is a stark sign of China's ambition to upgrade its massive military as its global political and economic clout grows....The U.S. and Israel are currently the world leaders in developing such pilotless drones, which have played a major role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and which analysts say could one day replace the fighter jet.This year's models in Zhuhai included several designed to fire missiles, and one powered by a jet engine, meaning it could—in theory—fly faster than the propeller-powered Predator and Reaper drones that the U.S. has used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan....U.S. anxiety about China's UAVs were highlighted in a report released Wednesday by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which was formed by Congress in 2000 to assess the national security implications of trade and economic relations with China....The Chinese drone of greatest potential concern to the U.S. is the one with several missiles and a jet engine—called the WJ600—which was displayed by China Aerospace Science & Industry Corp., or Casic, one of China's top weapons makers.Casic officials declined to comment, but a video and a two-dimensional display by the company showed Chinese forces using the WJ600 to help attack what appeared to be a U.S. aircraft carrier steaming toward an island off China's coast that many visitors assumed to be Taiwan.
..And all this time I thought the most important Constitutional duty of the federal government was to protect America and its borders.Apparently, based upon the actions of President Obama and Democrats in Congress, I was mistaken.
Hat Tip - Doug Ross
..And all this time I thought the most important Constitutional duty of the federal government was to protect America and its borders.Apparently, based upon the actions of President Obama and Democrats in Congress, I was mistaken.
Hat Tip - Doug Ross
Friday, September 24, 2010
Doug Casey: Exception Among Equities
"To start with, once the U.S. government defaults on its debt, people will think twice before lending it any more money; giving politicians the ability to borrow is like giving a teenager a bottle of whisky and the keys to a Corvette. A second reason is that the debt is an albatross around the necks of the next several generations; it's criminal to make indentured servants out of people who aren't even born yet. A third reason would be to overtly punish those who have been lending money to the government, enabling it to do all the stupid and destructive things that the government does with that money."
Read The Rest Here
Read The Rest Here
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