Economy: 2010 Archives

Who's in worse shape, Greece or the U.S.?

As disturbing as it is to say, it's America. The world's leading financial newspaper published in the U.K. The Financial Times today carries a report of an analysis jointly conducted by American and European economists. If the world thinks Greece is teetering, what must they think when the numbers show the U.S. is in worse condition than Greece? The "gap" between future revenues and the costs and other liabilities that are accruing is huge.

A short time ago the National Review presented findings indicating that the "real" liabilities of the U.S. that will have to be paid now and in the future amount to at least $130-$140 trillion (that's trillions, not billions) dollars, without including the costs of Obamacare. It isn't today's $13 trillion that's troubling, it's the number that is ten times that.

Though the analytic approaches differ, the conclusions are similar. Spending has to be cut drastically at all levels of government, national, state at local. Entitlements have to be reduced or eliminated. There is not enough money to spread around, however one might wish to do just that.

Read this and be very frightened.

You won't feel better after reading the National Review piece, either.

Fiscal conservatives must rally to the call to preserve American as a land of opportunity and promise for our children and grandchildren.

While the national numbers are truly scary, we can't ignore the overspending challenges in Massachusetts and Chatham.

Unfunded pension and health care liabilities and an explosion of health care and Medicaid costs at the state level; unfunded pension and health care liabilities in Chatham and an explosion of debt from about $30 million to $300 million and debt service on the property tax from $2.7 million to $14 million.

There's no room anymore for sweetheart public union contract deals with built-in increases. Spending has to be cut. Government has to be pared down. Just because Chatham has a lot of expensive property that can be taxed doesn't mean the people writing the checks can afford any more extravagant spending.