In a shocking new revelation (not shocking to us libertarians, of course), the U.S. government has announced that (assuming the government doesn't create a single new government program -- ha!) it will fall short $45 trillion (yes, that's trillion, with a T) over the next 75 years. Unless we decide to add in the gap in funding social insurance programs, in which case the gap jumps up to $53 trillion (yes. Trillion. With a T).
Now, who here expects to receive their Social Security money? Anyone? Anyone? I don't expect to receive it. Haven't for years. Less certain I'll receive it now. Now, we could privatize Social Security, which would definitely save it, but the communists in Congress won't let that happen. Can't trust those volatile markets that on average grow at a 10% rate every year (averaging out for booms and busts). No, got to keep that money in low-yield bonds so the government can spend the money. As Hillary Clinton said for her entire party, and most of the Republicans, they can't trust the American people. Can't trust us to invest that money wisely (though if you put your money in mutual funds you would have invested far more wisely than the U.S. government has). Perhaps we should make a law that requires all members of Congress to have every last dime of their savings and investments in the same exact things they invest our Social Security money in. I wonder what they would do with the money then? Probably put the money in something with interest rates above the inflation rate at the very least.
I suppose you liberals out there will now be saying, "See, it's those evil tax cuts that did this to us." But how, then do you explain this: " "The 2.6 trillion in record-breaking revenues that flowed into the Treasury this year reflect a healthy economy," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement accompanying the new report."
What? Tax cuts resulted in an increase in revenues? How could that happen? Well, you may not have heard, but when there is more money in the economy, the economy grows (please don't go Keynesean on us now and think we need to print more money -- that will just give us the 1970's stagflation all over again), and when the economy grows, that results in more taxes being paid, and, thus more tax revenues.
What's the answer then? CUTS!!! We need to cut these programs. Cut them deep. Don't make cuts in the rate of growth -- those aren't cuts, that's an increase. No, make actual cuts. I know: why don't we eliminate everything our federal government does that is not allowed by the Constitution? That should get us down to a budget of about $500 billion or so. Wouldn't that be nice? Again, I can hear the liberals: "But what about the poor?" There's a passage in the New Testament that goes, "He who does not work shall not eat." That works for me. (My wife used to be a social worker -- oh, the tales she can tell! In summary, she said maybe -- maybe -- 10% of those on welfare actually need it. All the rest have full time jobs working the system.)
My expectation: nobody in Congress is going to cut a thing. We will simply have to go bankrupt, the economy will tank, the government will collapse, and it will all be because of the selfish power-grabbers in power that we idiotically won't throw out. But don't worry, because that will happen in, what? 75 years? Let the next generation deal with it.
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