Ill make you a deal: Ill quit accusing Democrats of obstructing spending and entitlement reform when they quit obstructing spending and entitlement reform.
Now we even have the nonpartisan sterile unflappable Congressional Budget Office virtually predicting a fiscal crisis yet the Democratic Senate hasnt passed a budget for 785 days. There ought to be a law.
At what point will we go into panic mode? Frankly I cant comprehend how people are so calm now.
The major components of this fiscal doomsday outlook are entitlements -- the unfunded promises approaching $100 trillion. We need to restructure those -- radically -- so that we dont lose everything.
Sure we know we have the capacity to turn this situation around. But it cant happen before 2012 without Democratic good faith and participation.
The Democrats talk and behave as though there were no urgency. Instead they just accuse Rep. Paul Ryan of robbing seniors of Medicare. But the facts are that his plan would preserve benefits for those who are 55 or older and phase in benefit reductions for others. If we fail to restructure the system well all end up -- within a generation -- not only without Medicare benefits but also with a fallen nation.
Nor are entitlements our only problem. Our annual budget deficits are also gargantuan and the administration evidences no interest in getting them under control. President Obama not only has stubbornly refused to be serious about discretionary spending cuts but also continues to pursue failed policies guaranteed to impede economic growth without which we simply cannot bring our budgets into balance.
For an indication of the bleakness of the economic picture just look at todays news-delivered gut punches. This weeks jobless claims of 429000 are even worse than last weeks dismal numbers making it 11 weeks in a row that weve been above 400000 the number economists associate with a stable labor market. Under President George W. Bush Democrats complained that 4.7 percent unemployment was dreadful. Now their presidents perpetual 9-plus percent is barely remarkable.
According to The Associated Press new-home sales fell 2.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319000 which is far below the 700000 homes per year that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. All the while the median price for new houses rose. Worst of both worlds.
Now back to the budget and entitlements. Based on the CBOs just-released long-term budget report it is nearly impossible to overstate the gravity of our national financial emergency. On our present course our national debt is in the process of swallowing whole our economy.
Projections of the nations impending doom have worsened: We face destruction if we dont act and the crisis is accelerating.
Last year the CBO predicted our national debt would be 91 percent of gross domestic product in 2021. Now just a year later it is projected to be 101 percent in 2021.
It gets worse. The debt is forecasted to be 150 percent of GDP by 2030 and 200 percent by 2037. And if you can even imagine this it will proliferate more rapidly thereafter. On our present course by 2035 federal interest payments will be 9 percent of our entire economy compared with 1 percent today.
Adding insult to injury Obamacare which Obama fraudulently sold as an indispensable component of balancing the budget will greatly drive up health care costs. The CBO says that mandatory federal spending on health care will increase by 86 percent from 5.6 percent of GDP presently to 10.4 percent over the next 24 years. Dont say we didnt warn you.
Adding aggravation to insult is the recently discovered glitch in Obamacare that allows for more than 3 million middle-class Americans to qualify for Medicaid. Can you believe this socialist scandal?
Yet the Democrats only action plan is to play the class warfare card and peddle fear about the horrors of not raising the debt ceiling. They demand that Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling when they wont agree to implement any budgetary plans to restore fiscal sanity. No wonder the markets are plummeting. Who could possibly have confidence in our financial future under these circumstances?
Meanwhile President Obama is hiding behind Vice President Joe Biden who is handling the budget negotiations with congressional Republicans. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor hardly a radical has backed out of these talks because of an impasse over taxes and Sen. Jon Kyl is expected to follow suit. Finally! Bravo.
Desperate times desperate measures. Hardball. No turning back.
David Limbaugh brother of radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is an expert in law and politics and author of new book Crimes Against Liberty the definitive chronicle of Barack Obamas devastating term in office so far.
Ill make you a deal: Ill quit accusing Democrats of obstructing spending and entitlement reform when they quit obstructing spending and entitlement reform.
Now we even have the nonpartisan sterile unflappable Congressional Budget Office virtually predicting a fiscal crisis yet the Democratic Senate hasnt passed a budget for 785 days. There ought to be a law.
At what point will we go into panic mode? Frankly I cant comprehend how people are so calm now.
The major components of this fiscal doomsday outlook are entitlements -- the unfunded promises approaching $100 trillion. We need to restructure those -- radically -- so that we dont lose everything.
Sure we know we have the capacity to turn this situation around. But it cant happen before 2012 without Democratic good faith and participation.
The Democrats talk and behave as though there were no urgency. Instead they just accuse Rep. Paul Ryan of robbing seniors of Medicare. But the facts are that his plan would preserve benefits for those who are 55 or older and phase in benefit reductions for others. If we fail to restructure the system well all end up -- within a generation -- not only without Medicare benefits but also with a fallen nation.
Nor are entitlements our only problem. Our annual budget deficits are also gargantuan and the administration evidences no interest in getting them under control. President Obama not only has stubbornly refused to be serious about discretionary spending cuts but also continues to pursue failed policies guaranteed to impede economic growth without which we simply cannot bring our budgets into balance.
For an indication of the bleakness of the economic picture just look at todays news-delivered gut punches. This weeks jobless claims of 429000 are even worse than last weeks dismal numbers making it 11 weeks in a row that weve been above 400000 the number economists associate with a stable labor market. Under President George W. Bush Democrats complained that 4.7 percent unemployment was dreadful. Now their presidents perpetual 9-plus percent is barely remarkable.
According to The Associated Press new-home sales fell 2.1 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319000 which is far below the 700000 homes per year that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. All the while the median price for new houses rose. Worst of both worlds.
Now back to the budget and entitlements. Based on the CBOs just-released long-term budget report it is nearly impossible to overstate the gravity of our national financial emergency. On our present course our national debt is in the process of swallowing whole our economy.
Projections of the nations impending doom have worsened: We face destruction if we dont act and the crisis is accelerating.
Last year the CBO predicted our national debt would be 91 percent of gross domestic product in 2021. Now just a year later it is projected to be 101 percent in 2021.
It gets worse. The debt is forecasted to be 150 percent of GDP by 2030 and 200 percent by 2037. And if you can even imagine this it will proliferate more rapidly thereafter. On our present course by 2035 federal interest payments will be 9 percent of our entire economy compared with 1 percent today.
Adding insult to injury Obamacare which Obama fraudulently sold as an indispensable component of balancing the budget will greatly drive up health care costs. The CBO says that mandatory federal spending on health care will increase by 86 percent from 5.6 percent of GDP presently to 10.4 percent over the next 24 years. Dont say we didnt warn you.
Adding aggravation to insult is the recently discovered glitch in Obamacare that allows for more than 3 million middle-class Americans to qualify for Medicaid. Can you believe this socialist scandal?
Yet the Democrats only action plan is to play the class warfare card and peddle fear about the horrors of not raising the debt ceiling. They demand that Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling when they wont agree to implement any budgetary plans to restore fiscal sanity. No wonder the markets are plummeting. Who could possibly have confidence in our financial future under these circumstances?
Meanwhile President Obama is hiding behind Vice President Joe Biden who is handling the budget negotiations with congressional Republicans. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor hardly a radical has backed out of these talks because of an impasse over taxes and Sen. Jon Kyl is expected to follow suit. Finally! Bravo.
Desperate times desperate measures. Hardball. No turning back.
David Limbaugh brother of radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is an expert in law and politics and author of new book Crimes Against Liberty the definitive chronicle of Barack Obamas devastating term in office so far.
