"Running on Empty"

I think it's time to get away from the silliness of the current election and all of the partisan mudslinging and start looking at the future of these United States and have some serious discussions. There are problems that need to be fixed regardless of who is president or which party controls the Congress. And we all must confess that both the Democratic and Republican Parties are responsible for the financial train wreck that threatens to occur in not too many years. Here is a summary of Peter G. Peterson's newest book, Running on Empty – How the Democratic and Republican Parties are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It -

www.centrists.org/pages/2004/07/6_guest_budget.html

 

Since I haven't read the book yet(but plan to do so), here is a rather lengthy review of it that should generate some conversation among those of us interested in solving our nation's fiscal and budgetary problems -

www.powells.com/review/2004_07_30.html

 

Since the national debt will increase approximately $600,000,000,000 this fiscal year, to balance the budget without cutting spending would require that taxes be raised on the average household by approximately $6,000, or $500 per month.

And that is exactly the kind of draconian measures, and even worse, that will be required on either the spending and/or the tax side if we don't start dealing with our national fiscal problems right away. The longer we put off starting, the higher the degree of pain will we suffer as a nation.

 

Here is another, shorter review of Peter G. Peterson's book -

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E2D61F3CF931A2575BC0A9629C8B63

 

The "full faith and credit" of these United States of America.

 

I hear ya, Bro Tony, I hear ya.

 

Here's a discussion with Peter G. Peterson on his book, Running on Empty:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5359666/site/newsweek

 

This thread has absolutely nothing to do with who should be president. Peter G. Peterson is a Republican and I imagine he will vote for George W. Bush. As for me, I'm through with discussing this election on this board.

This thread has everything to do with understanding and discussing solutions to the fiscal problems which will destroy this country economically if we don't get a handle on them.

 

More information about this -

Age to strain U.S. finances-Greenspan
Fed chief says quick fix for social safety net programs vital to avoid more painful steps later.
August 27, 2004: 10:07 AM EDT

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. (Reuters) - Rising pressure on U.S. finances from an aging population make it vital to quickly fix the social safety net with such steps as raising the age for full retirement benefits, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Friday.

"If we have promised more than our economy has the ability to deliver to retirees without unduly diminishing real income gains of workers, as I fear we may have, we must recalibrate our public programs so that pending retirees have time to adjust through other channels," Greenspan said in prepared remarks at an annual symposium.

"If we delay, the adjustments could be abrupt and painful," he added.

Greenspan said raising payroll taxes to fund shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare might only worsen the situation by imposing an extra burden on those working but that altering policy to encourage a longer working life for Americans would be helpful.

- SOURCE

 

Here is the first portion of a 1999 article by Peter G. Peterson -

Gray Dawn: The Global Aging Crisis LINK

 

Here is the first portion of an article by Peter G. Peterson published last month:

Where Are the Business Patriots?
CEOs Need to Be Statesmen Again
By Peter G. Peterson

Sunday, July 18, 2004; Page B01


Recently, David Wessel, a Wall Street Journal columnist, asked me a daunting question -- indeed, a haunting question: Where have all the corporate statesmen gone?

He noted in particular the unprecedented silence of the Business Roundtable about the ever-widening deficits -- in government spending and U.S. trade -- that pose a major threat to both capital formation and economic performance over the next several decades. In serious discussions of national policy, this issue is like an elephant in the boudoir: You need to shut your eyes tightly to avoid noticing it. So why, Wessel asked, aren't we business leaders speaking out? And if we don't do so out of genuine civic concern, shouldn't we at least do so out of collective self-interest?

One might reasonably wonder, of course, whether Wessel was engaging in economic romanticism. Some might wonder if there ever were that many corporate statesmen. I started wondering myself: How many have I known or known about in my 50-plus years in business? The answer is quite a few -- but, lamentably, fewer and fewer as time goes by.

- rest at www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A56851-2004Jul17?language=printer