Victor Davis Hanson: Divine Debt Trumps All - The U.S. is broke and its ability to borrow ever...

National Review Online ^ | August 20, 2009 | Victor Davis Hanson

[neverdem]

IIRC, wind and solar power constitute about two percent of our energy production. That might still be a generous estimate.

[avacado]

"The U.S. is broke and its ability to borrow ever more trillions of dollars is ending."

Obama says that free health care will fix that.

[ntmxx]

“…a broke federal government will have to either borrow more or curtail the level of coverage that the currently insured enjoy.”

Or in the alternative, restrict economic progress and sell natural resources for the debt…since America cannot sell its greatest commodity- ignorance.

[GeronL]

VAT tax? That is one ugly, horrible, insidious tax. Wouldn’t it require a Constitutional amendment?

[RC2]

Watch this guy real carefully. Countries get out of this kind of debt by going to war.

[Uncle Ike]

” since America cannot sell its greatest commodity- ignorance “

I beg to differ - Hollywood has been in the business of exporting ignorance since the 60’s, at least.... ;)

[marron]

We’re broke, and we continue to drive industries out of the country, and we continue to refuse to do what we have to do to reduce our imported fuels. We’ve got vast oil reserves offshore, and vast oil shale reserves, and we won’t touch them. Meanwhile we’re getting ready to carbon-tax whats left of our industries to China.

People this corrupt and this stupid deserve the economic collapse that they are causing, but the catch is that I don’t and I’m stuck in the same boat with the rest of them. If they drive this Titanic onto the rocks I’m on the rocks along with the rest of them.

[nathanbedford]

The American people and especially the Obama administration seem to be living in a parallel universe apart from the rest of the world. As I understand it when the Fed went to the window to sell its last batch of bonds a significant portion could not be sold and had to be purchased by the Fed itself through a beard. When America buys its own debt that is monetizing the debt and it is the penultimate step to cataclysm.

That the American people and the Obama administration continue to talk about adding trillions of dollars in health-care reform and Cap and Trade regulations to the burdens already imposed on the economy and the national debt cannot be explained rationally by resort to our common understanding. One can only assume that the administration especially has utterly departed from reality.

The American public itself at last show signs of arousing from its torpor.

I think that it may become completely irrelevant whether Cap and Trade or healthcare pass, the international financial markets have yet to play their hand in this high-stakes game.

[neverdem]

VAT tax? That is one ugly, horrible, insidious tax. Wouldn’t it require a Constitutional amendment?

I don't know, but the Constitution seems to be the last of their concerns. They need to be taken to court for all of the takeovers ignoring the bankruptcy laws at the least.

[RC2]

If it happens now, I fear this guy wouldn’t have the slighest idea how to process a war. We best hope we have a George Patton out there someplace.

[avacado]

Good post!

[r9etb]

Dunno. Article I, Section 8 says, "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;"

I believe a VAT would fall under the category of Excise: "an internal tax levied on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of a commodity."

[BradtotheBone]

http://usdebtclock.org

[bvw]

Accurate observations as usual.

[bvw]

Do not expect much from international financial markets, btw — they’ve fattened themselves like geese force feed for a tasty liver. Fate will have their livers too. IMO

[GeronL]

Well we need to fight it. The VAT sounds like inflationrama to me. It would be impossible to know how much of the price went to taxes.

[r9etb]

Well we need to fight it. The VAT sounds like inflationrama to me. It would be impossible to know how much of the price went to taxes.

Absolutely.