Posted on 09/27/2018 8:18:53 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Two recent stories caught our eye. One noted that, even after President Trump's tax cuts, Americans spent more on taxes than they did on food and clothing. The other noted that, as interest rates and the debt rise, the U.S. will soon spend more on interest than on defense. What gives?
The fact is, the cost of government is soaring, largely because of uncontrolled spending. This shouldn't be a surprise. At the federal level, despite the moral posturing about debt by both parties, the U.S.' debt has soared from less than $10 trillion a decade ago to more than $20 trillion today. And it's rising at a rate of about a trillion a year. It's a function of more spending on nearly everything, but especially entitlements.
Americans seem not to care, failing to realize that it's their indebtedness, not that of some abstract thing called "the government." That's why last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spent an average of $9,562 on food and clothing but a whopping $16,749 on federal state and local taxes. That excludes housing, which costs the average American about $17,819 a year after paying property taxes.
Finding Waste ...
We mention this because, by coincidence, this week marks the release of the Citizens Against Government Waste's annual report on — what else? — government waste. Its Prime Cuts 2018 Report recommends 636 government cuts that would reduce wasteful spending by $430 billion in the first year and by $3.1 trillion over five years.
That's a big chunk of change. For the first 11 months of the 2018 fiscal year, the deficit reached $895 billion, a 32% jump in just one year. Spending and the debt are clearly out of control.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
No, because there is only one chair left and therefore nobody on the planet can afford to let the music stop.
Indeed, we live in a financial state never before seen in world history. Highly interconnected economies with literally EVERY major economy controlled by a central bank issuing fiat, printed money, at manipulated rates.
Even in the last crisis in 2008, the European central bank was new, and the Chinese central bank had never before been a major player.
We don’t live in a world solely of nations any more, we live in a world of political central banks.
The USA will eventually be swamped by illegals aliens.
Trump is temporary. The next Obama type will open the gates and the world will pour in like grasshoppers on a crop. All of them will need medical and dental care. Some will have never seen a dentist before. The world has an unlimited supply of poor people willing to do anything to get to the USA. Europe will be swamped also. Africa will double in population over the next 30 years and getting to Europe will be the game for millions.
If it takes $2-4T to correct the damage Obunghole created with his $10T then I’m OK with it.
We need huge tariffs on illegal aliens. For each one caught, send the bill to Mexico and other countries. If they refuse to pay, confiscate their assets or send the military to take reparations. Use the tariffs to pay down the debt interest. I wish we could just invade Mexico and pummel them senseless, but that won't happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.