New Approach to Getting American Debt Under Control

It is simple... sell off the government to the highest bidder. I'm sure the Russians or Chinese or Saudis would be willing to cough up some money so they could cart off trophies, say move the Capital building to outside Moscow as a post-capitalist theme park, or move the Pentagon to India where it could be used to house the panoply of Indian gods as a new shrine outside New Dehli.

Or maybe repeal the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution and sell off the bottom 50% of the population into slavery to get funds to pay off the debts! I'm sure that today's billionaires would be happy to have a staff of 15 or 20 slaves at their beck and call.

Wait a second... here is a "serious" plan by Republicans (and some Democrats) with a scheme to get debt under control:



I find it hysterically funny that politicians are exercised over "debt" but not unemployment. It is like watching a made-for-TV cowboy movie where some poor guy crawls out of the desert croaking "water! give me water!" and the townsfolk stand around worried that he has brought in a new clothing fashion inappropriate for the current season, like wearing white shoes after Labor Day.

Hello? People are suffering because the economy is crappy, and the legislators are busy worrying about deficits and debts? Why weren't they worried during the eight years of the Bush admin when the US government went from a surplus to a gigantic deficit? Why handcuff Obama in responding to the worst financial catastrophe since the Great Depression by telling him he has to cut spending when the economy needs a goose from added federal spending to replace the missing private spending?

Oh... wait a second. These are the same politicos who thought Saddam Hussein was bin Laden's right hand man and was a grave threat to the US, grave enough that Bush yanked troops off tracking down bin Laden in Tora Bora so he could focus on the upcoming war in Iraq. Yep. Those political geniuses!

Here is the simple truth about the deficit/debt: "President Bush’s tax cuts, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq explain virtually the entire federal budget deficit over the next ten years.".

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Here is the reality that these politicos can't be bothered to worry about:

Nearly half of Americans say that they definitely or probably couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days, according to new research, raising concerns about the financial fragility of many households.

The survey asked a simple question, “If you were to face a $2,000 unexpected expense in the next month, how would you get the funds you need?” In the U.S., 24.9% of respondents reported being certainly able, 25.1% probably able, 22.2% probably unable and 27.9% certainly unable. The $2,000 figure “reflects the order of magnitude of the cost of an unanticipated major car repair, a large copayment on a medical expense, legal expenses, or a home repair,” the authors write. On a more concrete basis, the authors cite $2,000 as the cost of an auto transmission replacement and research that reported low-income families claim to need about $1500 in savings for emergencies.

Instead of representing the 99% of the population who need a government that reflects popular needs, these politicos are focused on the top 1% who worry that the debt/deficit will cause inflation which means that the coupons on their bonds will lose some value and they won't be able to afford the new 400 foot yacht next year.