The Coming Civil War over Public Pensions
Municipal Bond Apocalypse on the way
Case Study: Cincinnati For anyone who ever loved Cincinnati, it may be tough coming to put it in the same class of failure as Detroit. Before this cascading disaster plays out, few cities with more than 100,000 people will escape relatively unscathed. Think of it as an equal opportunity Hurricane Katrina that pays every state and most cities a visit.
At the federal level, things are no better. This PDF report from the CBO offers the merest hint of the underlying decay.
How long can government keep borrowing and spending?
No-money-down mortgages from Barney Frank's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set the stage for another banking crisis down the road. Time for Fannie and Freddie to go?
Well, you see, it's complicated . . . .
Here it is in a nutshell: American taxpayers are wrapped up in so many layers of government and bureaucracy that they cannot sneeze without asking permission first and then paying a fine. They are being sucked dry by a vampire ruling class which extends quite deeply into American society -- from cradle to grave and everywhere in between. The current monstrous, corrupt, and ever-grasping US government has almost nothing in common with the original US Constitution, or the ideas of the founders.
The private sector is shriveling under the incessant demands of the malignant growth of government, and the fat pigs feeding on the bloated perversion.
"Better run, better take cover" . . . Those in government and public service that you believe are watching out for you, are only watching out for themselves and their fat pensions. Don't get caught depending on a mindless bureaucracy that sees you as a means to their own end. Stop believing the lies of the ruling class and its mouthpieces. Act as your own person while you can.
Things can fall apart amazingly quickly.
[pod person transform]
Things are fine, now. Enjoy yourselves and trust in the authorities. They're here to help you and take care of you. Everything is under control in the world of hope and change. If you are feeling the blahs, take another vacation. Don't you feel better now?
Heh. I'm quietly taking pleasure in breaking stupid laws. Lots and lots of them.
ReplyDeleteIf we put on our constructive hats and ask what can we do about this, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the best & brightest in the Harvard-educated Political Class have just about sawn off the branch they are sitting on.
ReplyDeleteProblem -- US is running an unsustainable trade deficit, mainly in manufactured goods. And the US also has high unemployment -- people who only a decade ago would have been making those manufactured goods, thereby avoiding the trade deficit and paying more taxes. Not surprisingly, the US is also running unsustainable government deficits (spending greater than tax revenue).
Harvard-level solutions:
1. Borrow more money, and let the band play on. But they can't force foreigners to lend them money that won't ever be paid back.
2. Raise tax rates, but that will simply drive the rest of industry & commerce overseas, increase unemployment, and reduce tax revenues.
3. Cut spending. But that means no health care for illegal immigrants, or sex change operations for homosexuals, or bridges to nowhere named after Congresscrooks. There will be blood in the streets -- see Greece.
So we need a non-Harvard solution. There is an obvious one -- selectively roll back excessive regulation.
Look, a big part of the trade deficit is buying cars & airplanes from Germany & Japan -- not exactly low-wage countries. What has killed industry in the US is regulations and lawyers.
So we roll-back most regulation, redeploy most of the lawyers, and simplify the tax code.
Industry returns to the US. Tax revenues start to rise. If we can just get Harvard's smart guys to stop spending money they don't have, the US will be back on the road to a sustainable society.
Whether that can happen without the intervention of Madame Guillotine remains to be seen. But one way or the other, that regulatory roll-back will occur. And hapy days will be here again.
My experiment garden is doing decent, it is still alive and has produced food, most of which I have eaten, frozen, canned, and pickled. Not enough to feed me all through the summer or to last all through the fall, but it is still alive. Next year will be the real garden, with lots of plants and lots of varieties, I am going to pay the farmer down the road to plow up half an acre. There is no way I am digging up half an acre of Georgia clay by hand.
ReplyDeleteI suggest every one else try to practice such skills, you don't want your first time gardening to be when your life depends on it, it could be pressuring.
You are right about the regulations and wrong about the garden, We could grow our way out a=of this but we have a long way to go, If you read the great stuff that is going on just on this site which is a small sampeling of human inovation it is not to go back to farming but to hook up with someone who truly likes farming and learn to offer somthing that they can use in exchange (Without so many middle men feeding off us)it is not that every one should learn to be a farmer. All though it does not hurt to be deversified ;-( !!!!
ReplyDeleteI live around a bunch of farmers and am an engineer, during the apocalypse I'm sure we could work something out. Like I know how to make bio-diesel that won't kill your engine and we can still mechanize farm.... But gardening is something I enjoy, I find the instant gratification a perk, it is also peace of mind. While I do not think growing my own food is a permanent solution it could hold my family over if there were a disruption in the food supply. If you have just stumbled across this site then you may be surprised to know I am not the only one that has a garden. Some of the contributers to this site have a years worth of MREs and water in-case of such a disruption.
ReplyDelete