“I Went Against My Free-Market Instincts”

From Abcnews.com

That’s what former President Bush said today in explaining why he signed off on the bailout for Wall Street…calling the decision “one of the most difficult of his presidency.”

The former President made the remarks at the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University.

“I went against my free-market instincts and approved a temporary government intervention to unfreeze the credit markets so that we could avoid a major global depression,” Bush said.

Federal Government will happily take donations to balance national budget

From Collegenews.com

If you have extra money, and want to help pay down the enormous national debt, an under-the-radar law from 1961 lets you do just that. The federal government will accept contributions that are directly applied to government debt--which, of course, are tax deductible.

On average, most donations are less than $100, though there have been a few substantially large contributions since the law was enacted. According to CNN Money, the largest such gift occurred in 1992, in the amount of $3.5 million.

So far, total contributions for 2009 are slightly over $3 million. Though this number is significantly higher than any yearly total in the last 10 years, it pales in comparison to total donations in 1994, which were just shy of $21 million.

While every little donation does help, the contributions are not doing much to really reduce the amount of debt. “We might have to finance a tiny bit less that week,” Mckayla Braden, a spokesperson for the Bureau of the Public Debt, said to CNN Money.

Why America Is Flat Broke

From Worldcurrencywatch.com

First, let’s start with some facts.

As of today, the U.S. National Debt is nearly $12 Trillion dollars. That’s a monster in itself, but it’s nothing compared to what the U.S. really owes…

Do You Have $344,000 to Pay Uncle Sam? Well You Should.

You see most people have no idea what the U.S. government owes on “unfunded obligations”. That’s government-ese for entitlement programs like Medicare, Social Security, etc.

Right now, the total unfunded obligations sits at $106 Trillion dollars! That’s 780% MORE than the “national debt.”

Now, let’s do a little math…

If you charged Americans for the national debt, each citizen would have to shell out $38,940. If you just charged taxpayers, that tab would climb to $104,000 per person.

Our nation’s Total Assets now stand at $74 Trillion dollars, or $240,000 per citizen.

Now add in the “unfunded obligations” at $106 Trillion, and every citizen would have to shell out $344,000 to keep us afloat.

In other words…as a country, we are flat-broke!

By the way, if you don’t believe me, you can go to the National Debt Clock website and see for yourself. But I warn you don’t go there if you have a weak stomach.

This Crisis Is Not a Market Failure. It’s a Monumental Policy Failure!

From Marketoracle.co.uk

"Economic history is being written right before our eyes. Hence, I refer to this episode as the largest economic experiment since the implementation of communism. And here’s what really frightens me: None of the experimenters saw this crisis coming, but all of them claim to know the remedy!"

US set to hit national debt limit in December

From Google.com

The United States is poised to hit the debt limit in December and Congress will need to raise the ceiling to keep the federal government functioning, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The national debt ceiling authorized by Congress is 12.104 trillion dollars, more than 80 percent of 2008 US economic output.

"Based on current projections, Treasury expects to reach the debt ceiling in mid to late December," the department said in a quarterly report on refinancing the federal government's debt.

"Treasury is working with Congress to pass legislation to increase the debt ceiling," it said.

National debt has ballooned as the government borrows money to fund massive stimulus and bailout measures to support the recession-stricken economy.

US national debt topped the 10.0 trillion-dollar milestone in late 2008.

In February, Congress raised the debt limit to 12.104 trillion dollars as the government launched a 787-billion-dollar stimulus program to help pull the economy out of recession that began in December 2007.

Why Wouldn’t the U.S. Just Print its Way Out of Debt?

From Wallstreetpit.com

Governments are running breathtaking deficits…and accumulating alarming debts. Japan has a national debt of nearly 200% of its GDP. Where did that debt come from? It came from 20 years of trying to buy its way out of a slump with borrowed money. Of course, it didn’t work. But now, Britain and America are following the Japanese lead…and the Japanese are still at it! At the present rate, Japan’s government debt will grow to 300% of GDP in 10 years. America’s debt could grow to 100%…and then 200% of GDP…over the next decade (depending on whose projections you believe). And Britain, if we read the report in The Financial Times correctly, will have debt equal to 200% of GDP within 3 years.

How the Government Is Swallowing the Economy

From Usnews.com

By one measure, the government already plays an outsize role in our so-called free-market economy—and it has little to do with the recession. Economist Gary Shilling has calculated that 58 percent of the population is dependent on the government for "major parts of their income," including teachers, soldiers, bureaucrats, and other government employees; welfare and Social Security

recipients; government pensioners; public housing beneficiaries; and people who work for government contractors. By 2018, Shilling estimates, an astounding 67 percent of Americans could be dependent on the government for their livelihood. The implications aren't comforting.

Geithner: Deficit reduction has to wait

From Money.cnn.com

Economic growth and job creation remain the government's top priority, despite a federal deficit that is "too high," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview broadcast Sunday

Promise Broken

From Foxnews.com

SPENDING

Pledge: "When George Bush came into office, our debt -- national debt was around $5 trillion. It's now over $10 trillion. We've almost doubled it. ... But actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut." -- Obama, during an Oct. 7, 2008, debate in Nashville

Verdict: Promise Broken. The federal budget deficit for fiscal 2009 tripled to a record $1.4 trillion, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate out in early October. That's nearly $1 trillion more than the $459 billion deficit recorded in President Bush's last full year. The recession-driven declines in revenue accounted for a large part of Obama's red ink, but so did increases in spending -- on everything from the economic stimulus to Wall Street bailouts (sealed before Obama took office). Though Obama still says he wants to bring the deficit down significantly before the end of his first term, projections show the fiscal 2010 deficit will also exceed $1 trillion. Even if Obama does make major changes to fiscal policy and cut the deficit in half, that's still hundreds of billions of dollars every year to the national debt.

Lemonade Stand Raises Awareness of National Debt

From Kbtx.com

"Free lemonade to help pay down the national debt!" shouts an A&M student in front of the Wehner building on A&M University's West Campus.

A&M students got creative today trying to raise awareness of the rising national debt. Offering free lemonade in exchange for an I-O-U to pay 25 cents toward the $11 trillion deficit.