Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson,FloydReports.com
As the August 2 deadline for a debt-ceiling deal drew near,many expected a big deal that would significantly change the direction of federal fiscal policy. After weeks of tumultuous negotiations,partisan bickering,and impassioned histrionics,the agreement that finally emerged was,to put it bluntly,no big deal. Ironically,the most accurate assessment I read about it was Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s comment that it “was not that great overall because it simply delayed the adoption of a more systemic solution.”
In exchange for raising the debt ceiling by another $2.4 trillion,federal spending will be cut next year by all of $21 billion (that’s from projected increases,not an actual cut) and $42 billion (ditto) in 2013. It will be business as usual in Washington. Political gridlock has preserved the status quo of rapidly escalating federal spending and debt remains intact. After an unprecedentedly emotional rendition of what I term “the debt-ceiling dance,” the big spenders prevailed yet again.
Washington’s failure to forge a big deal over the debt-ceiling issue is turning out to be a very big deal for the rest of us. In a year when we are on target to pay more than $500 billion (close to 40 percent of personal income-tax revenues) in interest on the existing federal debt,our elected leaders have authorized $2.4 trillion in additional debt over the next year-and-a-half.
Anyone who thought that a debt-ceiling deal would reassure markets was sorely mistaken. Stocks cratered. Gold,which has been warning of serious political/economic/monetary malfunctions since its price was much lower (see here and here),has exploded to more than $1,800 per ounce,signifying a grave deterioration of conditions.
One outcome of the debt-ceiling agreement has been Standard &Poor’….
Read more.
As the August 2 deadline for a debt-ceiling deal drew near,many expected a big deal that would significantly change the direction of federal fiscal policy. After weeks of tumultuous negotiations,partisan bickering,and impassioned histrionics,the agreement that finally emerged was,to put it bluntly,no big deal. Ironically,the most accurate assessment I read about it was Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s comment that it “was not that great overall because it simply delayed the adoption of a more systemic solution.”
In exchange for raising the debt ceiling by another $2.4 trillion,federal spending will be cut next year by all of $21 billion (that’s from projected increases,not an actual cut) and $42 billion (ditto) in 2013. It will be business as usual in Washington. Political gridlock has preserved the status quo of rapidly escalating federal spending and debt remains intact. After an unprecedentedly emotional rendition of what I term “the debt-ceiling dance,” the big spenders prevailed yet again.
Washington’s failure to forge a big deal over the debt-ceiling issue is turning out to be a very big deal for the rest of us. In a year when we are on target to pay more than $500 billion (close to 40 percent of personal income-tax revenues) in interest on the existing federal debt,our elected leaders have authorized $2.4 trillion in additional debt over the next year-and-a-half.
Anyone who thought that a debt-ceiling deal would reassure markets was sorely mistaken. Stocks cratered. Gold,which has been warning of serious political/economic/monetary malfunctions since its price was much lower (see here and here),has exploded to more than $1,800 per ounce,signifying a grave deterioration of conditions.
One outcome of the debt-ceiling agreement has been Standard &Poor’….
Read more.
An election for President and Commander in Chief of the Military must strive to be above reproach. Our public institutions must give the public confidence that a presidential candidate has complied with the election process that is prescribed by our Constitution and laws. It is only after a presidential candidate satisfies the rules of such a process that he/she can expect members of the public, regardless of their party affiliations, to give him/her the respect that the Office of President so much deserves.
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