A while ago a friend introduced me to the message of a guy named David Walker. At the time I listened, found what he had to say shocking, but didn't react much beyond this. Fast forward to today and now I hear and see many pundits preaching a variation of what Mr. Walker has been saying all along.
Whats truly scary is that Walker’s message came to us before this economic meltdown and massive monetary infusion by governments.
David Walker, former comptroller general of the U.S., The U.S. Government's accountability office (GAO) which audits the government's books, totaled up the U.S. government's income, liabilities and future obligations. He concluded the numbers don't add up.
78 million baby boomers just entering in to retirement, over the next twenty years, which means they are pensioners, eligible for social benefits and medical dependants of the U.S. taxpayer.
The two biggest future financial burdens of the U.S.: health care and social security benefits. But, by and large, the health care problem is the killer. It is five times greater than the social security problem. Why? Because people keep living longer and medical costs keep rising.
“The U.S. has spent, promised and borrowed itself in to a hole that it will be unable to climb out of unless it acts now."
"The most serious threat to the USA is not someone hiding in a cave, but its own fiscal irresponsibility. Its not an immediate problem, so people don’t see it in their face. It is a fiscal cancer growing within us."
"If nothing changes, and no action is taken, the U.S. government won't be able to do much more than pay interest on the mounting debt. It won't have money left for anything else…national defense, homeland security, education…you name it. The system is unsustainable. If not dealt with, it could bankrupt America."
Fed Chair Dr. Ben Bernanke validated Walkers take: “Economic growth alone is unlikely to solve the nations pending fiscal problems.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxoP_9W6FC8&feature=related
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1191052938&play=1
Saverio Manzo
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