CBO Director: Trillion-Dollar Deficits Risk 'Fiscal Crisis' in U.S

[Sarge]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/27/cbo-director-trillion-dollar-deficits-risk-fiscal-crisis/


The top numbers cruncher for Congress warned Thursday that the federal government increasingly risks sending the country into a "fiscal crisis," projecting that unless cuts are made, within a decade the national debt could reach nearly 100 percent of all annual economic activity.

That's like having $50,000 in debt on a $50,000-a-year salary.

Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf, on the heels of a report pegging the 2011 budget deficit at a record $1.5 trillion, testified before the Senate Budget Committee on the risks of inaction. He said cumulative deficits over the next 10 years could run anywhere from $7 trillion to $12 trillion.

 

[Goaldeje]

See? This is a thread worthy of debate! Where would you cut?

 

[Sarge]

See? This is a thread worthy of debate! Where would you cut?

The Hawaiian Department of Health

 

[Goaldeje]

:roflmao:

Nice. How about raising the retirement age?
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[Elephant]

Can't say I disagree with this.

http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2011/01/24/making-the-big-cuts/

 

[Sarge]

There are plenty of places to cut. I thought Obama was supposed to go through the Federal Budget "line by line"? What a crock of ****

The Federal workforce needs to be looked at HARD. There are people where I work that LITERALLY do NOTHING all day but gab. But you say something to them and it's EEO city because of the race and gender

EEO divisions need to be cut out of the Federal workforce, as well as Civil Rights Offices. There are enough laws on the books to protect people nowadays

Starting with all new hires, I'd tell them that the government will no long match TSP funds (TSP is basically a 401K). I'd start an attrition program and retire everyone over 40 years in the government. I'd start a phased program to to give early retirements to anyone that would take them. A buyout basically. Even if someone like me with 5 years of Federal time wanted to retire, I'd give it to them, at reduced benefit rates of course. New Federal hires over say GS 11 would pay higher premiums on health care as well.

Travel money would be significantly reduced. There are some things you have to travel for, but otherwise they have this thing called "Go to Meeting". Works great. A program named "GovTrip" would be gone. I just paid $600 for a ticket the other day that I saw for $320 on the internet. Ridiculous

As Stossel said, The Dept of Education would be gone. We aren't getting our monies worth out of it. The money from the savings would go to states Dept of Education to do with as they see fit. Farm subsidies would get a hard look. We can't afford to let our farmers go out of business, but money to the big corporate farmers would come under some serious scrutiny.

Defense acquisitions would get a hard look. No longer would contracts be written that make the government incur the costs of overruns. You make a bid for something and go over, YOU pay for it. There are sooo many areas where the government just flat out is bloated or just plain wastes money.

And of course all of the above is piddly **** in the big picture. The retirement age of SS is going to HAVE to be raised to at least 70. I believe we need to phase people out of that program entirely. Obviously we need to fund the program for people that are retiring in the near future, but we need to condition the younger generation to not rely on it or even to think it will be around by the time they retire. Medicare COSTS need to be addressed, which means giving a good hard look at insurance companies, who are making out like bandits. Get insurance companies on board with costs reductions and let insurance be sold anywhere in the US, costs will start to go down

I could go on and on. Maybe I'll get back to this during the first weekend with no football

 

[fansince62]

There are plenty of places to cut. I thought Obama was supposed to go through the Federal Budget "line by line"? What a crock of ****

The Federal workforce needs to be looked at HARD. There are people where I work that LITERALLY do NOTHING all day but gab. But you say something to them and it's EEO city because of the race and gender

EEO divisions need to be cut out of the Federal workforce, as well as Civil Rights Offices. There are enough laws on the books to protect people nowadays

Starting with all new hires, I'd tell them that the government will no long match TSP funds (TSP is basically a 401K). I'd start an attrition program and retire everyone over 40 years in the government. I'd start a phased program to to give early retirements to anyone that would take them. A buyout basically. Even if someone like me with 5 years of Federal time wanted to retire, I'd give it to them, at reduced benefit rates of course. New Federal hires over say GS 11 would pay higher premiums on health care as well.

Travel money would be significantly reduced. There are some things you have to travel for, but otherwise they have this thing called "Go to Meeting". Works great. A program named "GovTrip" would be gone. I just paid $600 for a ticket the other day that I saw for $320 on the internet. Ridiculous

As Stossel said, The Dept of Education would be gone. We aren't getting our monies worth out of it. The money from the savings would go to states Dept of Education to do with as they see fit. Farm subsidies would get a hard look. We can't afford to let our farmers go out of business, but money to the big corporate farmers would come under some serious scrutiny.

Defense acquisitions would get a hard look. No longer would contracts be written that make the government incur the costs of overruns. You make a bid for something and go over, YOU pay for it. There are sooo many areas where the government just flat out is bloated or just plain wastes money.

And of course all of the above is piddly **** in the big picture. The retirement age of SS is going to HAVE to be raised to at least 70. I believe we need to phase people out of that program entirely. Obviously we need to fund the program for people that are retiring in the near future, but we need to condition the younger generation to not rely on it or even to think it will be around by the time they retire. Medicare COSTS need to be addressed, which means giving a good hard look at insurance companies, who are making out like bandits. Get insurance companies on board with costs reductions and let insurance be sold anywhere in the US, costs will start to go down

I could go on and on. Maybe I'll get back to this during the first weekend with no football

1) and medicare entitlement cuts

2) and a cut in the EPA budget by...oh....half?

3) and a cut in DOE, Labor....etc....budgets?

4) NPR? let Soros pick up the part he isn't funding.

5) Cut vertically in defense...but Sarge...this is a two way street....contracts often overrun cuz gov't changes the requirements.

6) Start over with health care and evolve through steps where there is consensus (e.g., portable policies, capped malpractice awards, etc)

7) like the Prez says.....reduce regulation (not = eliminate regulation)

8) get out of Afghanistan.

9) ship GITMO prisoners to Egypt or Saudi Arabia

10) get rid of the worthless Dept of Education

11) banish the Cowboys. make them "Cuba's Team".

 

[Goaldeje]

Agree with a lot. Here's the problem i have with SS. I have been paying for a while now, and under your plan, I'm hearing I am SOL. So do I get to stop paying SS tax immediately? Do i get some sort of credit for all the years i have put into it? It's easy for the older generation like my parents to say, well, it just wont be around when you need it, better get used to that idea, which my parents have happily said to me. That may be true, but it sucks ass, you know? I get to pay for mom and dad's retirement, but when i retire, I'm on my own? Now if i get some sort of credit or refund and stop paying taxes immediately for SS, then we can talk.

Agree completely with Dept of Education, that place is a joke, and completely useless. Having said that, there are a lot of jobs you just eliminated, that's more people on unemployment, more burden to that system.

The problem with cutting retirement benefits is that one of the main reasons take federal jobs, along with job security. Now you're eliminating two key components for those people, wch simply increases the allure of private sector jobs. Which is fine, given that we both want to reduce government, but the problem is that the govt will be increasingly manned by morons (moreso than now, shocking i know) who couldn't get a job in the private sector. That's not a good thing either.

I think we could move gradually toward some of your ideas Sarge, just not overnight. It needs to be a little slower...
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[fansince62]

Agree with a lot. Here's the problem i have with SS. I have been paying for a while now, and under your plan, I'm hearing I am SOL. So do I get to stop paying SS tax immediately? Do i get some sort of credit for all the years i have put into it? It's easy for the older generation like my parents to say, well, it just wont be around when you need it, better get used to that idea, which my parents have happily said to me. That may be true, but it sucks ass, you know? I get to pay for mom and dad's retirement, but when i retire, I'm on my own? Now if i get some sort of credit or refund and stop paying taxes immediately for SS, then we can talk.

Agree completely with Dept of Education, that place is a joke, and completely useless. Having said that, there are a lot of jobs you just eliminated, that's more people on unemployment, more burden to that system.

The problem with cutting retirement benefits is that one of the main reasons take federal jobs, along with job security. Now you're eliminating two key components for those people, wch simply increases the allure of private sector jobs. Which is fine, given that we both want to reduce government, but the problem is that the govt will be increasingly manned by morons (moreso than now, shocking i know) who couldn't get a job in the private sector. That's not a good thing either.

I think we could move gradually toward some of your ideas Sarge, just not overnight. It needs to be a little slower...
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I have the same attitude about SS. really torks me off. but.....the die was cast on that one when the political classes kept robbing the future to pay off the present. the alternative is higher taxes - in effect you get to pay twice for less! and I'm even less onboard with that one.

 

[Sarge]

We're all probably going to get the screw job on SS. I'm not plannig on getting it myself and save accordingly. The ponzi scheme is up, and we have more people taking than contributing. Essentially we're all going ot have to pay the tax and get nothing in return. Kinda like we do now for nearly everything else

 

[fansince62]

We're all probably going to get the screw job on SS. I'm not plannig on getting it myself and save accordingly. The ponzi scheme is up, and we have more people taking than contributing. Essentially we're all going ot have to pay the tax and get nothing in return. Kinda like we do now for nearly everything else

you know...Sen Reid was interviewed the other day and stated no one should be worried about SS....he stated it was solvent for another 40 years. 2027 (the current prediction) isn't 40 years away. What planet is this guy living on? Is this just being misinformed or intentional lying?

 

[Sarge]

Reid is almost as big an idiot as Joe Bite Me. Almost