Re: Floating Anvil
Posted: 27 Feb 2020, 19:17
When the federal budget called for using the Social Security reserve fund as collateral for other debts it incurred, congress was avoiding the inevitable. As you say, there was at that time more debt than income to cover it and the SS reserve fund was just laying around idle. Using that fund against it's original intent was a way to contain the national debt. Back then both political parties were against increasing debt. In that I don't know the specifics of how that borrowed money was spent, I can't say with certainty that nobody benefited from it. Congressional leadership thought it was better to tap SS reserves than to go bankrupt. They were probably right on that count, but that didn't stop them from increasing overall spending and thus guaranteed greater future debt. My memory on this topic is vague, but I think it all happened when we were at war. The wars that we were financing along the way didn't help the situation regardless.
There still are viable solutions for us to stay solvent. Part of it would be to demand a balanced budget. Then, perhaps, a review of existing entitlements would reveal some that could be sunset. Graft and corruption account for a lot of the debt we see these days, and that's where the average citizen can help vote the bastards out of office. Much of this country's wealth is being transferred to American oligarchs who live at the top 1% of the population. They love the tax cuts, but a funny thing happened along the way. The national debt skyrocketed to historic highs. I agree with you that it can only go on for a defined period of time. When there is no money left to run the country, that 1% will be living somewhere else and enjoying the good life. The rest of us will be wondering what happened. The shame of it all is that it's predictable.
There still are viable solutions for us to stay solvent. Part of it would be to demand a balanced budget. Then, perhaps, a review of existing entitlements would reveal some that could be sunset. Graft and corruption account for a lot of the debt we see these days, and that's where the average citizen can help vote the bastards out of office. Much of this country's wealth is being transferred to American oligarchs who live at the top 1% of the population. They love the tax cuts, but a funny thing happened along the way. The national debt skyrocketed to historic highs. I agree with you that it can only go on for a defined period of time. When there is no money left to run the country, that 1% will be living somewhere else and enjoying the good life. The rest of us will be wondering what happened. The shame of it all is that it's predictable.