What are the odds the world is going to change in the way we want, or think it will/should?
The way I see the current situation, the have-nots of the world really have nothing to lose, so we find ourselves in the current sitrep, playing policeman to the world.
I saw this last year, and I am not 100% sure it is 100% accurate, but it should give everyone pause.
Throughout the first 224 years (1776-2000) of our nation's history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions according to the U.S. Treasury Department. In the past four years alone (2001-2005), the Bush Administration has borrowed a staggering $1.05 trillion.
Then add this into the mix and you see the totality of the problem>
Less well known, the federal government's long-term liabilities and net commitments, such as those relating to Social Security and Medicare, have risen from just over $20 trillion in fiscal 2000 to more than $43 trillion in fiscal 2004, in large part because of the passage of the Medicare prescription drug bill in December, 2003. This translates into a burden of more than $150,000 per American and $350,000 per full-time worker, up from $72,000 and $165,000 in 2000, respectively. Those amounts are growing fast because of continuing deficits, our aging society's longer lifespans, slower workforce growth, and compounding interest costs. |
