** Off Thread, sort of **
Skeeter, and others interested in social security. Interesting report just released by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) on social security. Warning: the report is 81 pages long, and you need Acrobat viewer.
One fabulous quote from the report, that is particularly illuminating:
"For the federal budget, stock investing would have the immediate effect of increasing the reported unified deficit or decreasing any reported unified surplus because, under current budget scoring rules, stock purchases would be treated as outlays. Any money used to purchase stocks would no longer be invested in Treasury securities, reducing the Treasury's available cash and more clearly revealing the underlying financial condition of the rest of the government. If after accounting for this effect the federal government were in a deficit, the Treasury would need to borrow from the public to replace cash used to buy stocks unless offsetting spending or revenue actions were taken."
Let me repeat that..."more clearly revealing the underlying financial condition of the rest of the government..."
How do ya' like 'dem apples? I realize this in nothing really new, but it's humbling to see it in print. I wonder if any politician would venture into this territory ;-)
Nonetheless, here is the title and site:
Social Security Financing: Implications of Government Stock
Investing for the Trust Fund, the Federal Budget, and the
Economy. AIMD/HEHS-98-74. April 22, 1998.
gao.gov
You can also order a copy via mail, at the GAO web page:
gao.gov
Regards...Bill S |
