MR. GREGORY: But the point of the stimulus was it would stop the unemployment picture from getting worse, right? Wasn't that the claim?
VICE PRES. BIDEN: And it has.
MR. GREGORY: It has?
VICE PRES. BIDEN: It's not getting worse.
MR. GREGORY: ... Dr. Romer from the White House, the assertion was that you could keep unemployment at 8 percent and then it would go down after that. In fact, it's now at 9.4 percent.
MR. GREGORY: But the, but this package was sold on the premise that it would in fact keep unemployment at 8 percent. It's exceeded that...
VICE PRES. BIDEN: It wasn't sold on that. It was sold on it would create...
MR. GREGORY: That's what the report said, Mr. Vice President.
VICE PRES. BIDEN: Everyone guessed wrong, at the time the estimate was made, about what the state of the economy was at the moment this was passed. Now, we're going to recalibrate this in terms of what we've inherited, what in fact is going on out there.
By Dennis Cauchon
USA TODAY
Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY analysis shows.
The 12% rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.
That's the biggest leap in the long-term burden on taxpayers since a Medicare prescription drug benefit was added in 2003.
The latest increase raises federal obligations to a record $546,668 per household in 2008, according to the USA TODAY analysis. That's quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined.
"We have a huge implicit mortgage on every household in America — except, unlike a real mortgage, it's not backed up by a house," says David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, the government's top auditor.
USA TODAY used federal data to compute all government liabilities, from Treasury bonds to Medicare to military pensions.
Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.
The numbers measure what's needed today — set aside in a lump sum, earning interest — to pay benefits that won't be covered by future taxes.
Congress can reduce or increase the burden by changing laws that determine taxes and benefits for programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., says exploding debt has focused attention on the government's financial challenges. "More and more, people are worried about our fiscal future," he says.
Key federal obligations:
•Social Security: It will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.
•Medicare. More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.
•Retirement programs. Congress has not set aside money to pay military and civil servant pensions or health care for retirees. These unfunded obligations have increased an average of $300 billion a year since 2003 and now stand at $5.3 trillion.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A rare March snow blanketed much of Alabama and winter storm warnings are in effect along the East Coast.
Scott Unger of the National Weather Service office in Birmingham says a winter storm warning for Alabama is in effect until 3 p.m. Sunday mostly for several northern and eastern counties — with much of the rest of the state under a winter storm advisory.
Unger says snow accumulations could reach up to five inches in some areas of Alabama.
The weather service says winter storm warnings are in effect from northern Georgia and the Carolinas through the Mid-Atlantic states into New England. Forecasters warn that eight to 14 inches of snow is possible in the Philadelphia area.
A nor'easter headed up the coast is expected to drop six or more inches of snow by Monday morning on most of southern New England, starting Sunday evening, forecasters said.
After a brief spell of milder weather, Old Man Winter is making a comeback. Boston is expected to see 6.6 inches of snow by 7 p.m. Monday. Some areas in the interior could get as much as a foot, according to the National Weather Service.
Where Is That Damned Global Warming ~ When You Need It???
Dear Arizona Taxpayer:
Join the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), allied pro-taxpayer organizations, and hundreds of activists for an Arizona Taxpayer Tea Party, this Friday, February 27, at noon at the Tempe Beach Park to protest (and stop) the tax increases proposed by big-spending politicians at the federal, state, and local levels. Wally the (Empty) Taxpayer Wallet will also be in attendance.
Two weeks ago, AFP delivered to Congress over 430,000 names of Americans who signed AFP’s NoStimulus.com petition. The liberals in Washington went ahead and passed the Spendulus package, but American taxpayers are now mobilized for the next fight.
And there are plenty of fights coming.
Obama, Pelosi and Reid are continuing the Bush-Paulson tradition of using your tax dollars to bail out people who got themselves into bad mortgages.
Gov. Jan Brewer and the majority in the Arizona Legislature have held firm thus far against raising taxes to fix the gigantic state deficit caused by over-spending. They are, however, taking heavy political flak from the spending lobbies and newspaper editors, and will need our help during the budget battles in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, cash-hungry local politicians are raising property tax levies.
Join us in sending a powerful message to the politicians, special interests, and the mainstream media by taking part in the Arizona Taxpayer Tea Party.
Our initial meetup will be at 11:45 a.m. at the Tempe Beach Park, west of the Mill Avenue Bridge. A parking lot is available next to the park, on Rio Salado Parkway.
Map:
Please let us know you will attend by sending an email to infoAZ@afphq.org.
18th-century attire welcome. Tar and feathers optional.
For Liberty,
Tom Jenney
Arizona Director
Americans for Prosperity
US President Barack Obama has used his first address to Congress to warn that more taxpayer money may be needed to bail out American banks.
As concerns over the health of US banks gripped markets, Mr Obama acknowledged a recent plan to shore up financial institutions choked with bad assets "will require significant resources from the federal government - and yes, probably more than we've already set aside."
The Republicans have been swift with their response in a televised rebuttal issued by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
"Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line and saddle future generations with debt,"
"Who amongst us would ask our children for a loan so we could spend money we do not have on things we do not need. That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did."
Obama ... you just don't get it!!!
Congressional Budget Office reports the actual figure is now closer to $3.27 trillion.
As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.
The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.
"The federal government's deficit is hemorrhaging at a pace which threatens the viability of the financial system," Williams added. "The popularly reported 2009 [deficit] will clearly exceed $2 trillion on a cash basis and that full amount has to be funded by Treasury borrowing.
"It's not likely this will happen without the Federal Reserve acting as lender of last resort for the Treasury by buying Treasury debt and monetizing the debt," he said.
"Monetizing the debt" is a term used to signify that the Federal Reserve will be required simply to print cash to meet the Treasury debt obligations, acting in this capacity only because the Treasury cannot sell the huge of amount debt elsewhere.
"Truthfully," Williams pointed out, "there is no Social Security 'lock-box.' There are no funds held in reserve today for Social Security and Medicare obligations that are earned each year. It's only a matter of time until the public realizes that the government is truly bankrupt and no taxes are being held in reserve to pay in the future the Social Security and Medicare benefits taxpayers are earning today.""Put simply, there is no way the government can possibly pay for the level of social welfare benefits the federal government has promised unless the government simply prints cash and debases the currency, which the government will increasingly be doing this year," Williams said, explaining in more detail why he feels the government is now in the process of monetizing the federal debt.
"Social Security and Medicare must be shown as liabilities on the federal balance sheet in the year they accrue according to GAAP accounting," Williams argues. "To do otherwise is irresponsible, nothing more than an attempt to hide the painful truth from the American public. The public has a right to know just how bad off the federal government budget deficit situation really is, especially since the situation is rapidly spinning out of control.
"The federal government is bankrupt," Williams told WND. "In a post-Enron world, if the federal government were a corporation such as General Motors, the president and senior Treasury officers would be in federal penitentiary."
Is too STUPID to live.
Hey Nancy ... there are only 300 MILLION people in the USA!!!
