U.S. Is Bankrupt

U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It: Laurence Kotlikoff

Let's get real. The U.S. is bankrupt. Neither spending more nor taxing less will help the country pay its bills.

What it can and must do is radically simplify its tax, health-care, retirement and financial systems, each of which is a complete mess. ...

... "closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 percent of U.S. GDP."

Double Our Taxes

Based on the CBO's data, I calculate a fiscal gap of $202 trillion, which is more than 15 times the official debt. ...

This is what happens when you run a massive Ponzi scheme for six decades straight ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-11/u-s-is-bankrupt-and-we-don-t-even-kn...

A Program for Monetary Reform
http://home.comcast.net/~zthustra/pdf/a_program_for_monetary_reform.pdf

Presenting the American Monetary Act (as of July 18,2009)
http://www.monetary.org/32pageexplanation.pdf

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• american
• monetary
• act
• reform
• us
• bankrupt

[cnxtrans]

ahh. black and white is in color now...

[zthustra]

@cnxtrans

I got a new webcam! Hooray for me! Thanks for noticing.

[johnycannuk]

More taxes will stifle business and thus reduce the income from those taxes...

Mr. Kotikoff has obviously never read any Bastiat... or Henry Hazlitt...

The economic ignorance of some economists (yes Paul Krugman, we are looking at you...) is frighten me.

Great video...monetary reform and getting off debt based money is a brilliant idea.

[zthustra]

@johnycannuk

I don't think Laurence Kotlikoff was suggesting that we should tax more, but rather reporting that the IMF wanted us to do so.

My take on Kotlikoff came in the second paragraph where he suggested that we need to "radically simplify" our "financial systems". I think he is looking at the monetary sytem, banking and the financial service sector as the problems that need correcting.

I could be wrong though, he might be pushing the austerity panic button.

[kingofnothing26]

Thats why i dont vote

[zthustra]

@kingofnothing26

I don't vote for anyone I don't feel good about. I tend to vote third-party. I also tend to put ballots in the box where I vote for no candidate for most offices. It is as close as I can get to voting for "none of the above". I certainly don't waste my votes on Demopublicans and Republicrats. I would vote for a Dennis Kucinich or a Ron Paul but wouldn't cross the street to spit on most of the rest of them, let alone vote for any of them.

[VolcanicPenguin]

@mambuduomally

That's Patrioism for ya baby. ;]

[VolcanicPenguin]

@zthustra

I see, cool. :] I feel basically the same way, or rather, I think Fresco's vision could happen eventually, centuries from now. I have sort of a "aim for the stars and you might reach the treetops" view of it.

[mambuduomally]

america needs to look at the way scandinavian countries run. better standard of living, better facilities and benefits for their citizens.

unfortunately america seems to be extremely stubborn and will never do anything anybody else's way even if its infinitely better

[Rizky06]

The Debt based monetary system is a conveyorbelt that brings the real tangible wealth and power to the top 1-5%

[zthustra]

@VolcanicPenguin

Very familiar. Jacque Fresco is a genius and I could listen to him all day. IMO, his vision of the world is never going to happen and I hate to say that because it is a beautiful vision. The Zietgeist movies are VERY interesting and informative. I do have a few issues with them, but it isn't worth debating.

[1mrgrimm]

lol nice vid like alway wow i too feel sorry for the 99.9% of the ppl who dont have a damn clue of whatz really goning on