SHTF? Director of Congressional Budget Office: Federal budget is on unsustainable path...

ok this is coming directly from the mouth of the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, what he's saying sounds pretty important

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/46f2d1456d80.jpg[/atsimg]

Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run. Although great uncertainty surrounds long-term fiscal projections, rising costs for health care and the aging of the population will cause federal spending to increase rapidly under any plausible scenario for current law. Unless revenues increase just as rapidly, the rise in spending will produce growing budget deficits. Large budget deficits would reduce national saving, leading to more borrowing from abroad and less domestic investment, which in turn would depress economic growth in the United States. Over time, accumulating debt would cause substantial harm to the economy. The following chart shows our projection of federal debt relative to GDP under the two scenarios we modeled.

Under current law, spending on Social Security is also projected to rise over time as a share of GDP, but much less sharply. CBO projects that Social Security spending will increase from less than 5 percent of GDP today to about 6 percent in 2035 and then roughly stabilize at that level. Meanwhile, as depicted below, government spending on all activities other than Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and interest on federal debt—a broad category that includes national defense and a wide variety of domestic programs—is projected to decline or stay roughly stable as a share of GDP in future decades.

The current recession and policy responses have little effect on long-term projections of noninterest spending and revenues. But CBO estimates that in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the federal government will record its largest budget deficits as a share of GDP since shortly after World War II. As a result of those deficits, federal debt held by the public will soar from 41 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2008 to 60 percent at the end of fiscal year 2010. This higher debt results in permanently higher spending to pay interest on that debt. Federal interest payments already amount to more than 1 percent of GDP; unless current law changes, that share would rise to 2.5 percent by 2020.

cboblog.cbo.gov...

He appears to be painting a bleak outlook indeed.


[edit on 16-7-2009 by warrenb]

Wow, this appears to be pretty important. It is .gov.....


I think many at ATS already know this. Something is coming.

Crash, currency change, communism.... something. I would say they will try for currency change, and try everything they can to prevent a crash.

'bout time somebody said that, don't you think, Warren? I think it's far beyond 'unsustainable'. Even without cap & trade's anticipated national kick in the pants, it really seems closer to 'terminal' to me.

We'll talk again around October, if we both still have the wherewithall to have internettage. I'm not really a gloom-n-doomer. See patterns.

I'd really, really like to be dead wrong.

Look what he said about what Congress healthcare would do to cost of healthcare.

One day after a Senate panel approved its version of the health care reform plan, the first committee to do so, CBO Director Doug Elmendorf gave a dose of bad medicine to a separate committee.

Asked by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., whether costs would be lowered -- also known as "bending the curve" -- Elmendorf responded: "The curve is being raised."

Subsidies to help uninsured people would raise federal health care spending, which is already growing at an unsustainable rate, Elmendorf explained at the hearing. The Medicare and Medicaid cuts that lawmakers have offered to pay for the coverage expansion aren't big enough to offset the cost trend, particularly in the long term, he said.

www.foxnews.com...

Unsustainable indeed

The problem is.... the guy posting this on his blog, is unfamiliar with the current environment/economy. He is used to old ways, old days. This is new, uncharted territory because we have never done it before.

He is old school, is what I am saying. There is an agenda, but it may not be stark and bad.

We are heading for something new. He will have to wait and see, like the rest of us. But I doubt Obama and the current administration is intentionally trying to run us into the ground for population control or whatever else you guys claim they are trying to do.

New things ahead. This is not relevant.

reply to post by jam321


You are complaining about the cost..... But this is so necessary. There are uninsured CHILDREN. And PEOPLE that are not wealthy are not covered...

It is about time we started to care about the 'undesirables.' A new way is coming, to provide for every American.

I think people need to start looking out for others, personally. We are all in this together.

reply to post by LeeannaHolland


I wondered about a month ago........... briefly.......... but no, I don't believe President Obama's intention is to run the country into the ground. I hope his health care plan works. I really do.

The sorrowful state of the economy is not all his fault. He inherited a mess, IMO. I don't think that what has been done thus far is the right track. Regrettfully, I think the right track is to let big business fail, and eventually with a Roosevelt-like "new deal", perhaps recover sooner than later.

We'll see. I wish the U.S. the best; we're all linked, like it or not.

reply to post by argentus

He inherited a mess, IMO.

Yes, he did, but he was well aware of the mess he was inheriting. Remember how he kept stumping that he had the best plan to fix the economy.

Inherited or not, it is on his plate now.

Well, S&F to WarrenB for this. Good post.

I think that we have already passed the point of no return. I think we probably passed that point sometime during the GB II administration or Clinton administration. Let's ride the train down and work together to get out of the remnants.

reply to post by jam321


Agree.

There has always been a wealth of hopeful rhetoric in advance of running for the office of President. This is the Show, time to produce, no question; the time to perfect the curveball was before the game.

reply to post by LeeannaHolland

There are uninsured CHILDREN. And PEOPLE that are not wealthy are not covered...

Indeed there are but I do not want to pay for them to get coverage plan and simple I can barely make it as it is and to add more taxes on top of what I pay is asking too much.
I am sorry if it sounds cold hearted of me however I simply can’t afford to spend more for something I don't get nor want and the American people should not want this type of reform ether.
it is irresponsible of the government to spend like this 1 trillion$ for this and why not another trillion for that to and than Oh hey this needs fixed so lets spend more money we don't have we will just up taxes some more, make the people pay it's not our money.

Sad.

Great find, star and flag...

And about the news...

F*CK!

reply to post by SPC_D


I will agree, a trillion is a lot to spend. But at the same time, the way they been spending... a trillion USED to look a lot more impressive to me. Now when I hear trillion on the news, I don't even blink. It's like it's a tiny amount now.
Perhaps we have already entered massive inflation and it just hasn't been told to us yet.

[edit on 16-7-2009 by LostNemesis]

reply to post by LostNemesis


I will not retract what I said I stand by my thoughts and words all thoe I am not so eloquent when it comes to the way I type or talk.
However there are in many states programs to provide health care for those who can not afford it like for instance OHP (Oregon health plan) and I fully support these in fact a number of my friends are doctors MD. and volunteer there time at free clinics to further this goal and they travel to homeless shelters and provide free of cost health care.
So than why do we need a government plan and why do I need to pay for it when I do not nor will I ever use it.


I took out a word made my post sound hostile and it was not intended that way sorry LostNemesis.



[edit on 16-7-2009 by SPC_D]

Originally posted by warrenb
He appears to be painting a bleak outlook indeed.

(with a disappointing shiver and sniffling whine in my voice: ) But .. but .. but .. but Savior Obama said everything was going to be getting better now, and he's not a liar liar, is he? In fact, I think I heard him say we can even afford government subsidized health care now. Hey, I want to live to be 120, and with that spiffy new government provided health care, I should be able to get a spiffy new government provided heart every 5 years, a new shiny new liver every 3 years, and a new colon transplant ever two years (them government parts still come with a warranty, right?).

Say, I have an idea. (shifting to strong sarcasm now: ) Lets enact a whole bunch of new entitlements and benefits for ourselves now while we have the chance, make them all law, and then get our descendants to pay for it all. Suckers, we'll enslave them all and make them take care of us until we're 150 years old. Free health care, free retirement income, a free place to live, free food, free cable TV too, right? RIGHT? Come on, lets party hardy today, and make our grandchildren pay for our needy needs and wanty wants for the next 100 years. Yippee, Savior Obama has come to save the day, by enslaving our grandchild to pay for our party today. Bless that gangsta thief Obama, I can feel his hands in my pockets already. Whoa, watch it dude, that wasn't a roll of quarters there.

[edit on 16-7-2009 by Divinorumus]

If socialized medicine is so great why are people in Canada and England coming to the US to get real treatment.

I live in Canada, I have first hand experience with gov't run health care. It is not the way to go, everyone gets equally crappy care. Except that it's not free. There are service fees, prescription fees and specialist fees. As time goes on we pay more and get less. I have a health plan now to cover all the things not covered by gov't medicine. Our doctors flee to other countries and we are stuck with doctors with poor skills fleeing 3rd world countries.

This is a "duh" moment. To quote Mencia, "Dee dee dee!"

We cannot sustain this.

People think we can give better lives to everyone. It just won't happen. The best we can do is give another extra bowl of rice to someone, but we will never be able to lift everyone into a land of milk and honey.

It's not a matter of dollars. It's a matter of power. And the haves will never give this up.

If the elite live in a mud hut, the rest will be seeking shelter under a tree.

It is the way it is.

My wife has this wonderful idea that all humanity would all have what was needed with no money. I love this woman. And I love her ideas. But I don't see it happening. She works and gives her money away to those that need it. It's a good ideal. But she couldn't do this if I didn't have the income to support her and me and the kids and grandkids. She does make a difference it other people's lives. I just hope that after I am dead, she can continue on with her vision. And I hope all this karma comes back to her. She deserves it.

S & F!

This graph reminds me of when Glenn Beck had a graph about the economy, a while ago.

Seems eerily similar.

We all know that greed, and corporatism put us in this place. Period. There is NO WAY OUT! Oh wait that also spells NWO.

It's very interesting that the mantra in that blog is the phrase "under current law"... so you know, it seems as if there is a theme in government right now that Congress must enact some major changes in how this country operates and yeah, we on ATS have been seeing this coming for a long, long time.

Something major must be done. Seems to me that some hybrid of socialism and capitalism is on the way but how it will be structured is anybody's guess. The ever widening gap between rich and poor has hurt the country, all the rip offs and price gouging in all consumer business especially health care and insurance, all the mess inherited from Bush, stupid Iraq and Afghan wars that are going to gain our country nothing, zip, nada.

I wish Obama will get with Congressional leaders and have some emergency meetings and just set all the partisan nonsense aside and just look with open minds how to change anything and everything.

The average Joe in this country needs some relief from the pressures of this society. I don't know what form that relief would take but they have to start working on it.

America is going to collapse under the weight of decades of greed, the moronic dismantling of our manufacturing base, and a lot of other bad moves of the past 50 years... unless something big and different is put forward.

Message to the current administration... and especially the Congress...

THINK BIG AND ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

I am always slightly confused when folks on this board play into the partisan political blame game of who sunk the economy. The president is merely the hired help who is employed by the puppet masters behind/owners of the "Federal" Reserve. They change the team in office (dem/repub) every few years to satiate the slathering masses who are looking for something different. Although the window dressing changes from admin to admin the agenda continues.

Now lemme see here... The population is too expensive to take care of, social security is broke, medicare is broke, medicaid is broke. How could that be fixed? Perhaps if a large portion of the population were to "go away"?