Archive for the ‘U.S. Federal Government’ Category
Seething U.S. Journalists Angered About Taking Commercial Flights To Cover Secretary Tillerson in Asia…
Posted: March 16, 2017 in President Trump, U.S. Federal GovernmentTags: Secretary of State, Secretary Rex Tillerson
U.S. Senate approves bill to raise debt ceiling to $17.2 Trillion and continue debt spending like ‘there is no tomorrow’
Posted: February 14, 2014 in American Debt Crisis, Economy, Fiscal Cliff, President Obama, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. LegislatureTags: American Debt Crisis, ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL, Captain Rick, Democrat, Kicking the Debt Can, Republican, U.S Spending, U.S. Congress, U.S. Debt Ceiling, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Economy, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Legislature
Captain Rick: The U.S. Senate gave its approval to raise the nation’s debt ceiling to $17.2 Trillion, allowing the government to continue spending like ‘drunkards’ by borrowing more money to pay its bills through March 2015.
The politically charged issue cleared the chamber 55-43 after winning House approval Tuesday. The measure now goes to ‘debt loving’ President Barack Obama for his guaranteed signature. Approval removes the prospect of another protracted political fight over fiscal policy as Democrats and Republicans gear up for November’s midterm elections. How politically convenient is this?
It was a ‘clean’ bill…meaning there were no strings attached that would mandate new spending cuts. It gives approval to continue spending like ‘there is no tomorrow’. Our representatives in DC have kicked America’s ‘debt can’ down the road again for the N’th time. How much farther can it be kicked? I suspect…not much.
I wonder with dismay as to how Americans can stand for this total disregard of fiscal common sense? How can Americans continue to elect such fiscally reckless representatives to the U.S. Legislature. I see this tragic event bringing America one step closer to the edge of the real ‘fiscal cliff’. At the bottom…I envision America as a ‘third world country.’
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Obama’s 2014 State of the Union … a new low
Posted: January 30, 2014 in America, American Debt Crisis, Economy, Obamacare, President Obama, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, United StatesTags: America, ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL, Captain Rick, Obamacare, President Obama, State of the Union, U.S Spending, U.S. Budget, U.S. Debt, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. deficit
Captain Rick: Obama’s 2014 ‘State of the Union struck a new low among my unbroken record of watching every one since 1960. Obama’s meaningless hype, wishful thinking and the constant bobbing of his head from side to side to view the teleprompters…looking like he was watching a tennis match…almost hypnotized me. It was a nice try on his part…but it just put me to sleep.
Credits: Thanks Ken of California for contributing the above graphic
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‘Web Sites for Dummies’ … now in hand of HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius to guide her in fixing the rollout fiasco of Healthcare.gov
Posted: November 7, 2013 in Medicaid, Obamacare, U.S. Federal GovernmentTags: Affordable Care Act, ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL, Captain Rick, Federal Government, Health care, Medicaid Expansion, Obamacare, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Federal Government
Captain Rick: The rollout of the ObamaCare website ‘Healthcare.gov’ was a fiasco. The look on the face of Secretary Sebelius as she receives a a copy of ‘Web Sites for Dummies’ is ‘priceless’ and speaks for itself.
The book was a gift from GOP Tennessee Senator Brian Kelsey, an opponent of ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, who was on hand when Sebelius visited a Memphis library on November 4, 2013 to promote the new national health plan. When Kelsey sprung the gift on her, the embattled HHS secretary didn’t look particularly grateful, as revealed in a photo snapped by the Memphis Daily News.
At the event, Sibelius continued her apology tour for the botched site – while vowing to fix it.
The do-it-yourself guide, which goes for about $25 on Amazon, bills itself as “a step-by-step guide for creating your own web sites.”
According to estimates, the feds have spent $630 million on information technology for the creation and rollout of Healthcare.gov, which has been beset with problems and shut down repeatedly.
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U.S. Government Shutdown looming again on October 1, 2013 … Likelihood it will: 99%
Posted: September 27, 2013 in American Debt Crisis, Economy, Fiscal Cliff, Obamacare, President Obama, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Government Shutdown, U.S. LegislatureTags: America, American Debt Crisis, ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL, Captain Rick, Debt Ceiling, deficit spending, Democrat, Economy, Federal Government, Federal spending, Fiscal Cliff, GDP, government spending, Gross National Product, National debt, Obamacare, President Obama, Republican, Sequester, Spending cuts, U.S Spending, U.S. Congress, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. deficit, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Government Shutdown, U.S. Legislature
Captain Rick: A shutdown of the U.S. Government will most likely begin on October 1, 2013, the beginning of the new fiscal year. There is currently no budget agreement to fund the U.S. Government for the coming year. The Democrat led Senate and the the Republican led House are in a stalemate that does not appear likely will be rectified by October 1. The real showdown will come on or before October 17, when the U.S. Government reaches the debt ceiling of $16.699 trillion and will begin defaulting on its financial obligations, an event that has never before occurred.
The last threat of shutdown occurred on March 27, 2013. It was averted by an agreement to allow Sequester spending cut’s (part of the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ legislation that became effective on January 1, 2013) to gain some flexibility regarding where to make spending cuts, in lieu of the mandatory across the board cuts.
My goal is to help increase understanding of the extremely important events that are unfolding…
U.S. Government Shutdown … What will happen? Non essential elements of the government will begin shutting down. These are things like National Parks and Monuments and the federal employees and contractors that support them. The employees would be furloughed. Contractors would have their payments delayed. At no time in the past has a shutdown lasted for more than a month. In every case the contractors eventually got paid and the furloughed employees were awarded back pay, so in essence, they received a nice long paid vacation, compliments of the U.S. taxpayers. In every previous case of shutdown, it ended up costing tax payers more than if the government had remained open.
What does a shutdown accomplish? Nothing, except increased cost. It is however, a necessary reminder that our government needs spending to remain less than revenue. In reality the U.S. has been spending far more than it receives in revenue, especially in recent years.
U.S annual spending: $3.52 trillion
U.S. annual revenue: $2.69 trillion
U.S. annual deficit: $825 billion
Total U.S. National debt: $16.95 trillion
U.S. GDP: $15.91 trillion (U.S. Debt exceeds GDP…a wake up call to get the fiscal house in order…or prepare for economic destruction)
Who is to blame? First and foremost to blame is President Obama. He is our president, elected to lead our nation in a positive direction…yet he has demonstrated the most reckless spending in American history, especially with his Fed’s continuation of pumping $85 billion per month of ‘Quantitative Easing’ debt dollars into the American Economy (adding directly to the U.S. National Debt) in an effort to make an economically sick nation look just anemic. It is all ‘smoke and mirrors’ that is doing nothing more than increasing America’s debt at an astronomic expense and burden to future generations. Second to blame is the entire U.S. Legislature, including the Senate and House, Republicans and Democrats. None of them impress me as having the intelligence or ability to agree on a plan to withdraw America from its insatiable addiction for debt spending far beyond its revenue. I believe most of them have their ‘pockets’ fed by ‘big money’.
Obama passes blame and creates fear in news conference: Today I listened to President Obama speak in a news conference casting fear upon Americans by placing blame for his reckless spending on the shoulders of the U.S. House:
“If Congress chooses not to pass a budget by Monday, the end of the fiscal year, they will shut down the government along with many vital services that the American people depend on,” The Senate “acted responsibly” by passing its bill, and “now it’s up to the Republicans in the House of Representatives to do the same.”
He asked Republicans “to think about who you’re hurting” by letting the government shut down, and said “it would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction.”
He also made clear that a government shutdown wouldn’t stop the Affordable Care Act from being implemented. “That’s not going to happen. More than 100 million Americans currently already have new benefits and protections under the law. On Tuesday, about 40 million more Americans will be able to finally buy quality affordable health care just like anybody else.”
Reality Check. What really happened: This was one of the most disgusting, fear-causing set of statements I have heard President Obama make recently. What really happened is that the House sent a bill to the Senate that included defunding Obamacare (a program with an enormous cost that America can not afford at this time of financial crisis). The Senate revised the bill to remove the Obamacare defunding and sent it back to the House. In opposition to Obama’s statement, I believe the Senate did not act responsibly. If the House does not pass the bill on Monday (which it should not), it will not be the House that causes the shutdown as Obama warns. It will be the result of the failure of the President and the entire U.S. Legislature combined. Obama said that a shutdown will stop many vital services. This is not true, unless the shutdown lasted for a long period of time…or Obama chooses to focus on certain entities for political gain. Obama’s scare tactics of asking Republicans to ‘think of who they are hurting’ by the government shutdown are absolutely despicable. President Obama should ask himself who he is hurting by spreading such fear and lies. This shutdown does throw a ‘wrench’ into Obamas ‘gears’ to make the economy look ok, when it is really sucking badly. Obama is fixated on Obamacare, a mark he hopes the world will remember him by. He will push it, even if it contributes to the financial destruction of America. In reality, 40 million Americans are going to find out that ‘affordable health care’ is not really affordable and the majority of them will pay (or evade) the penalty to avoid it. The resultant unexpected, massive costs will lie firmly on the backs of American tax payers and add directly to the U.S. national debt. I have this on my list of future blog reports. It sounds to me like Obama is running scared and is choosing to hide his fear by casting false fear on Americans. That scares me. Does it scare you?
View the comments (below) for ongoing updates of important happenings at the U.S. Capitol concerning this unfolding story.
I have done my very best to chronicle the events that contributed to this first U.S. government shutdown in nearly 18 years…as displayed in my comment updates below. This report could be among the best chronicles on the web. I am honored that Google and other search engines have picked up on this report. The views for this report have exceeded those of all other ANJ reports by a factor of 10X+. The view stats from the past week far surpass any previous week. It tells me that there are lots of people that are tuning into this blog post to get the real facts…not the hype found on virtually all web news sites and especially TV news casts.
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Bond Giant PIMCO’s Bill Gross tells the Fed: ‘Quantitative Easing’ is not working … it’s like a “leukemia patient on New Age Chemo”
Posted: June 4, 2013 in Europe, Fed Financial Policy, Japan, Stock & Bond Market, U.K., U.S. Federal Government, United StatesTags: Abenomics, atridim, Ben Bernanke, Captain Rick, Central Banks, ECB, Economic Growth, Economy, EU, Europe, European Central Bank, European Union, Eurozone, Fed, Federal Government, Federal Reserve, Federal spending, Financial Policy, GDP, Gross National Product, investing, Japan, PIMCO's Bill Gross, QE, Quantitative Easing, Stock & Bond Market, U.K., U.S., U.S. Federal Government, United States
Captain Rick: PIMCO’s Bill Gross says that ultra low interest rate policies and ongoing bond buying programs like ‘Quantitative Easing’ around the world aren’t working. Bill refers to it as a global financial system that is "beginning to resemble a leukemia patient with New Age chemotherapy, desperately attempting to cure an economy that requires structural as opposed monetary solutions." He is challenging the Federal Reserve and other central banks to become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Bill Gross, founder and co-chief investment officer of bond giant PIMCO. He is often called the world’s ‘bond king’.
I recognize Bill as one of the worlds most intelligent minds concerning everything related to bonds. Bonds help make our world grow. Bonds are the life blood of our cities, states and countries of our world.
Bill writes a monthly ‘Investment Outlook’ news letter. His June report is entitled “Wounded Heart”, a nod to Bonnie Raitt’s 2002 tune. It is one of his finest. I will do my best to sum up his eloquent words of wisdom for the U.S. and other countries including Japan, England and Europe who are practicing ‘Quantitative Easing’ fiscal programs that are not working.
Excerpts from Bills “Wounded Heart” report:
“While the global central banks’ policies have stabilized economies, they haven’t succeeded in returning them to old normal growth rates”
"There comes a point when no matter how much blood is being pumped through the system as it is now, with zero-based policy rates and global quantitative easing programs, that the blood itself may become anemic, oxygen-starved, or even leukemic, with white blood cells destroying more productive red cell counterparts"
And to Fed chief Ben Bernanke’s claims that once economic growth has been restored to normal levels, financial markets can also return to normal interest rates and returns, Gross has a few stern words:
"Well it’s been five years Mr. Chairman and the real economy has not once over a 12-month period of time grown faster than 2.5%"
"Perhaps, in addition to a fiscally confused Washington, it’s your policies that may be now part of the problem rather than the solution."
To investors, Gross advises to reduce risk as the Fed continues to try to mend a wounded heart with blood that lacks the necessary oxygen. "Investors should look for a pacemaker to follow a less risky, lower returning, but more life sustaining path."
Read the entire Investment Outlook: “Wounded Heart” by William H. Gross: http://www.pimco.com/EN/Insights/Pages/Wounded-Heart.aspx
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Associated ATRIDIM NEWS JOURNAL Report Categories:
Fed Financial Policy: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/fed-financial-policy/
Investment 101: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/investment-101/
Stock and Bond Market: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/stock-bond-market/
BAMOPOLY … a game we are already playing … but can’t win
Posted: March 31, 2013 in American Debt Crisis, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff Course 101, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, United StatesTags: America, American Debt Crisis, atridim, Bamopoly, capitalism, Captain Rick, Debt Crisis, deficit spending, Economy, Federal Government, Federal spending, Fiscal Cliff, National debt, President Obama, U.S Spending, U.S., U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. deficit, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. President, United States
Captain Rick: The object of this game is to try and save American capitalism before the government takes over everything. To date, there is no known player who has won. The government wins every time.
The game board looks interesting. It reminds me of the fun times I had as a kid playing Monopoly for hours and even days before finally taking over everything…or loosing everything.
I don’t think Bamopoly would be very much fun to play…because no one likes to loose all of the time. It also reminds me very much of real life in America. Its people play this game every day to try and get ahead and promote capitalism… but it seems like big government is always there to take over everything.
I have a strong feeling that one of these days, the government is going to loose this game…because of the way it has been cheating its players…the citizens of America. Unfortunately when it looses the game, there will be no winners.
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Previous reports:
Fiscal Cliff: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/fiscal-cliff-course-101/
U.S. Debt Crisis: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/u-s-debt-crisis/
U.S. Government Shutdown … looms March 27
Posted: March 4, 2013 in American Debt Crisis, Fiscal Cliff, Fiscal Cliff Course 101, President Obama, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Government Shutdown, U.S. Legislature, United StatesTags: America, American Debt Crisis, American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, atridim, balanced budget, Captain Rick, Debt Ceiling, Debt Crisis, defense, Federal Government, Federal spending, Fiscal Cliff, National debt, Obamaquester, President Obama, Republican, Spending cuts, U.S Spending, U.S., U.S. Budget, U.S. Debt Crisis, United States, Washington DC
Captain Rick: That “debt can” that President Obama kicked down the road on January 1 by signing of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, in an effort to avoid the Fiscal Cliff, revisits on March 27, 2013 when the federal government again faces a shutdown because it has again reached the debt ceiling, now set at $16.4 trillion.
Funding for the U.S. government expires on March 27, 2013 unless Congress acts. If they fail, the federal government will shut down on March 28. All government operations would cease, except for essential services.
Since lawmakers will not agree to a real budget by this date, they will have to agree on temporarily funding the government for a few weeks or a few months … again. The Republicans are presenting a plan on Thursday to extending funding to the end of the fiscal years which ends is September, but it includes a $7 billion restoration of defense funds in exchange for cuts elsewhere. A big question remains…will Democrats go along with this? It will all unfold in coming days.
Boehner’s comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press”
It is evident that the Republicans will allow no more tax increases…made very clear by House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) who said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he discussed the need to avoid a shutdown with President Obama at a meeting Friday between the president and congressional leaders.
Boehner said the House will vote this week to keep the federal government operating through September, when the fiscal year ends, and avoid a potentially politically damaging shutdown.
The move would be the second time since the election that Boehner has avoided a fight, desired by some House conservatives, in order to keep the GOP from possible blame. He led House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling in January to fend off a repeat of the 2011 conflict that led to the sequester.
“The president this morning agreed that we should not have any talk of a government shutdown,” Boehner said. “So I’m hopeful that the House and Senate will be able to work through this.”
“I’m going to say it one more time,” Boehner said. “The president got his tax hikes on January the first. The issue here is spending. Spending is out of control. There are smarter ways to cut spending than this silly sequester that the president demanded. And so, we need to address the long-term spending problem. But we can’t cut our way to prosperity.”
“We had a very pleasant meeting, but it was also a very frank meeting,” Boehner said. “I made it clear to the president that again, a trillion dollars worth of tax hikes in Obamacare. And you have another $650 billion worth of tax hikes on January the first. You can’t tax our way out of this problem. We’ve got to deal with the spending side, just like every American family has to.”
Listen, every American knows Washington has a spending problem. Every American, in these tough economic times, has to find a way to balance their budget.”
Boehner said Republicans were done raising taxes after agreeing to the “fiscal cliff” deal in January that raised more than $600 billion in revenue. Any new revenue gained from closing tax loopholes, he said, should be put into lowering tax rates.
“The president got $650 billion of higher taxes on the American people on January the 1st,” Boehner said. “How much more does he want? When is the president going to address the spending side of this?”
Captain Rick’s closing thoughts … will Washington avert shutdown again”?
I think most Americans are with me in expecting that Washington will pull off a circus act just prior to the closing curtain as it always manages to do. However, this showdown is not a done deal…especially concerning the defense appropriations. I think the Defense Department should endure the same cuts as as all others. I don’t think it needs special treatment. I believe many Americans believe the U.S. Defense Department could easily be cut without sacrificing America’s safety. I think many will agree that it is time for America to stop playing “Police of the World” …at American taxpayer expense.
I welcome your comments, likes and shares!
Info from previous reports:
Fiscal Cliff: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/fiscal-cliff-course-101/
U.S. Debt Crisis: https://atridim.wordpress.com/category/u-s-debt-crisis/
5 Global Risks to Grasp + 3 Fiscal Cliff Scenarios … including the current track of doing nothing, a formula for Recession
Posted: October 5, 2012 in America, American Debt Crisis, China, Economy, Entitlement Reform, Europe, European Debt Crisis, Fiscal Cliff, GDP, Greece, Iran, Middle East, Recession, Spain, Tax Reform, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Legislature, United StatesTags: America, atridim, Captain Rick, China, Debt Crisis, Economy, entitlement reform, Federal spending, Fiscal Cliff, GDP, Legislators, Lost Generation, political compromise, Recession, Spain, tax reform, U.S., U.S. Legislature, United States, video
Captain Rick: Click and Play the video below to get an excellent 3 minute summation of the world’s 5 Global Risks, each of which can completely change the global outlook. There are two in Europe, one in the Far East, one in the Middle East and one in the U.S. … the pending Fiscal Cliff … potentially the biggest global risk of them all. 3 Fiscal Cliff scenarios are discussed of which one is following the current course of doing nothing. This would cause a 4% contraction in GDP and cast the U.S. into Recession. For the first time in a very long time our kid’s generation would be worse off than ours. Two other scenarios are discussed that offer hope. The conversation includes a statement that a fix must include compromise of tax increases and entitlement cuts. Mathematically, the problem can’t be fixed by addressing one side only. We are fortunate that we have a currency that everybody still wants, so we still have some time to get it right by enacting proper tax and entitlement reform. We just need politicians that are willing to compromise, which could be the most difficult job of all.
FORTUNE Video by PIMCO CEO: http://money.cnn.com/video/magazines/fortune/2012/10/04/f-el-erian-pimco-ceo-global-risks.fortune/
America’s 1st Presidential Debate of 2012: airs Wednesday 10/3 at 9pm ET, 6pm PT
Posted: October 2, 2012 in America, Mitt Romney, President Obama, Presidential Debate, Presidential Election, U.S. Federal Government, United StatesTags: America, atridim, Captain Rick, Colorado, Electoral Map, Electoral Votes, Mitt Romney, North Carolina, President Obama, Presidential Debate, Presidential Election
Captain Rick: This is part 1 of a what will be a continuing story as I investigate the “battleground” states in an effort to determine who will receive enough electoral votes to become the next president of the United States. This report analyses the current electoral map.
The first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will air across America on all major networks Wednesday 10/3/12 at 9 PM ET, 6PM PT/AZ.
I have copied the CNN Electoral Map below. It shows what I feel is the most accurate status available. Since my previous check, North Carolina has gone from ‘Leaning Romney’ to ‘Toss up’, shifting 15 electoral votes back to ‘Toss up’. Based on my calculations, Colorado, with 9 electoral votes will be the deciding state in this election. Obama now has 237 electoral votes allocated v Romney’s 191. This debate could change the map. I welcome you to chime in with your comments of how you think the debate went.
In part 2 of my continuing story I investigate the leaning red and blue states. It was posted on October 19, 2012: https://atridim.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/captain-ricks-election-scenarios-what-if-we-turn-all-of-the-leaning-red-states-red-and-the-leaning-blue-states-blue/
Map Source: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2012/ecalculator#?battleground
GDP report: U. S. economic growth revised sharply lower + ‘Caution’ for the future
Posted: September 27, 2012 in America, China, Economy, Europe, Fiscal Cliff, GDP, Local Government, State Government, U.S. Debt Crisis, U.S. Federal Government, U.S. Legislature, Unemployment, United StatesTags: America, atridim, Captain Rick, China, Economic Forecast, Economic Growth, Economy, Europe, Federal Government, Financial Bubble, Fiscal Cliff, GDP, Gross National Product, Jobs, Legislators, Local Government, Population Growth, Recession, State Government, Unemployment
Captain Rick: The U.S. economy grew significantly slower in the second quarter than the sluggish pace reported in August. Q2 GDP was revised to 1.3%, down from 1.7% reported in August. This came as a surprise to most economists. It wasn’t surprising to me. What I found surprising is why last months Q2 GDP estimate was increased to 1.7% from the previous 1.5%. So, I am not surprised to see that it fell back to 1.5% and more. The surprised economists are already busy forecasting GDP will come in at 1.9% in the third quarter. Perhaps they will be equally surprised when it doesn’t. I should mention that 1.9% is still well under what is needed to break even. I believe economists need to retire their dart boards and start paying better attention to what is really transpiring around our world, as I have been doing for many years. It helps take the surprise out of things.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the broadest measure of the nation’s economic health. 3% economic growth, represented by the red line in the chart above, is necessary to provide enough new jobs to keep pace with U.S. population growth. America has fallen short in all but two of the past three plus years. This means that the percentage of eligible workers who are working continues to drop almost every month. Real unemployment is continuing to increase, in spite of the bogus and meaningless unemployment percentages the U.S. government publishes each month. America’s unemployment rate is currently published to be 8.1%, but the real number is actually about twice that…and rising, not falling.
I am saddened to say that I do not see anything on the horizon that is going to raise America continuously up above that red line, where we need to be to enjoy a healthy and growing economy, for the next several years, perhaps 2017 or beyond. Even the Fed, the IMF and other global financial authorities predict similar sluggish growth through 2015. Europe appears to in recession or close to it. U.S. growth of 1.3% is knocking on recessions door. China’s economy is slowing quickly as a result of economic sluggishness in the West. This paints an anemic image of America’s economic health., with a global ripple effect.
I caution local and state governments to exercise fiscal restraint and filter out some of the local growth hype that is beginning to surface. Some of it is beginning to closely resemble fuel for another financial bubble…not real growth. It will be much smarter to put some funds in a ‘piggy bank’ for a ‘rainy day’ than to spend all of the receipts as fast as we can while the sun appears to be shining brightly.
I urge federal legislators to address the ‘Fiscal Cliff’ ASAP. This does not mean coming up with another political compromise to ‘kick the can down the road’ for another year. It means finding a real solution to reduce Americas debt NOW! Every time we postpone a proper ‘fix’, we bring our nation much closer to the real ‘Financial Cliff’…the one that will have the power and magnitude to reduce the United States of America to a third world country. How America handles this monumental problem will affect the entire world for decades to come.