re: Powell: ‘The US is on an unsustainable fiscal path’

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he US is on an unsustainable fiscal path’

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Everybody knows this. So the question becomes are the politicians really this dumb, or are they sellouts? Hint: you don’t advance that far in politics by being a dummy.

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Who gets to pick who votes?

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Yeah, this is a terrible idea

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It's also a terrible idea to have a system where the vote counters are more important than the voters.

But here we are.

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Let me guess, white men that own property?

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No, no race requirement.

Property ownership is too easy to comply with. You can take an acre and sell fractional interests fo $10.

There are a number of ways.

A 5 grade level civics test would be one way.

My favorite is a voting suspension if you are on government assistance. Insurance like Social security Medicare or unemployment excepted.

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Powell: ‘The US is on an unsustainable fiscal path’

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Congress will respond by depressing the accelerator.

Not that it will do any good since we've already plunged off the cliff and are approaching terminal velocity, but they'll do it anyway.

It's gonna be a rough landing, folks. And nothing can stop it. We're in freefall and 60+% of America is completely oblivious. I hate what we have become.

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unsustainable fiscal path

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No shite

I think they all know the collapse of the country is coming so the politicians are trying to make hay (launder as much taxpayer money as possible) while the sun is still shining.

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Social Security (it's just a Ponzi scheme now

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Defined benefit pensions have always been a Ponzi scheme.

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efined benefit pensions have always been a Ponzi scheme.

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Social Security was never intended as a defined benefits pension plan. At least not what I define a defined benefits pension plan to be. It was orginally designed as a Retirement Savings Plan funded by employee - employer contributions. I recall the sum of those employee - employer contributions equals roughly 12% of employee wages - a tiddy sum.

Left alone to accrue with only compounding interest accounts a fella could acquire a nice sum for retirement. The govmint even created a fancy name for this accumulation of S/S retirement savings - they called it (trumpets blaring).....(wait for it)....."THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND".

Except it didn't stay a Trust Fund very long, cause during the eighties Joe Biden (Yep, he was there) and his crooked democrat pals saw all them billions of dollars flowing into those S/S Accounts and they started licking their chops. Hmmmm? How to get unrestricted access to them billions?

So they pulled a bait-and switch. They raised Social Security Taxes and then they stole it. Yep, they simply voted to roll Social Security receipts over into the General Fund. Basically treating those monies as just another tax income stream. But to hide the theft, they kept sending out these Social Security Account and Benefit Statements. Just like ole Bernie Madoff did with his Ponzi scheme. It all looked so legit. Legit right up to the moment Ole Bernie told his son it was all a lie, one gigantic Ponzi scheme.

So this is the situation my fellow Americans - we're running a $33 trillion dollar deficit. So that means that somewhere in them trillions flowing into the government coffers is you - and your employer social security contributions. Think Slush Fund. Money comes in - money goes out. Outflows to fight a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, some more to bomb some goat herders in Syria, plus some more to feed Pedro Gonzalez (and his pregnant wife) after crossing (illegally) over our southern border. Have you read about the ridiculous benefits these illegals are getting? Including Social Security Cards. Hablas español? Quiero mis pagos de TANF en billetes de 20 dólares por favor, gracias.

Do you get the picture? Now, all together (including you Biden Groupies) bend over........

C'mon man, I thought you liked me - Creepy Joe Biden

Bard, I appreciate the response.

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I see Bitcoin as a bit like gold in that there is very finite amount of both in the economy at any given time, at least until more is mined.

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The gold analogy is solid with the caveat that unlike gold, there is a finite amount of BTC - there will never be more than 21 million BTC. With gold, proven/probable reserves are technically finite but in practical terms, are in great part a function of gold price.

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I don't see governments being too excited about a currency they can't control so there's a definite built-in resistance to it from that standpoint. That resistance could (and likely does) fuel demand to some level. At this point it's looking like governments will be dragged kicking and screaming into this environment but it's going to be a slow process.

I think right now that cryptocurrency as an off-ramp from the dollar is a bit like EVs are to ICE vehicles. It sounds good but there are some very real practical hurdles it has to get over first.

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I see it differently and would put it this way -

EVs are being shoved down the market's throats before their technological/economic time by government for political reasons, and Bitcoin is the exact opposite in every regard.

It's going to be an interesting ride.

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The problem is clearly entitlement spending.

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Every form of government spending is entitlement spending. The military is now little more than a tax-funded woke corporation that provides jobs programs for aggrieved voting constituencies and boondoggles for the embedded donor class in the MIC that is enriched by this era of perpetual war.