I.O.U.S.A - Addison Wiggin [12]
A complicit Congress has already given the green light for
Debt Ceiling:
The maximum
such a debt burden by raising the debt ceiling to $10.6 trillion.
borrowing power
On July 26, 2008, Congress snuck the increase into the Federal of a governmental
Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, which was entity; this limit
passed to bail out giant mortgage enablers Fannie Mae and is set, and can
Freddie Mac and to help victims of bank foreclosures.
therefore be raised,
by Congress.
A short review of contemporary history reveals that the State of the Union is nothing more than political theatre. Congress has interrupted every president with partisan applause since the addresses made their television debut during the Eisenhower administration. We combed the archives looking for examples of leadership in tough economic times but found little more than sound bites and vacuous promises:
“ We must try to break this calamitous cycle. ” President Eisenhower was referring to the huge explosion in our debt during World War II.
“ We will continue on the path to a balanced budget. ”
Then President Johnson put his stamp of approval on Medicare benefi ts, one of the most expensive programs in federal history.
“ We have been self
- indulgent, ” President Ford chided
Congress in 1975.
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Chapter 1 The Real State of the Union 17
“ and now the bill has come due . . . . The State of the Union is not good. ”
“ We must act today in order to preserve tomorrow.
”
President Reagan looked earnest, but he grew the debt more than two and a half times — from just under $1 billion to $2.6 billion.
“ We will solve problems, ” George H. W. Bush (number 41) said before failing to keep his promise not to raise taxes,
“ and not leave them to future generations. ”
“ We need a spending discipline in Washington, D.C. ” said President George W. Bush (number 43) to wild applause on January 28, 2008.
As we have seen, Congress and the presidents bask in the heat of TV camera lights, but behind the scenes — in the committee rooms and oak - paneled bars of Washington D.C. —
it is clear that the process for managing the nation ’ s fi nances is badly broken. When Bush 43 came into offi ce in 2001, the federal debt was $5.6 trillion. He ’ ll leave the next president —
and every other American citizen
— nearly twice as much.
Meanwhile, the real state of the union — or at least the popular perception of it — can be seen by rifl ing through the headlines of the nation ’ s mainstream media:
December 4, 2007: “ Economy moves to fore as issue for 2008 voters, ” writes the Wall Street Journal .
March 4, 2008: “ Record High for Oil Socks Economy ” states the Chicago Tribune . Gas prices, too, have been weighing heavily on consumer balance sheets.
May 16, 2008:
“ U.S. Consumer Confi dence at Lowest
Since 1980. ” reports the Financial Times , noting that 1980
was the last year in which concerns about infl ation played a major role in a presidential election.
June 30, 2008: “ Expect U.S. economic woes to linger into 2009, ” warns the Christian Science Monitor .
July 1, 2008:
“ It ’ s a Murphy
’ s Law Economy,
” says
the Baltimore Sun , referring to the bursting housing c01.indd 17
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18 The
Mission
bubble, suggesting that “ whatever can go wrong ” in the economy “ will. ”
Beginning with revelations that the investment bank Bear Stearns was nearly insolvent, in the summer of 2007, the average citizen learned new terms like subprime and infl ation and woke up to the fact that something wasn ’ t right with the economy.
Enter our fi rst protagonist.
The Fiscal Cancer
“ Who is David Walker? ” Steve Kroft asked on CBS ’ s March 4, 2007, episode of 60 Minutes , “ and why should we care? ”
GAO: This non-
According to Kroft, “ He ’ s the nation ’ s top accountant —
partisan agency
is the audit,
the comptroller general of the United