16 GOING ON 17
16 going on 17. Now that would make a catchy tune title,
would it not? Oh, I forgot, Rogers and Hammerstein
have already been there, and done that. Of course, if you
per chance read some of my previous columns you realize
that the little ditty I am whistling actually refers to the
requiem known as our national debt that whizzed past
the 16 trillion dollar mark on September 4, 2012, which
just happened to be the opening day of the Democratic
National Converntion. How apropos.
The school bell has rung and many an eager learner has
returned to the classroom hoping to increase their know-
ledge of topics important. It is too bad that our politicians
are not among them. Ah, but what can we say? Once a
dullard, always a dullard.
If you have bills to pay, groceries to buy, gas tanks to
fill, but no money in the bank, wouldn't you think you
had a real financial problem? If month after month,
you cannot balance your home budget, and you can't
borrow any more money because all of your credit
cards are maxed out, wouldn't alarm bells go off in
your head? Of course, they would, and right now
millions of families in America are faced with these
problems.
Unfortunately, our federal government is faced with
similar financial burdens, but its dilemma is now 16
trillion times worse than any middle class homeowner's
misfortune.
In 2013, if the Democrats remain in power, we are
surely likely to add another 4 trillion dollars to our
national debt and further pull our country into an
an economic abyss, with absolutely no hope of
recovery.
If the Republicans gain the White House
and both houses of Congress, there's a slim
chance that they could stop our national debt from
sliding the U. S. into an economic oblivion. But the
chance is slim, very slim, indeed.
Back in October, 2012 I consulted my guess-o-meter,
and picked the very exact day (November 16, 2011).
that America's debt would excede 15 trillion dollars.
I then predicted that we would pass $16 trillion on Sept.
16, 2012. This time, my guess-o-meter was 12 days late.
But, by landing on the opening day (September 4, 2012)
of the Democratic National Convention, proof was given
that irony was still alive and well.
This time, my trusty (?) meter predicts we shall pass the
17 trillion dollar mark on June 16, 2013. (But with QE3
just implemented today by Mr. Bernake, the threshold
could come much sooner).
Have you ever stood by the shore of Niagra Falls?
Just asking.
16 going on 17. Now that would make a catchy tune title,
would it not? Oh, I forgot, Rogers and Hammerstein
have already been there, and done that. Of course, if you
per chance read some of my previous columns you realize
that the little ditty I am whistling actually refers to the
requiem known as our national debt that whizzed past
the 16 trillion dollar mark on September 4, 2012, which
just happened to be the opening day of the Democratic
National Converntion. How apropos.
The school bell has rung and many an eager learner has
returned to the classroom hoping to increase their know-
ledge of topics important. It is too bad that our politicians
are not among them. Ah, but what can we say? Once a
dullard, always a dullard.
If you have bills to pay, groceries to buy, gas tanks to
fill, but no money in the bank, wouldn't you think you
had a real financial problem? If month after month,
you cannot balance your home budget, and you can't
borrow any more money because all of your credit
cards are maxed out, wouldn't alarm bells go off in
your head? Of course, they would, and right now
millions of families in America are faced with these
problems.
Unfortunately, our federal government is faced with
similar financial burdens, but its dilemma is now 16
trillion times worse than any middle class homeowner's
misfortune.
In 2013, if the Democrats remain in power, we are
surely likely to add another 4 trillion dollars to our
national debt and further pull our country into an
an economic abyss, with absolutely no hope of
recovery.
If the Republicans gain the White House
and both houses of Congress, there's a slim
chance that they could stop our national debt from
sliding the U. S. into an economic oblivion. But the
chance is slim, very slim, indeed.
Back in October, 2012 I consulted my guess-o-meter,
and picked the very exact day (November 16, 2011).
that America's debt would excede 15 trillion dollars.
I then predicted that we would pass $16 trillion on Sept.
16, 2012. This time, my guess-o-meter was 12 days late.
But, by landing on the opening day (September 4, 2012)
of the Democratic National Convention, proof was given
that irony was still alive and well.
This time, my trusty (?) meter predicts we shall pass the
17 trillion dollar mark on June 16, 2013. (But with QE3
just implemented today by Mr. Bernake, the threshold
could come much sooner).
Have you ever stood by the shore of Niagra Falls?
Just asking.