The looming debt load will some day come a-crashing. But politicians are doing nothing — or nest to nothing — to stop the growth of the debt, and thus keep on piling on the extent and severity of debt.
So click on over to Townhall.com, to read this weekend’s column by Yours Truly, the purveyor of Common Sense, and then come back here for further reading.
The Nobel Committee, having whetted its appetite for absurdity with a long string of goofy Peace Prize Awards, especially but not limited to the 2009 award for Barack Obama (who had done nothing but get elected to earn it), went all the way by giving the 2012 award to the European Union.
Barack Obama went on to become a “war president,” even regularly picking targets for assassination by drone. So, could Europe continue the trend and head straight towards war?
Maybe. Last year, former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe warned that the unions debt crisis could lead to “the explosion of the European Union itself,” and warned of growing nationalism. And violent unrest.
Dire warnings from former heads of state are one thing. Actual military movements are another. And Switzerland seems to be preparing for the worst:
The Swiss defense ministry told CNBC that it doesn’t rule out having to deploy troops in the coming years.
“It’s not excluded that the consequences of the financial crisis in Switzerland can lead to protests and violence,” a spokesperson told CNBC.com. “The army must be ready when the police in such cases requests for subsidiary help.”
Talk about financial contagion!
Cooler heads may prevail, of course. Matthew Feeney, writing at reason.com, notes that the “most obvious argument against the possibility of war is that there are no likely candidates for the part of aggressor.” And Europe hasn’t exactly been engaging in a massive military build-up, unlike before the two world wars.
Alas, that doesn’t preclude massive rioting and uprisings.
Sovereign financial bankruptcy usually follows war, rather than preceding it. I guess that provides something like hope.
This is Common Sense. Im Paul Jacob.
Barring drastic action, the Golden State will run out of cash in March.
There is no provision in the Constitution for dealing with a bankrupt state. But then, there’s nothing explicit dealing with federal bankruptcy, either. The founding fathers didn’t expect their republic to permanently accumulate debt. Indeed, Thomas Jefferson wished to foreswear all sovereign debt. He considered the practice parasitic.
Our leaders are supposed to run our governments so to avoid debt crises.
But, because politicians do just the opposite, they run into cash flow crunches. Last year, California’s statesmen borrowed $5.4 billion to cover the lean time before Spring’s tax revenues flowed in. They had figured they would be good through June, but miscalculated. Now they’re scrambling for an extra $3.3 billion.
Time to fudge the books! Pay late. Not answer the phone or respond to dunning notices.
Of course, the real problem is over-spending. California’s politicians spend too much.
Alas, it doesn’t look like they are about to reform.
Gov. Jerry Brown still pushes the huge “investment” of high-speed rail, for the grandest example. The project’s supporters have over-estimated ridership, underestimated costs (the most realistic official accounting now puts the system at $98 billion), and have been forced to restrict the extent of the line, excluding both San Diego and the state capital. Brown’s response? Making up for cost overruns by hijacking funds from the state’s “cap-and-trade” (the nation’s only carbon-footprint-based) tax.
Ah, politicians: Spend, spend, spend, even as the institutions they are responsible for lurch into insolvency.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.