Doomed

From an Email forwarded by our friend Tom:

"I do not subscribe to placing the blame for what is coming solely on Obama's back. The Republicans were as bad as the Democrats as they increased federal spending 40% while that idiot Bush was in office. He also signed the prescription drug bill which is like pouring gasoline on the boondoggle Medicare and Medicade financial fire. I do agree that this sets out why we are doomed to rampant inflation and a collapsing government." Higgins

Why Obama's socialism will not work:
The rich in America may have lost $10 trillion so far...but their losses are just beginning. Who's going to pay the expenses of bailing out the banks...the economy...the states...Detroit...?

You do the math yourself. The United States functions as a popular democracy. Politicians get elected by winning votes. The idea is to get as many votes as possible. Do you get the most votes by appealing to the few people with money - the 20% "rich"? Or do you appeal to the masses - the 80% of the population who don't have much wealth?

Well, you can do the math later.

How do you get the masses to vote for you? You offer them something. What? Well...Medicare...pensions...bridges...tax credits...wars - whatever they seem to want at the moment. And how do you pay for it?

Okay...now we're putting 2 and 2 together: you have to take the money from the 'rich.'

Of course, it's not that simple. Because you also need money from the rich to "get the word out" about what a great guy you are. And if you lose the race for the House of Representatives, you want to make sure you have a cushy chair somewhere to rest your fat behind. No point in going to the masses for those things. You need friends among the rich.

So, you favor some of the rich - with special subsidies and credits - while making the rest of them pay. And since you're competing with other politicians who have gotten their support from other groups of rich people...at the end of the day, by the time the votes are counted, it's hard to know exactly who the real winners and losers are. One rich family gets millions in subsidies. Another has his business protected from competition. Another benefits from an obscure amendment to an almost unknown little section of the IRS code. Rivals get wind of these boondoggles and make a stink about it in the press. Pretty soon, the masses think the 'rich' are ripping them off...not realizing that, as a group, the rich pay for 80% of the costs of government.

And now, as the official federal debt goes to $12 trillion, who's really going to pay it? Just apply the 80/20 rule... the 'rich' will have to pay 80% of it - at least. That's $9.6 trillion that will be borne by 60 million citizens. No, wait...of those 60 million...you have to take out those who are too young...or too old. Each household may only have one person earning a living...say, only about 20 million real taxpayers.

Now, divide $9.6 trillion by 20 million - you get a debt burden of $480,000 for each one.

But that's just the "official" national debt, which is bad enough. But what about Social Security and healthcare obligations...and obligations to soldiers who've lost their legs in Iraq? Are you going to forget about these people? Who's going to support them?

According to the Petersen Foundation, there's a "financing gap" of about $47 trillion between what the government is obliged to pay out and what it expects to get in tax revenues. Now, let's put that burden too onto the only place it might be shouldered - the same 20% of the population who have the money - the "rich people." That's another $2.35 million per taxpayer!

We are doomed.