National Bankruptcy

National Bankruptcy

Remember when Democrats were criticizing Republicans for running up absurd deficits?  Obama is making those deficits look downright responsible.  (Something that I didn't think was even possible.)  From the May 12, 2010 Washington Post:

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the federal deficit for April soared to $82.7 billion, the largest imbalance for that month on record. That was significantly higher than last year's April deficit of $20 billion and above the $30 billion deficit that private-sector economists had expected.

The government generally runs surpluses in April, as millions of taxpayers file their income tax returns. But income tax payments were down this April, reflecting the impact of the recession, which has pushed millions of people out of work.

Total revenue for April was down 7.9 percent from a year ago, dipping to $245.3 billion.

The article goes on to blame the recession, but let's stop fooling ourselves: that "stimulus" bill was huge.

The disaster in Greece is likely to be the disaster in Portugal, Spain, and California next.  If we don't get some adult supervision in Congress after the November elections, the U.S. is headed down the same path.  And when I say "adult supervision," I don't mean Republicans.  I think Republican control of the House after November is a given; I'm just not sufficiently confident that it will be adult Republicans.

What to do?  Buying stocks right now seems incredibly risky.  Buying bonds used to be considered safe--after all, what's safer than U.S. Treasury bonds?  Right now, it seems to be ammo, rifles, and a few years worth of canned and dried food.  Even the traditional safe investment--real estate--doesn't seem all that safe.  Houses near the bankrupt Tamarack resort in central Idaho are still priced as though the economy hasn't collapsed, along with the Tamarack-driven local economy.  Raw land prices are about the only thing that seems to be settling back to reality.

The people that are out of work?  I feel very sorry for them.  I feel bad for young people who are finishing up college--and have relatively few options available to them.  And for a lot of people in my cohort--the May 12, 2010 New York Times is announcing that their jobs are gone, and aren't coming back.

Blaming Bush isn't going to work any longer for Obama--this is now the Democrats' disaster.  Some radical change is required--the sort of radical change that will offend the Ivy Leaguers that have been in control of Congress, the courts, and the White House for most of my lifetime.