Say what??

The total cost of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is projected to leap from 8.4% of GDP in 2005 to 18.9% of GDP by 2050.

· Federal program spending is projected to reach 27.6% of GDP by 2050, while net interest spending will consume an additional 9% to 46% of GDP (depending on whether massive deficit spending increases interest rates).

· Unless Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are reformed, lawmakers face three options:

A) Raise taxes every year until taxes are 60 percent ($11,000 per household) higher than today;

B) Eliminate every federal program except Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid by 2045; or

C) Do nothing and watch the federal debt expand so much that even a minor interest rate response would induce a spiral of rising debt and interest rates, threatening the entire economy.

Source.

Entitlements are out of hand. All of these should be unnecessary. People expect the government to take care of them, and their families - instead of providing for themselves, or let private charities take them up in hand. Where in the Constitution do we find provisions for giving people other people's money? General welfare does not mean payments from the government! Sorry, but entitlements should go. Give em the heave-ho. When Social Security was started, it was Social Security INSURANCE. It doesn't mean a guaranteed paycheck for 11, 12 or more years. Insurance means you don't rely on it for your sole support - you SAVE money while you are working. Too many people don't do this, and then they wail and bemoan the fact that their SSI check is "too small". What about their families providing for them? That's fallen into disfavor, however, it would be the best system around.

Are we marching towards fascism?

I think its inching along - look at the government takeover of the auto companies - and then Wall St. and its bankers/investment companies. Now Geithner and the administration is saying that they want to be able to take over companies that have never taken TARP funds, or bailout money from the government, on the way they pay their employees and executives.

From the WSJ article, 'During a recent congressional hearing, Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed was working on rules that will "ask or tell banks to structure their compensation, not just at the very top level but down much further, in a way that is consistent with safety and soundness -- which means that payments, bonuses and so on should be tied to performance and should not induce excessive risk."'

So much for this being the land of the free, being able to create a business, and run it, without micromanagement from the government - which has to date, not run anything well. Or even remotely well. Look at Social Security and Medicare - they are running out of money - the administration is talking about 'taxing the rich' for more money - How long before people get so fed up with this stuff that they stop looking for good positions, and starting a business, because they're going to get taxed to death? How will that help the economy? It won't, because there will be no new start-up businesses, for people to work at. Maybe more people will switch to a barter system, which the government cannot tax. Or maybe they will try to tax it. New York state is taxing everything imaginable, in order to make up for their shortcomings in the money coming in. New York City, around 40,000 people pay over half the taxes. What if 10,000 people got tired of paying all those taxes, and left? What would be left for their tax base?

Raising taxes, and taking over businesses is NOT the answer. The outrageous spending by Congress and the Senate and the administrations are the problems to the solution. When you're in debt, you don't spend more, you spend less, however our elected representatives seem to think they are on a great gravy train that will never end, let's just spend, spend, spend. And spending us into a hole, and (hopefully not) inflation and hyperinflation. China wants the IMF to sell its gold to them.. what are they going to use for that gold? You guessed it, the money we've sold them - what are we going to do with a trillion dollars back in circulation? Prices will shoot up, the dollar will be worth even less than it is now. And remember, the borrower is slave to the lender. I find it suspicious that Barney Frank is for the IMF selling its gold to China. Actually I find pretty much everything he does, is NOT for the good of the country, but for what political gain and whatever other recognition he can achieve.