Our nation's debt is literally indenturing our children to our international debt holders, but most Americans don't care because they are more concerned about the latest saga involving Snooki on Jersey Shore rather than what really matters, our country’s future.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Five Mainstream Economists Sound a Warning by Gary North

The Wall Street Journal ran an article the likes of which I have never seen. "The Magnitude of the Mess We're In." It was written by five well-known economists. It warns readers about a series of highly destructive outcomes of the federal government's present fiscal policies. The article says that these problems are close to being unmanageable.

The first economist involved is George Shultz. He taught at the University of Chicago and MIT. He served as the Secretary of the Treasury under Nixon and Secretary of State under Reagan. He served as the Head of the Office of Management and Budget under Nixon, and also Secretary of Labor under Nixon. I can think of no other economist with comparable experience at the highest level. He is an insider's insider. He is 92 years old – a true elder statesman 

The second economist is Michael Boskin. He teaches at the Hoover Institution. He used to teach at Stanford. He was the head of the Council of Economic Advisers under the first Bush. Then there was John F. Cogan of Hoover and Stanford. Then there was Allan Meltzer, who is the most respected historian of the Federal Reserve System. Finally, there was Stanford's John Taylor, of "Taylor rule" fame, one of the most respected academic economists in the USA.

A NAÏVE ARTICLE
The problem with this article is it is naïve. It is Pollyanna to the core. It begins with the on-budget deficit: a mere $1.2 trillion a year. The on-budget deficit is peripheral to the real federal deficit, which reflects the unfunded liabilities of the federal government, primarily in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This deficit dwarfs the on-budget deficit. It is rising at $11 trillion a year.
 
This deficit has a present value of $222 trillion. This means that the federal government, today, must invest $222 trillion in market investments that will return about 5% per year for the next 75 years. No such investments exist, and the federal government does not have $222 trillion in reserve. The Federal Reserve system could print that, of course, but then that would only lead to hyperinflation. 

In other words, by starting with the on-budget deficit, the five economists low-balled the problem. This makes it look as though the problem can be dealt with by Congress. It cannot, except by one technique, namely, default. They mention unfunded liabilities only briefly, and they offer no numbers.

Nevertheless, in a naive sort of way, the five economists do point out that present politics makes it virtually impossible for the on-budget deficit not to escalate, and if it does, it is going to lead to a series of inevitable disasters. The five economists go into the details about these disasters, and it is a good thing that somebody bothered to do this.

The article began with a good question: "Where are we now?" Answer: a lot worse off than the article says.
  

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