Wednesday 27 July 2011

Deficit, What Deficit?

So Senator Boehner thinks he's come up with the answer to the problem which threatens to cripple America - He can find ways to trim $1.4 trillion from annual budget expenditure. President Obama on the other hand can not only wade in with cuts to the budget but can raise revenue by taxing the rich. All because of course, the American Government is borrowing more money than it can raise. Regardless of who wins out, the folks who lose out are the little people, particularly those on the bottom rung of the ladder - but generally speaking, it's the lowest income earners who get hit hardest. I'd like to bring something to your attention, it's something every American citizen should be aware of and I first became aware of it by accident on a particularly infamous date.

On the 10th of September 2001 Donald Rumsfeld admitted before Congress and live television that the Defence Department could not account for $2.3 TRILLION Dollars it had been allocated - it had 'vanished'. This was news which of course was 'buried' beneath the rubble of the following day's tragedy - coincidence? Maybe. Just in case anyone doubts the accuracy of what I say; here is Mr Rumsfeld making that statement...


Now forgive me for possibly coming across as a simpleton - but when you hear the above admission and then add to this the Federal Reserve admission that they shelled out $9 TRILLION in bail outs to banks (some foreign) - then precisely where is the crisis? It seems to me the meagre sums (by American budgetary standards) can actually be found by good auditing (especially in the DOD) and by pushing the banks for better collateral and some return on the $9 trillion which was thrown their way (What the Fed Reserve got back in return was $9 Trillion worth of junk bonds which are about as safe as a cop in Ciudad Juarez). (See video below)

 

As a group, the poorest in society and the lower middle class are responsible for paying the largest amount of money in tax revenues to the US Treasury. So let's recap - The Banks and other ailing financial institutions were bailed out with $9 Trillion dollars of Tax revenue, thereby ensuring business as usual for the fat cats who made such a demonstrable mess of our economy. Effectively then, the poor came riding to the rescue of the rich. In this next week if Obama gets his way the poor lose - If the Republicans get their way the poor lose - banks collapsed and and the poor lost. Yet one group of individuals walk away from all of this unscathed - The rich.

It seems accounting is not the only thing the American Government has a problem with, logic and justice are evidently work in progress.

Rory

1 comment:

  1. And again, a huge thing was announced just before something enormous happened. I'd forgotten about Rummie's announcement until just now. And yes, the poor always get it in the neck and the rich always get it all, and keep it, too.

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