Creative accounting...

US in Technical Default by Dr. C. H Martenson

In a shocking development, the Treasury Department website is openly stating that as of January 24th 2006 our national debt stood at $8,185.3 billion.

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

Yet the US national debt 'ceiling' stands at $8,184 billion - a full billion less. Although called upon by John Snow, congress has not passed an expansion of the debt ceiling and so the US government is now operating in technical default.

The last debt-ceiling adjustment was $800 billion and was passed in November 2004. Now, on January 24th 2006, it is entirely gone. $800 billion in only 16 months for an average of $50B a month.

Factoring out the plundering of excess social security contributions, the US government borrowed $52B in 3Q05, $96B in 4Q05 and expects to borrow $171B in 1Q06. A trend nearly as mind-boggling as the soon to be discontinued M3 series.

Why do I even bother to pen such distressing factoids?

Because in all my time studying economics I have determined only one thing; there's no free lunch. Pay now or pay later but pay we will.

Or, more accurately, we hope that our kids will, and not stiff us for the bill. But if they did, who could blame them?

I say yes, those who have accepted and advanced the welfare state ideas of past Presidents should bear the pain of funding them, not me. I reject entirely the idea of government force to redistribute property from me to older generations, on the implied promise that the government will be sure to plunder the next generation for my benefit.

This repulsive trend must stop, and those who should feel the pain in the transition are they who gave birth to these social diseases.