Quote:
Originally Posted by Uday
This is a self-correcting problem, I am thinking.
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That is what happened to GM. For 30 years, GM played money games to mask a reality that only got worse every five years. Eventually, GM ran out of money games. So the US government had to buy GM.
Self correcting means the debts come due (in the case of Mission Accomplished and Vietnam) seven or ten years after the fact.
Our government has other problems. For example, the government spends tens of $billions to enrich ethanol producers. All cars in America are now required to burn ethanol - that has no productive value. And that would not exist without those tens of $billions in US government subsidies.
Or an engine for the J-35 fighter plane - that even the defense department does not want. But the engine will be built in districts of the most powerful Congressional Republicans. So nobody will cancel what is clearly pork.
The US government issues protection to big pharma so that American drug prices can be 40% higher than even Canada and Mexico. That is $1 trillion over ten years. But again, too many bought and paid for politicians because the Supreme Court has said it is legal to buy a politicians.
Agricultural subsidies clearly protect farmers. Nonsense. Most of that government subsidy money goes to big agriculture companies such as Arthur Daniels Midlands. Farmers see almost none of it. Corporate welfare that can easily be eliminated. But ADM is a major purchaser of politicians.
Over $1billion annually given is Israel. The nation that gets the most American foreign aid. Why are we subsidizing a world industrial power with foreign aid? Because we must not cut spending that exists only for political reasons.
All examples of spending that is ignored - untouched - not even discusses for cut backs. Cited above is at least $100billion in savings. None are discussed by, for example, the tea party who says they want to cut spending.
Every above example should be cut to zero. But in money games, the resulting pain does not appear for so many years later. Same reasons why GM was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1991. Spread sheets never reported reality until 2008. So easy is to ignore realities.