America's future under Obama; retirement funds; Argentina; Cristina Kirchner

The following item grabbed my attention at Asia Times:

Argentina is now effectively broke, and the government of Cristina Kirchner has expropriated the country's private pension plans to obtain cash.

Further research revealed this. Does anyone really think that Obama won't try to do the same thing? Even if he does not do this, he will lay the groundwork for a successor who will find it that much easier to seize our IRA's and 401(k)'s.

Cristina Kirchner

Boomsday approaches; U.S. credit rating in jeopardy; Federal health care spending; Social Security;

The United States runs the risk of losing its AAA credit rating within a decade [for the first time since the rating was created almost a century ago]. Moody's warned that this scenario could occur "unless it [the U.S.] takes radical action to curb soaring healthcare and social security spending."

If the U.S. loses its credit rating, it will be harder for the federal government to borrow money. The federal government's borrowing costs will soar. Interest payments on the national debt will soar. Budget deficits and the federal debt will continue to grow.

Just as importantly, "safe" investments such as bonds, T-bills and money market mutual funds will be jeopardized, as the stability of such investments has always been predicated on the credit rating of the U.S. government and its ability to repay its debt. [The previous sentence is a gross understatement.]

With these previously "safe" investments now at risk, the devastating consequences will spill into other markets, such as insurance and banking (including mortgage lending). The consequences for mortgage lending have been forecast in such books as Empire of Debt (specifically the final chapters). The coming credit crunch is related to and will compound the bursting of the existing real estate bubble.



Since the Moody's warning focused on healthcare and SS spending as the principal culprits of the coming credit rating downgrade, I wonder how the candidates will react to this news.

In the pre- new media days, this story would have been buried, lest it prevent the candidates' attempts to bribe the voters with their own money. If this story sees the light of day now, most candidates will simply spin it into their own pre-existing demagoguery. They will say that the coming crisis shows the need to enact their own programs to greatly expand federal health care spending, even though such spending is the cause of the coming crisis.

Most presidential candidates have vowed to reform the healthcare system but many of them, especially on the Democratic side, have focused on extending coverage to the 40m-plus uninsured Americans rather than on cutting costs.

H/T Financial Times

For any problem, politicians confuse the cause with the solution.

Some day, when you are forced to accept pennies on the dollar for your money markets and other "cash" savings, remember to blame every politician that pushed for more government health care and refused to face facts on Social Security.

Barrack Hussein Obama floats a social security tax hike; Boomsday approaches

The very fact the Barrack Hussein Obama is floating the idea of a social security tax hike, no matter how dangerous or absurd the idea, is more proof that the social security system is in much greater danger than the MSM/DNC has been willing to admit. As soon as President Bush proposed his modest reforms, we began hearing the chorus of MSM/DNC voices assuring us that no problem existed with SS and that Bush was trying to whip up hysteria at the expense of seniors. In fact, the Democrats know that the system cannot survive. That is the only reason they dare to propose any SS changes, especially a tax hike.

Cox and Forkum 2004










The Democrats refused to acknowledge in 2005 what we all know - Boomsday is closer than we think.

Classics of Conservatism - Part XX - Boomsday

Click here for a previous Classic of Conservatism.

We have been told for generations that social security is insolvent or will soon be insolvent and/or will run out of money someday. We have watched as one Republican president after another has proposed some solution, only to see that solution quickly shot down in a hail of demagoguery. We watch every election cycle as the MSM/DNC tries to frighten seniors into believing that the Republican candidate has a secret plan to cut/deny SS benefits. The social security system started as an illegal ponzi scheme. The political process has turned the system into a parody of itself.

Most of us have known these things for years (unless you trust the government to take care of you in your old age). But now we have something else to keep the social security issue in perspective - a new novel and a new word. "Boomsday" is the name of both the novel and a deadline. Boomsday is the day when baby boomers begin retiring with full benefits to be paid by the next generation. While it is not clear that the disaster will begin immediately upon the retirement of the first boomers, it IS clear (from the novel and from our own knowledge of economics and common sense) that the fuse will be lit on that day and will quickly burn to its inevitable conclusion.

more than just a novel








Boomsday the novel is set against the backdrop of the financial consequences for the United States government and the economy. The novel describes the actions of one principled person with a catchy name who fights back using her even more appropriately named blog.



The reader is treated to stories of riots on golf courses in protest against the boomers' easy retirement lifestyle at the expense of later generations. The reader is further presented with the main character's unique and imaginitive proposals for rescue of the SS system. We share her dismay as her main proposal is compromised away, despite retaining the same name and form.

"Boomsday" is not simply a dry novel filled with statistics and grim warnings. The book is filled with wit and humor and even some fast paced action. As the characters race toward the climax, the reader detects a hint of a John Grisham story.

Boomsday is about more than simply the collapse of social security. Boomsday is about Presidential and legislative politics. The politics and the humor take the story a little far afield of its original mission. The author's antipathy to the "Christian Right" is also misleading and distracting. The book is filled with salty language, probably in an attempt to attract younger readers to find out about their impending fate.

The book is to be celebrated for reminding us of the war in Bosnia, which still occupies American forces and serves as a symbol for so much of what is wrong with our government and its policies.

















[The above images do not actually appear in the book (there are no illustrations), but they demonstrate some of the major plot points that guide the story.]


But the most important function of the book is to jump start the discussion of the disaster that awaits us when SS can no longer survive in its current form. The book, much like the main character, seems to want only to begin a "dialogue", during which presumably more Americans will realize the grave danger with which we are faced. The book fulfills that role.

Coining a term that will serve to remind the audience of the impending SS crisis is crucial. With the use of the term "Boomsday", we now have a word that will shorthand the concept and aid our discussion. For too long, the MSM/DNC monopoly not only provided misinformation on key issues, it also prevented any discussion of key issues by refusing to discuss or even identify key ideas or problems. The imminent collapse of SS is one of those concepts. The one word identifier - "Boomsday" - now allows us to warn of the impending Boomsday just as the word "9-11" allows us to warn of future terrorism in our cities.

I recommend the book, but, more importantly, I recommend the word.

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update - I have updated the photos above.