Federal Govt. $53 trillion in debt on socialism promises

Socialism always goes bankrupt. Look at what happened to the old Soviet Union.

It won’t be long before another socialist entity, the U.S. government, goes belly up. According to a new report by the U.S. government itself, as described by AP:

The government is promising $45 trillion more than it can deliver on Social Security, Medicare and other benefit programs….

That’s $45,000,000,000,000.00

The $45.1 trillion shortfall has increased by nearly $1 trillion in just one year, according to the administration’s “Financial Report of the United States Government” for 2006. And, it’s up 67.8 percent in just the past four years. In 2003, the shortfall between promised benefits and revenue sources over a 75-year period was put at $26.9 trillion.

The shortfall includes Socialist Security and Medicare in addition to Railroad Retirement and the Black Lung program.

When the gap in funding social insurance programs is added to other government commitments, the total shortfall as of Sept. 30 represented $53 trillion, up more than $2 trillion in just a year, the report said.

That’s $53,000,000,000,000.00.

Your children and grandchildren will be paying that — unless the government goes bankrupt, which it will. Why should your children and grandchildren pay for government workers who aren’t even shirking anymore, but retired?

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Go, Moorlach!

Even if you’re not from Orange County, you might have heard of John Moorlach. He’s the accountant who pointed out, back in 1994, that Orange County’s government was headed for bankruptcy. Nobody listened. Then the bankruptcy occurred. He then was appointed treasurer/tax collector, later winning election to the job.

Now he’s an O.C. Supervisor and is warning that, unless the Lucullan pensions of the county’s government workers are cut, the county faces another bankruptcy. The Register reports today:

Supervisor John Moorlach is expected to announce today that he will seek a pension overhaul that will slice public-safety employees’ benefits by one-third, a move applauded by some top Republicans but one that will be deepen Moorlach’s divisions with the unions.

Actually, knowing that something just like this reform was coming, the unions ran a big campaign against him last year, yet he still won 70% of the vote. As the Oakland Tribune noted just after the June 2006 election:

Moorlach was close to being a single-issue candidate, and his issue was pensions. Orange County’s pension system for its government workers is generous — and underfunded.

The situation is simple, really: pensions or bankruptcy. What about tax increases? This is Orange County, so forgetaboutit.

By the way, it’s too bad Orange County is in California. In any other, less socialist state, Moorlach would be a shoo-in for governor or senator. Instead we get these budgetary bozos like Wilson, Davis, and Arnold who would flunk a 2nd-grade math class.

(The add below is from Moorlach’s 2006 campaign.)

Back the Public Employee Benefits Reform Initiative

One of the better state legislators in recent years was Assemblyman Keith Richman, who was term-limited out of office last year. Unlike most of our politicians, he had a real job before going into politics. He’s a medical doctor. When I interviewed him in person, I felt confident that, if I keeled over with a heart attack, he’d know what to do.

In the Assembly, he pushed a reform of the exorbitant pensions that are bankrupting state and local governments. It went nowhere. Now he’s back with the Public Employee Benefits Reform Initiative. He’s right that the failure to reform the system would drive direct costs to taxpayers through the Capitol roof, bankrupting the state.

And as I’ve noted before, tax increases for such largess are not the answer because the state is tapped out. According to the Daily News:

Under the plan, all new public employees except those in public-safety jobs would have to work until age 65 to 67 – and police officers and firefighters would have to work to age 55 – to receive full pension benefits. Depending on years worked, some safety agencies in the state have a lower age for full retirement.

Richman’s plan would apply to all new employees in state and local government, special districts, school districts, and the California State University and University of California systems beginning July 1, 2009. If enough signatures are collected, the initiative would go on the ballot in November 2008.

Naturally, the government shirkers’ unions are opposed. They wouldn’t be satisfied even if taxes were 110% and each government shirker was given a personal chattel slave/taxpayer.

Dr. Richman’s reform is essential.

I’ll keep you posted on where to get petitions when they come out.