On Jan 6, 6:52*pm, F. George McDuffee gmcduf...@mcduffee-
associates.us wrote:
On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:39:41 -0600, RB
wrote:
snipIs Gunner going to have to give you another civics lesson, about how
Congress approves expenditures?

snip
And herein lies the rub. *Namely that increasing amounts of the
Federal budget are not discretionary, short of an Argentinean
style default, and/or triggering massive civil unrest.

The interest and principal *MUST* be paid on the Federal bonds
and other securities as due, and the entitlement programs such as
Social Security, Medicare, military retirement, etc. must be
funded. *Indeed, it would appear that where there is significant
foreign or pension fund ownership of state and municipal debt
obligations, the Federal government may well be forced to
guarantee these also to prevent massive financial
dislocations/cascades in the event of defaults, e.g. California
state and municipalities.

Thus ever increasing amounts, now a sizable majority both in
absolute dollars and as percentages of the Federal budget, are
beyond Congressional control, and in many cases even
Congressional oversight, e.g. the refusal of the FRB to disclose
even the names of the firms and amounts received of the several
trillion dollars of taxpayer guaranteed funds that have
disbursed, let alone how these funds are being used, and the
conditions [if any] attached to these funds.

Unka' George [George McDuffee]
-------------------------------------------
He that will not apply new remedies,
must expect new evils:
for Time is the greatest innovator: and
if Time, of course, alter things to the worse,
and wisdom and counsel shall not alter them to the better,
what shall be the end?

Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English philosopher, essayist, statesman.
Essays, "Of Innovations" (1597-1625).

George...you forgot to add that it is the American taxpayer (current
and future) who will have to pay these obligations...

....through increased taxes.

Now conservatives please tell me again how Bush and the Republican
Congress haven't raised your taxes through their irresponsible
actions.

TMT