distro pruned to rcm

On Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:27:21 +0200, "The Gay Presidency"
wrote:
snip
During a press conference today, Boehner told reporters that “I
can’t think of anything that would do more to ensure such
spending restraints are set in stone than implementing a
balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.” Boehner asked
Democrats to recognize the benefits of a Balanced Budget
Amendment, which Congress will vote on next week. “Frankly, it’s
just common sense,” Boehner said and “it says the government can
only spend what it takes in, and places real limits on the
ability of politicians to increase taxes or to increase
spending.”
snip
===========

While this sounds good, it is yet another example of hope
and ideology trumping history and experience.

As I have posted before, 49 of the 50 states in the union
have constitutional provisions prohibiting budget deficits,
yet most of the large population states, e.g. California and
Illinois, are in de facto if not yet de jure default.
[States as sovereign entities can't go (currently) go
bankrupt, but they can default on their obligations.]

While legal deficit/debt prohibitions and restrictions may
make "the people" feel better, these are useless. When the
politicians and demagogs can get their hands on any money,
borrowed or tax revenue -- *IT WILL BE SPENT*. Even where
voter bond approval is mandated, as in New York state, when
the electorate refuse to approve any more bonds, the state
RINO administration and legislature end runs the
requirement, for example with the so-called moral obligation
bonds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rockefeller
snip
To create more low-income housing, Rockefeller created the
New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC), with
unprecedented powers to override local zoning, condemn
property, and create financing schemes to carry out desired
development. The financing involved the creation of a new
sort of bond—what came to be called "moral obligation"
bonds. They were not backed by the full faith and credit of
the State, but the quasi-public arrangements were meant to,
and did, convey the impression that the State would not let
them fail.
snip


For more information see
http://www.library.unt.edu/gpo/acir/...licy/a-107.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_insurance
snip
In the 1960s, John N. Mitchell (of later Watergate fame),
created the idea of a 'moral obligation bond', when
analyzing the affordable housing problem. It enabled
municipalities to issue debt without a vote of the people,
based on the idea that the government would 'pledge' the
'intent' to repay the bonds if they defaulted. Moral
obligation bonds were outlawed in 1976 after they were
blamed in part for the New York City financial crisis of the
1970s.
snip

IMNSHO it is now clear that attempting to control
governmental spending by limiting revenues, e.g. prop 13 in
California, or the prohibition of deficits, is futile and
what is required is an iron clad per capita spending cap for
the various levels of government, possibly adjusted for
inflation (which may be a danger at the national level by
encouraging inflation), along with mandated services which
must be provided to prevent diversion of funds from
essential services such as the courts, land registry,
police, fire, public health and basic education to
bureaucratically popular activities of minimal aggregated
public/social utility.

While these proposals have all the viability of a snow flake
in hell, these would go a long way toward mitigating the
impending financial/fiscal governmental catastrophe.

(1) Change to unicameral state legislatures to eliminate
divided responsibilities with loss of accountability, and to
minimize legislative costs.

(2) Term limits on all elected and appointed positions
including judicial, and imposition of a military type
mandatory three year reassignment of all personnel in civil
service positions to prevent personal/departmental empire
building.

(3) Imposition of per capita spending caps at all levels of
government, combined with mandated services that must be
provided by the various levels, with severe criminal and
civil penalties for actual or attempted avoidance or
evasion.

(4) Imposition on all levels of government of a standardized
computerized accounting system, including accrued costs such
as pension/retirement and bond interest obligations. In
particular the national military accounting system must be
brought under control. Until and unless this obvious and
very necessary step is substantially completed, the extent
of the financial problems, and progress (if any) in solving
cannot be determined.

(5) The creation and maintenance of a central publicly
accessible computer database of all governmental
programs/activities at all levels, with independent
assessment of their efficiency and cost effectiveness to
reduce duplication and to eliminate ineffective programs
while identifying successful activities for increased
funding. This should specifically include all special tax
provisions such as "capital gains," "carried interest,"
"investment tax credits," "depletion allowances,"
"accelerated depreciation," and etc. We can no longer
operate the US government on "what everybody knows," and
"they say." WE MUST HAVE FACTS -- NOT OPINIONS, AND THEN
MUST ACT ON THE FACTS.


--
Unka' George

"Gold is the money of kings,
silver is the money of gentlemen,
barter is the money of peasants,
but debt is the money of slaves"

-Norm Franz, "Money and Wealth in the New Millenium"