[mattduke]

John Allison, who for two decades served as chairman and CEO of BB&T, the nation's 10th largest bank, told CNSNews.com it is a “mathematical certainty” that the United States government will go bankrupt unless it dramatically changes its fiscal direction

“Now, countries don’t go bankrupt the way companies do,” said Allison. “They don’t file bankruptcy. They usually hyper-inflate. They print a bunch of paper money, or they become Third World economies like Argentina--unless we change direction. So, we absolutely have to change direction. And the irony of that is it requires an interesting combination. It requires both discipline, but it also requires a focus on growing our economy. And it means a fundamental philosophical change from where we are today, from the idea of redistributing wealth to the idea of creating wealth.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/for ... athematica

[dolanbaker]

From the same article.

“If you run the numbers, on all those numbers that you just talked about, which I think are accurate, very accurate, in 20 or 25 years, the United States goes bankrupt,” said Allison. “It’s a mathematical certainty.

That begs the question, what's going to happen during the next 20 years or so, is he assuming that growth can be restarted?

[Plantagenet]

“Now, countries don’t go bankrupt the way companies do,” said Allison. “They don’t file bankruptcy. ...They print a bunch of paper money...

More "Quantitative Easing", anyone?

[Sixstrings]

And it means a fundamental philosophical change from where we are today, from the idea of redistributing wealth to the idea of creating wealth.”

Oh brother, not this again. Our whole problem is because wealth has been redistributed, from the many to the very few. Yes, the country is goin "bankrupt." But no, the answer is not more redistribution to the top 5%.

[mos6507]

That begs the question, what's going to happen during the next 20 years or so, is he assuming that growth can be restarted?

Is that a rhetorical question? What's the domain-name of this site?

[Arthur75]

Put a $1 tax on gasoline for a start. And don't worry that would still keep your gasoline price within third world standards !

[Oakley]

It should be fairly obvious that the US government cannot possibly pay its debts. Divide the official debt and the off book debt like unfunded retirement benefits (both government employees and Social Security) by the population, and you come up with a number than the average person could not possibly pay in his lifetime, particularly when you consider that the average person is up to his eyeballs in his own personal debts.

And consider that the federal government keeps adding on more debts, not reducing the existing debts.

The only question is if they default honestly and openly, letting the cards fall where they may, or print up worthless pieces of paper they call "money" and hand it to you in payment of what they promised you. Either way we lose.

As far as getting the economy to expand rather than contract (when expansion requires sufficient cheap energy) falls into the category of fantasy. The long term picture as far into the future as one can look is economic contraction. Less net energy means less net industrial output.

But in the big picture, I think bankruptcy of the federal government will be a small problem for the average man compared to his struggle to acquire the bare necessities of life.

[brixio]

From the same article.

“in 20 or 25 years, the United States goes bankrupt,”

so much? i thought less than 10.

[vision-master]

Fiat monetary systems only last about 70 years.

[TheAntiDoomer]

Once again, I'll be waiting.

[vision-master]

You and yer Satanic buds?

[Newfie]

It should be fairly obvious that the US government cannot possibly pay its debts. Divide the official debt and the off book debt like unfunded retirement benefits (both government employees and Social Security) by the population, and you come up with a number than the average person could not possibly pay in his lifetime, particularly when you consider that the average person is up to his eyeballs in his own personal debts.

That is the common sense approach to this that floors me.

BTW, has anyone a source for what this calculation actually works out to????

Not that I can't do the math, I don't know how to gather up all the debt that we currently have.

[SeaGypsy]

Minimum wage in the USA is what? $7 something an hour?
Let's call it in oil 2 or 3 gallons an hour.

Minimum legal wages in Asia are close to 1 to 2 gallons a DAY.

Illegals in both environments work for less; let's say about half that.

Productive, creative work (non stamp licker/ pen pusher) is over time becoming less well paid, it's a race to the bottom for the real working class.
Exceptions to this scenario are few and far between.

Australia is doing ok mostly because it is a young country with a small population and vast resources, besides being an island continent with quite tight border control.
The USA has none of these advantages, it is more on a par with India and China; old, overpopulated, exploited and import dependent for key resources/ oil, coal, fertilisers and minerals.
The USA dominated for a variety of complex reasons for the last hundred years; over the last few decades, due to smoke and mirrors bankster/ government collusion/ delusion games based on impossible debt.

Well guess what?
It's time to pay the piper.

Real wages around the manufacturing dependent world are about to go to parity, dominated by the biggest populations of manufacturers: China and India.
Many countries which have passed peak before peak oil will go down the gurgler with the USA; 1st world Asia is very high on the list, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Singapore has very cleverly carved itself a niche as the city state and will soon be the only 1st world 'country' in Asia.

I have raised these points in other threads over the last couple of years; they are almost invariably ignored. This I read as the board being largely American and not wanting to face these quite obvious facts.

[vision-master]

We have a lot of entitlement mentality in the USA.

Three level 4,000 sq ft homes

Two new $40,000 SUV's

Three + car garages

Cheap Energy

Motorcycles, snowmobiles, atv's

etc.

[SeaGypsy]

Nail, hammer, head VM.
Hence the pretence of striving for 'recovery' despite the total impossibility of such a thing. Over the specified 20 to 30 year period, the realists running the fed's printing presses hope to drag out inevitable decline enough to forstall civil war and chaos. If they succeed in that, it will be little short of a miracle, due to exactly what you have pointed to here. The sense of entitlement of the average Joe/Jane.

[vision-master]

an now the power is being switched to the GOP/ Teabagger party.

The 1%'ers will do anything to hang onto their 'god given right' of wealth and the American way of life!

It's going to be interesting........

[SeaGypsy]

What is the outcome? Do we get Workers Paradise or a World Prison? Is a new balance with a middle class even possible?

Neither, we get 3rd world world. I am living in it right now. It's not as bad as people think; but it can be pretty bad. It will certainly test that "Rugged Individualism" along with other character traits less well known lately.

[Oakley]

It should be fairly obvious that the US government cannot possibly pay its debts. Divide the official debt and the off book debt like unfunded retirement benefits (both government employees and Social Security) by the population, and you come up with a number than the average person could not possibly pay in his lifetime, particularly when you consider that the average person is up to his eyeballs in his own personal debts.

That is the common sense approach to this that floors me.

BTW, has anyone a source for what this calculation actually works out to????

Not that I can't do the math, I don't know how to gather up all the debt that we currently have.

The official debt works out to roughly $44,000 per person. Unfunded liabilities, those not represented by bonded debt, work out to roughly $360,000 per person. Promises, promises, promises; what is that saying about promises being made to be broken.

The US treasury awaits receipt of your $404,000 check to settle your share of the debt.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

http://www.lewrockwell.com/englund/englund58.1.html

[careinke]

an now the power is being switched to the GOP/ Teabagger party.

The 1%'ers will do anything to hang onto their 'god given right' of wealth and the American way of life!

It's going to be interesting........

Where did you get that info? Last I looked the Tea Party were calling for reduced spending. Right now they seem to be the only group that really gets how up the creek our big spending govt is.