Tapping into retirement and disability funds

[billvon 3,132]

We are now so in debt that the treasury is starting to tap into disability funds to keep the government running. Our kids will live in interesting times.

---------------------------
Higher Debt Ceiling Sought
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2006

(AP) Treasury Secretary John Snow notified Congress on Monday that the administration has now taken "all prudent and legal actions," including tapping certain government retirement funds, to keep from hitting the $8.2 trillion national debt limit.

In a letter to Congress, Snow urged lawmakers to pass a new debt ceiling immediately to avoid the first-ever U.S. default on its obligations.

. . . .

In his letter, Snow notified lawmakers that Treasury would begin tapping the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, which Treasury officials said would provide a "few billion" dollars in extra borrowing ability.

Treasury officials also announced that on Friday they had used the $15 billion in the Exchange Stabilization Fund, a reserve that the Treasury secretary has that is normally used to smooth out volatile movements in the value of the dollar in currency markets.

Treasury has also been taking investments out of a $65.3 billion government pension fund known as the G-fund.

[narcimund 0]

We can only hope the rest of the world is planning adequately to weather the economic disaster.

Let's hope the EU, middle east, and China have sufficient cash reserves lest the entire planet drop into a 100-year depression.

First Class Citizen Twice Over

[TheAnvil 0]

Those funds are entitlement spending, which will be rising exponentially over the next few years. Even if discretionary spending were to remain constant - it won't, unfortunately - the debt ceiling would and will have to be raised. This will happen a lot over the next few years. The only way out of this fiasco is to cut entitlement spending, restrain discretionary spending, and eliminate useless programs that do not work. Those people clapping at the SOTU when GWB mentioned that Congress had not passed SS reform - take a bow everytime the debt ceiling is raised. Actually they should just bow deeper and longer than the rest of their fellow congressmen/congresswomen.

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[kelpdiver 2]

err, FICA taxes currently subsidize the deficit.

The way out of this fiasco probably lies in not maintaining tax cuts if we're really out of the recession, and to stop less than essential war fighting elsewhere.

Clinton's $7T surplus was always illusionary, but certainly it was much less of a debt accumulation than we're seeing now. Which is a shame - I thought that Gore was a bigger threat to the budget than Bush was. I was quite wrong.

[kallend 2,175]

Quote

We can only hope the rest of the world is planning adequately to weather the economic disaster.

Let's hope the EU, middle east, and China have sufficient cash reserves lest the entire planet drop into a 100-year depression.

Who cares as long as GWB's rich buddies have enough to weather the storm? The fools are the middle class and blue collar folks that voted for his voodoo economic ideas.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.