Pessimistic about America

Mikey · Jul 18, 2012

I came across these articles just to get a brief reading about the state of affairs and condition of this country. The first one was about a drought that's affecting food production in the US. It would force us to conserve resources and the prices of foods would increase which isn't good for us. This other one was about the country's economic conditions. The fiscal cliff at the end of the year (if no action is taken by Congress after the election between Obama and Romney) would probably affect our livelihood in a negative way. I've copied and pasted a few important parts from that article for us to read over.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/us/in-report-on-states-finances-a-grim-long-term-forecast.html

The fiscal crisis for states will persist long after the economy rebounds as they confront rising health care costs, underfunded pensions, ignored infrastructure needs, eroding revenues and expected federal budget cuts, according to a report issued here Tuesday by a task force of respected budget experts.

It said that the financial collapse of 2008, which caused the most serious fiscal crisis for states since the Great Depression, exposed deep-set financial challenges that will worsen if no action is taken.

“The ability of the states to meet their obligations to public employees, to creditors and most critically to the education and well-being of their citizens is threatened,” warned the chairmen of the task force, Richard Ravitch, a former lieutenant governor of New York, and Paul A. Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

“This is a fundamental shift in the way governments have responded to recessions and appears to signal a willingness to ‘unbuild’ state government in a way that has not been done before,” it said, noting that court systems had cut their hours in many states, delaying actions including divorce settlements and criminal trials.

The report arrived at a delicate political moment. States are deciding whether to expand their Medicaid programs to cover the uninsured poor as part of the new health care law, with the federal government pledging to pay the full cost at first. Public-sector unions feel besieged, as states and cities from Wisconsin to San Jose, Calif., have moved to save money on pensions. And Washington’s focus on deficit reduction — with big budget cuts scheduled for after the fall election — has made cuts to state aid inevitable, many governors believe.
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The post by Al Rodbell from Encitas, California is perhaps the best one on the site, with 39 recommendations from other users. He believes that a worsening economic condition would gradually cause more unrest and social instability within the country and ultimately, the world because the whole world is in a recession.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/u...rim-long-term-forecast.html?comments#permid=7

This was done by elected officials based on the assumptions that they would be knowledgeable, responsible and honest; they were none of the above. Pension increases do not show up as deficits, because of the very rules that are made by these officials so they could win the votes of unions, getting re-elected while providing wealth to the union members.

The budget cuts mentioned, such as diminishing legal proceedings and current educational needs are undermining the deepest roots of civilized society. Rather than accept this report, not really news at all for anyone who has been paying attention for the last few decades, with a dedication to the painful corrective action that is needed, it will be converted into continued partisan hatred.

We cannot survive when more funds are allocated for retired municipal employees than for those who are required to perform the current services. 50 students to a class, or justice curtailed will create a different country, one where other cultural norms, more violent and power based, must take the place of those predicated on the rule of law and underlying fairness, most importantly between generations.
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Pessimistic about America

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