0537 - Deficits

The United States and the World face many dangers, nay, many threats to civilization. As we made plain last week, the sight of Janet Jackson’s right boob (with ornament) was not such a threat. Nevertheless, this week produced a parade of boobs (in the sense of witless fools) who grasped for TV time to announce that the barbarians were at the gates of latter-day Rome. Congressmen cheerfully ignored war, “Intelligence [sic]” incompetence, fiscal ruin, and all lesser threats, and spent hours deploring and nattering. The Chairman of the FCC, who favors allowing a single company to own all regional TV, Radio and newspapers, was distressed, although he had ignored endless hours of truly salacious sniggling porn displayed to the impressionable and overweight youth of America. All professional deplorers were out in force, and Congressmen moaned loudly and threatened massive fines for exposure of sexually significant parts. It was the late H.L. Mencken who called much of the population the “Booboisie”. So right, H.L.

That being said, we turn to another significant object, the U.S. deficit. The current Administration and its Congressional backers have decided that Government income, in the shape of taxes, is a virulent disease. In contrast, Government expenditures, once the bane of all who called themselves true Conservatives, are beneficial, and schemes for additional expense abound, like sending a manned mission to Mars. Plans include creating a hereditary plutocracy by making all tax cuts permanent and abolishing the Estate Tax. Meanwhile, stealthily, the Baby Boomer Generation ages towards the time of major claims for “Entitlements”. What will this mean? Our Staff was concerned, and turned to our Revered Investment Guru (the R.I.G.) for guidance.

The R.I.G., asked for a word, muttered “Argentina”. That, as Sophisticated Readers know, is a large and traditionally badly-governed country, blessed with rich lands and natural resources, but subject to a constant plague of incompetent politicians. Government entitlements overwhelm all budgets there, and much money is borrowed abroad, only to cause recurrent crises and destruction of credit. As the R.I.G. points out, the United States debt is financed in major part by foreign governments, all desperate to prevent the value of the U.S. dollar from falling further. This Dollar devaluation is, of course, a normal and expected result of spending more than is taken in.

In Washington these days the smoke and mirror brigades are out in force, submitting budgets that do not include Iraq expenditures, or forgetting about future unfunded obligations, like Social Security, Medicare or (God willing) pensions for retiring Congressmen. All the traditional remedies for deficits are unthinkable in an election year. The unthinkables include higher taxes, lesser expenditures, or actually terminating time-honored money wasters. That never happens, and won’t happen now, will it?

We beg to point out that Anguilla, while it borrows short, has no funded debt to speak of. This isn’t good for things like surfacing dirt roads, but the sun still rises daily. The taxation situation here is simple: no income, corporate, or income taxes, only customs duties. Sounds like Washington, doesn’t it? Say the word, and an Anguilla instructional delegation will be on its way to DC. Just send prepaid tickets, please. First Class.

Next time: Borders [OO #538]

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

Home