Quote from ByLoSellHi:
There is one man, who I actually believe knows what he speaks of, who gives me more fear than anyone else regarding the economic future of the U.S.:
David Walker.
I've delved into what he's had to say for a long time now, and if he's right, as the former Comptroller General of the United States, well then, we've got some pretty remarkable problems looming as America's worker vs retiree structure inverts into an upside down pyramid shape.
The U.S. Government is on the hook for 58 trillion in unfunded liabilities that will be due in the form of entitlement payments to retirees and others, and instead of having three workers per retiree, we will be at a point within 25 years where we will have working adult for every three retirees.
And that, my friends, is very, very problematic. Pick your poison: Massively fewer entitlement payments, massively (radically, actually) higher taxes on the working population, or some combination of both.
Either way, it's economically non-stimulative, will make the U.S. far less competitive, and could have been avoided had the United States had only learned that age-old trick of saving money and building on surpluses, while it had the chance to do so.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0523fri1-23.html
http://www.gao.gov/cghome/dwbiog.html
I think David Walker said to himself "F it! Why bother trying to fix these problems when no one is listening to me, I'm heading to the beach with some rum and babes in hand!"
At least that's what I would say in his position.