Dreamwidth. LJ. Blogs Galore!

Well....yeah.

It seems that I have taken the plunge, as I have decided to take on two blogs at once:

ChrisBrad on LiveJournal

ChrisBrad on Dreamwidth

Starting today, both will have the same content. That means, of course, that the Dreamwidth account will not have any post prior to this one. To read anything I may have written before today, you'll have to click on over to my LJ blog. Having said that, if I find DW as alluring as a certain person has made it out to be, celestineangel on DW and celestineangel on LJ, I may start using DW as my primary account. If that happens, some of my more personal posts may end up only on DW. We'll wait and see...

So,  for now, that is all.

ChrisBrad

The Sobering (and Depressing) Truth

Just click on over to The United States Debt Clock.

This is one of the most important web links anyone could possibly bookmark. Watch before your very eyes what is happening to this country. This clock doesn't care if Republicans or Democrats run the Congress or the White House. This clock doesn't care about the minute politcal shifts of this nation. This clock doesn't represent a partisan point of view. It represents the reality of what is happening in Washington, in our state capitals, and in our local communities.

Sadly, this clock (frequently updated to make sure its stats are correct) shows our future being bankrupted. Just look at the top set of numbers. Our national debt is about to hit 12 TRILLION DOLLARS. That means every man, woman, and child, legal and illegal, in this nation will owe another government and/or entity nearly 39 THOUSAND BUCKS.

But not everyone pays taxes. Nearly 40% of people in this nation pay no federal income tax. That means each taxpayer is about to see their part of the debt reach 111 THOUSAND DOLLARS.

But the worst number rests at the bottom. This number is referred to as "US Unfunded Liabilities." This is just a fancy phrase for the services the US has agreed to provide but has not funded. Basically, everything from wars to hospital stays to educational expenses and scientific studies. Add to that social security. Add Medicare and Medicaid. Everything that we want but have not figured out how to pay for rests here.

In good times this number is already high. Why? Because why would a politician want to create a program and pay for it? Beacuse they can!

But in good times things are likely to not get out of control. And the times in which we live are precarious. The frequency of wars, disease, disasters, etc., all seem to growing. That means the chance of every failsafe in our political/economic structure are being pressured.

And while this does not appear to be on the brink, the chance of a complete collapse is more and more real. And if the worst happens, if all our failsafes fail, well, that means we are suddenly on the hook for more than 100 TRILLION DOLLARS in these unfunded mandates, the so-called unfunded liabilities.

Can anyone imagine where this nation and her people would find that kind of cash? I doubt grandma has a few billion tucked under the bed. But the scenario of a complete economic collapse is being played out around the world. Nation after nation is beginning to limit their purchase of US debt. Some nations and influential leaders are calling for the end of the US dollar as the currency of international reserve. This all has an effect. But add to that a growing debt, more government spending (via bailouts, stimulus, single-payer healthcare), instability throughout the world, the devaluing of the US debt rating (currently AAA via Moody's, but likely to drop in the next few years), and reckless/thoughtless institution of out-dated regulations, and the odds of this worst-case scenario is something we all have renewed cause to fear.

So click on over. And in a few days click over again. Watch how our future is being decided for us now.

This isn't a scare-tactic site, please keep that in mind. This is our actual debt. Our actual numbers. Our present as it is, not as we wish or as we fear. This is reality.

Scary stuff.

ChrisBrad