All the Dependency Pieces Are Falling into Place

By W.A. Beatty

Does the phrase "Kicking the can down the road" sound familiar? It should. It means, "Borrowing (running a deficit) to avoid payment for present spending." The problem with that strategy is that the payment for all the borrowing will eventually come due. It is simply not possible to continually consume more than you produce. The advantage of this strategy is that the politicians who do the borrowing will be long gone when the payment comes due. Economic problems arise, however, when people become very dependent upon goods and services provided by politicians (of both parties) who pay for the goods and services by kicking the can down the road. Did you know that the U.S. deficit (more money spent than taken in, thus increasing the federal debt) is going to exceed $1 trillion for the fifth straight fiscal year? The U.S. federal government never increased its debt by more than $1 trillion in a single fiscal year prior to 2008. The U.S. federal government has increased its debt by more.... (Read Full Article)