We owe, we owe, it's off to work we go.....drat....

Skip here!  I am really hoping that Chan and family are having a deLIGHTFUL vacation, far away from the cold here in NH (yeah, couple of nights ago, we had to fire up OUR wood stove on consecutive nights.  No, not long burns - just enough to take the clammy, chill out (it's been raining, dontcha see?).

Anyways, I though that the WeekendPundit readers, seeing that both DCE and I are engineers and interested in what affects our families, would be interested in a recent post I did

President Obama is oft wont to proclaim how bad the Bush Administration was in spending; it seems to be a hobby (habit) now in using that old child's ruse of trying to deflect a parent's ire over some ill he has done by stating "But look what Johnny did!"

And just like with Johnny, Obama is trying the same trick: blaming Bush for the "mess he inherited" and then promptly making it 4 times worse (or more, as the deficit keeps climbing).  Recently he proudly proclaim that he's been more productive than even FDR - I'd not be too loud in trumpeting that fact, sir.

Anyways, USA Today had a good piece on the nation's debtand brings it down to the individual family level - remember folks, our political leaders have spent this on "our behalf" - it is OUR debt!  Even as individual citizens are deleveraging themselves (Businessweek reports that this is the sixth straight months that credit card debt has lessened), Obama is spending it for us:

Here's a little table I put together from the Flash presentation that animates the above:

Personal Debt				Federal Debt
Mortgages	$89,514	73.4%		Medicare	$284,288	52.0%
Consumer Debt	$22,231	18.2%		Social Security	$160,126	29.3%
Other	$10,208	8.4%		National Debt	$54,537	10.0%
				Military Retirement	$29,694	5.4%
TOTAL	$121,953			Civil Servant Retirement	$15,851	2.9%
				Other	$2,172	0.4%
				TOTAL	$546,668

 

And a couple of bullet point type stats from the piece:

• Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

• The 12% rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.
  

Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.

Key federal obligations:

• Social Security. It will grow by 1 million to 2 million beneficiaries a year from 2008 through 2032, up from 500,000 a year in the 1990s, its actuaries say. Average benefit: $12,089 in 2008.

• Medicare. More than 1 million a year will enroll starting in 2011 when the first Baby Boomer turns 65. Average 2008 benefit: $11,018.

Get that - that's  $23,107 for each retired adult just for SS and Medicare - it does NOT account for the other debt in the above table.  It is also projected that the number of active workers to support each retired person will soon drop to 2.  Now add in the "regular" in "on-going" taxes - think we will be Taxed Enough Already?  Time to Party yet?  Is that sustainable?

Ask yourself: is this what you want to leave as your legacy for your children and grand children.  Remember, low taxes are the result of low spending.  Isn't it time, as Obama keeps telling the rest of us, for Government to start sacrificing financially?

Yup, time for some more TEA Parties!!

(Cross-posted at GraniteGrok)