Oct 19 2012
2012 Election: Brought To You By The Letter “O” And The Number “16,000,000,000,000“
Update: Math error in this rushed post this morning. It is not $5m per person, but $50K. Fixed the math – still too much to afford. – end update
I have to admit, the Alfred E Smith speeches by both candidates last night were fun. And I actually think Obama had the slightly smoother delivery. But as we all know it was the supposedly Grinchy Romney who came out best due to the low expectations left by the muck raking summer Obama campaign.
Note to all pols: don’t over do the demonizing, because when your plausible and pleasant opponent shows up you get a big backlash! Besides, demonizing is the lazy way out.
The title of this post comes from the zinger that seems to be the one that will stick. It is a multi-faceted dig that Romney did deliver very well, including the comment Big Bird did not even see the straw man coming. It was brutal, because it sticks and is simple.
The $16,000,000,000,000 debt (trillions, for those who become comatose when faced with too many zeros) is the scariest number in this election. There are only around 300,000,000 men, women and children in the US, so we all owe over $50,000 $5 million to the government now.
Yes, $50,000 each. For my family of 6, that sums to $300,000. Trust me, I don’t got it.
And I won’t have another $300,000 if Obama gets another shot at his uncontrolled spending.
Libya is bad and will put the nail in Obama’s election hopes in the last debate. But the debt he blindly and cruelly racked up while failing to produce a course-corrected economy is proof enough the man needs to retire as soon as possible. We literally cannot afford 4 more years of this.
Seriously
What really scares me is: that the best way to get out of a debt laden overbearing government is to cut spending, shrink the government and thus, grow the economy so that tax revenues increase to overwhelm the debt. Alas, the debt is so big now that I fail to see how an economy of any realistic size could generate the kind of tax revenues needed to overcome that enormous debt. What we’re seeing in Greece is minute compared to the sheer scale of upheaval, civil unrest and hardship that seems to be inevitably heading our way soon. Editors note: there are 300,000,000 men, women and children in the US (when rounding off to hundreds of millions).
AJ, the per-capita federal debt is more like 50,000 dollars a person. As patrioticduo notes, the US population is roughly 300 million, not 3 million.
Stirner,
Thanks! Rushed that one out and knew it was wrong….
Just think about the recent revelation that the Fed Govt spent $1.03 TRILLION on means-tested welfare last year. If only 1/3 of that 300 million people are below the poverty line, that is $10,000 per person spent on welfare. For a family of four, that’s $40,000 per year. Just converting the benefits to cash means we could simply end poverty!
Govt spending is so far out of control, I don’t see any way to fix this. Even if Obama is voted out, how can we possibly grow our way out of this mess?
Phil, what those numbers really show is just how much is spent on bureaucratic overhead. About two-thirds, I’ve heard.
You fix it by several methods.
First, consolidate welfares. The Federal government has four programs that I can think of off hand to feed poor children. Why can we not consolidate those to one program? And do likewise to other welfare programs?
Second, go to a fixed definiton of “poor”. Right now, “poverty” is defined as the lowest 20% of incomes. Which means that it can’t be eradicated. A fixed definition would define “poverty” in calories per day of food, articles of clothing per year, and square feet of lodging. Legitimately poor people aren’t fat, and don’t have air conditioning. Many of the “poor” today are/have both.
Third, go to fixed budgets for welfare agencies. Right now, there is no budgetary pressure at all on them. As opposed to the Department of Defense, which works with a fixed budget. DOD may have efficiency problems, but anyone familiar with the Federal Government will tell you the military is the most efficiently run major agency. (FWIW, the Coast Guard probably wins in smaller agencies)
Respectfully disagree that Obama had the smoothest delivery.
Romney’s delivery was classic in the way way that Jack Benny and some of the other great comics delivered their lines. Understated delivery, with exquisite timing.
Of course the best part of Romney’s speech was that he took the gloves off and bloodied Obama time after time with none of it splashing on him.
Obama had some good lines. However, several commentators remarked that he was obsessed with the first debate, and overdid that. Couldn’t help but notice that his hits at Romney were personal, as in the stale attack on his wealth–I shopped for a few items, Romney was shopping for a few stores– while Romney hit him on his policies, “so little time, so much to redistribute”.