Tag: Boomergeddon
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Fed Theft Update: $749 Billion from Bank Depositors
Federal Reserve Bank suppression of interest rates has cost bank depositors $749 billion in interest income on savings accounts, CDs, and money market accounts over the past six years, according to Richard Barrington with MoneyRates.com. Quantitative Easing has made possible one of the greatest redistributions of wealth in United States history. Unlike with taxes, which…
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Buena Vista: the Canary in Virginia’s Fiscal Coal Mine
by James A. Bacon The City of Buena Vista, which defaulted in 2014 on a $9.2 million bond issue to pay for a golf course that was supposed to spur growth in the city, has received some good news. It will be allowed to keep its city hall. For now. The office building, along with…
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Are the End of Times Upon Us?
by James A. Bacon Surely we have reached the end of times of apocalyptic lore when the leading Republican candidate for president flapped his arms during a national debate and assured the American people that not only are his hands of respectable size but so is another part of his anatomy. “I guarantee you, there’s no problem,”…
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Your Federal Tax Dollars at Work
And I thought the City of Richmond was incompetent for its inability to close out its financial books in a timely manner! Heed this opinion from the federal Government Accountability Organization (GAO) on Uncle Sam’s financial statements for 2014 and 2015: “Certain material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and other limitations on the scope of…
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Boomergeddon Update: Deficits Rising Again
by James A. Bacon Blame who you want for this sad state of affairs — it’s always the other guy’s fault, right? — but after six years of shrinking federal government deficits, red ink is on the rise again. And unless Congress enacts significant budget reforms, deficits will get worse every year pretty much forever…
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Agreed, We Can’t Risk Expanding Medicaid. But What’s the Alternative?
by James A. Bacon Republican leadership in the House of Delegates once again has slammed the door on Governor Terry McAuliffe’s proposal to expand Virginia’s Medicaid program. There are good reasons both for and against extending the entitlement but the decisive and most compelling argument is the likely inability of the federal government to honor its commitment to…
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Meanwhile, Virginia’s Debt Service Has Doubled
Debt service on bond issues, mainly for higher education and transportation, has been a major driver of state spending over the past 10 years. The repayment of interest and debt has increased in absolute numbers and as a percentage of total blended revenues — from $385 million (or 2.57% of revenues) in FY 2005 to $836…
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A World of Failed States, Militias and Refugees
The flood of refugees from war-torn Africa and the Middle East into Europe got me to thinking about something I wrote five years ago in “Boomergeddon,” back when the world still seemed relatively sane. I recognized that fiscal constraints would prevent the United States from maintaining its role as the world’s policeman. Despite all the…
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Another Idol Has Fallen: Virginia's Fiscal Condition Not So Great
by James A. Bacon Once upon a time, Virginia was widely regarded as the Best State to Do Business. No longer. That reality is slowly making an impression in government and economic development circles, and I sense a growing awareness that Virginia can’t continue doing things the same way it always has. Virginia also has…
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Another Idol Has Fallen: Virginia’s Fiscal Condition Not So Great
by James A. Bacon Once upon a time, Virginia was widely regarded as the Best State to Do Business. No longer. That reality is slowly making an impression in government and economic development circles, and I sense a growing awareness that Virginia can’t continue doing things the same way it always has. Virginia also has…
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Federal Bailouts and the Buildup of Risk
by James A. Bacon The federal government plays a much bigger role in shaping the United States economy than is evident in its taxing and spending policies. Uncle Sam funnels credit to favored constituencies through subsidized credit programs like TIFIA transportation loans and the Import-Export bank as well as by protecting lenders from losses due…
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Turning 62: Take the Social Security and Run?
by James A. Bacon I turn 62 years old today, and one of the few perks of advancing age is the prospect of collecting Social Security. I, like thousands of other Baby Boomers who turn 62 every day, face the decision whether to start pocketing Social Security now, wait until full retirement at 66 or…
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Boomergeddon Watch: Debt Visible and Invisible
by James A. Bacon Now that the United States has driven down its annual budget deficit to less than $500 billion a year, there is a widespread temptation to think that we’re out of the fiscal woods. By some fiscal measures, actually, we are performing better than a lot of other countries. I found this…
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Yes, Boomergeddon Still on Track
by James A. Bacon President Barack Obama seemed pretty darned impressed with his economic and fiscal stewardship of the United States during his State of the Union speech last night. “We’ve seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation…
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At Last, a Chance to Address Fundamental Issues
by James A. Bacon With yesterday’s elections, the Republican Party has taken control of the United States Senate and padded its lead in the House of Representatives, assuring a markedly different political dynamic in the two years ahead. The big question on everybody’s minds is, “Can Republicans govern?” Or will we see two more years…