David Walker is not a politician. He was hired by Bill Clinton during his presidency to head the GAO. His official title was: Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO. He was not an elected official and was hired for 15 years regardless of which president or political party was in office.
Walker has been preaching of impending fiscal doom for some time now, unless there is immediate action. It is his premise that there is not enough money to pay future retirees their full Social Security and Medicare benifits and in fact, unless something is done immediately, our country may not survive.
Below the fold are excerpts from various reports I read today trying to understand why the future of Social Security and Medicare is such a problem and what the possible solutions might be.
Each party has an intrinsic interest in keeping their bases happy. The Republicans promise more Tax cuts and the Democratic party promises universal health care for all.
While both promises are great for getting politicians elected, neither is possibile without seriously harming our nation's future. Read on to find out why.
I encourage you to watch this video trailer for an upcoming movie about the current financial condition of the United States of America. The movie is designed to be the financial equivalent of what An Inconvenient Truthis about our environment, an invitation to wake up and help support major changes in our government before it is too late.
Did you know that in the years since World War II, Democrats and Republicans have held the White House for roughly the same number of years (34 for Republicans and 28 for Dems), and yet the Republicans have racked up SEVEN TIMES AS MUCH DEBT? Surprised? Well... keep reading, and you'll see why I’m so charged about this effort...
Over the years, you've heard me rant about a range of subjects here, from ActForLove.org to stem cell research, to other just plain silly stuff. But my first foray here in Kosland came back in 2003, when I was driving the DraftWesleyClark.com effort. So I guess it's only fitting that I'm here again to extol the virtues of another former general – one who is also not afraid to tell it like it is.
In this case, I'm talking about the former Comptroller General, David Walker. For those who aren't familiar with this position, it's the nation's top auditor and the head of the Government Accountability Office.
Today I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dr. Marjorie E. Kanof, Managing Director of the Health Care team at the GAO. She came to give my colleagues and I a general presentation on the GAO. What was perhaps unusual about the meeting was that it took place in Luxembourg, yes the little country wedged between Belgium, Germany and France (and the country with the highest GDP per capita in the world).
It was a meeting between colleagues, as she was giving her presentation to the European Court of Auditors, which is where I work. It was a fascinating presentation, and I was very impressed. I think that Americans can be very grateful for such a robust and sound organisation that tries to hold its Federal Government to account. Amazingly, their site has over 1 million hits a day, which I think is a very healthy sign of the level of interest in the activities of government.
I'm a long-time compulsive lurker around here and have never been able to bring myself to post anything beyond the occasional odd comment, cringing at the thought of drawing attention to myself. I don't know how others expose themselves so freely for all the world to see!
Anyway, for my inaugural diary, I'm not posting my own writing here but instead plugging my wife's column yesterday in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. She teaches American History at Sonoma State University, and the title of her column was originally the same as the one for this diary, but editors like to change headlines. It ran as Obama Opens Last Chapter on America's Racial Divide.
There is an 800 pound gorilla in our economic room and everyone acts like he doesn't exist. Everyone is worried about a recession, but that is just a bump in the road compared to the real problem with our economy. There is a much worse problem in our near future. Bush’s "shop till you drop" policy and the republicans lackadaisical attitude about borrowing money from our grandkids and foreign countries has exacerbated a problem that has been festering since the 1950's. Our country is now in grave peril. Plainly stated: we as a nation, are going bankrupt. We are spiraling downward to become a 3rd world country within the next 40 years and our politicians are to scared to talk about it.
While the Administration will emphasize that the annual federal deficit shrunk to $163 billion for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, that’s not the real story. The real story is that the fiscal exposure of the US government is $53 trillion, a number which has increased under Bush more that $32 trillion from about $20 trillion as of September 30, 2000.
This is a government-generated image and it speaks volumes about Republican mismanagement of America:
George Bush and his complicit Republican Party are on course to DOUBLE the national debt, from around $5 trillion to $10 trillion, and these numbers are nothing less than treasonous actions by Republicans because America will NEVER recoup these losses from oil contracts in Iraq (or Iran if these murderous fiends attack them for THEIR oil). It is treasonous because George and Dick did this to America to pay back political backers and to secure their likely future careers in the oil industry.
Democrats have been trying an unsuccessful pay-as-you-go approach and are slightly less corrupt but corrupt nevertheless, see Hillary's statement that the insidious lobbyists "represent real Americans."
All that said, there was a time when progressives ruled America, see FDR and Congress of his time.... It can be this way again! Until then, America has "fiscal cancer," according to the nation's comptroller general:
There's a lookout in the tower and his name is David Walker. He is touring the country to raise the alarm that every citizen needs to understand what is coming. Who is Mr. Walker? He's the head bean counter who works for Congress (head of the GAO). Government spending, debt, and accouting are this guy's specialty, and he is speaking out about a Titanic style crisis looming on the horizon.
If he works for Congress, isn't he supposed to report to them? Well yes, and I have the feeling that he has been for several years with little effect. I get the impression he is so frustrated with the lack of honest lawmakers, he is taking his case directly to the people.
What is the GAO? They are an orgainization founded by Congress in 1921 to monitor and report on government spending. They are based out of DC and maintain 11 additional offices around the country employing approxsimately 3,000 people. They have made recommendations to Congress that have saved American taxpayers over $50 Billion to date.
For the moment, forget about General Petraeus' appearance before Congress, or the September 15th report of the President. Focus with me on the first September report mandated by Congress. It's due a week from Saturday, and it's integral to our effort to end the war. Help your Congressperson and media with the framing of this report, because everything else follows from this one.
No surprises here, except Americans didn't get the news -- as usual:
The US comptroller general David Walker issued a report last week in Chicago in which he likened the present situation in the United States to the Roman Republic or an organization that fails to adapt and "may not survive."
Nobody reported it. The first report of the speech came today in London's Financial Times.
The US government is on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country’s top government inspector has warned.
Tonight on TDS, Garry Shandling, comedian/actor promoting new DVD, "Not Just the Best of the Larry Sanders Show" and on TCR, David Walker, Head of the Government Accountability Office and Deficit Hawk.
The Sausage Grinder of Snark hates gray rainy days...
U.S. Comptroller General David Walker of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a rare find amongst Washington insiders. Appointed to a 15-year term in 1998 by President Clinton, General Walker is free from the typical entanglements and politics which make partisan demagoguery the norm for our elected and appointed officials. Not beholden to lobbyists, opinion polls or even the current administration, the GAO's mission
is to help improve the performance and assure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people. GAO has earned a reputation for professional, objective, fact-based, nonpartisan, nonideological, fair and balanced reviews of government programs and operations.
Think Progress points to a report of a talk given this Wednesday by David M. Walker, the Comptroller General of the US. Walker, who is in year 8 of a 15 year appointment, has been fearless. Late last year during a wide ranging C-Span interview, Walker flat out stated that every dollar of the Social Security Trust Fund surplus is being spent on other governmental operations (Iraq springs to mind). But last week he had this to say about the willingness of the Pentagon to reveal Iraqi Security Forces readiness:
Comptroller General David M. Walker told audience members at a Government Executive breakfast Wednesday that Defense has not complied with repeated Government Accountability Office requests for evaluations of Iraqi troop preparedness, known as transitional readiness assessments. The Pentagon develops those evaluations for Iraqi and U.S. forces, Walker said, and has a statutory obligation to release them to GAO.
If I told you that the Chief Accounting Officer of America’s largest employer was reduced to writing letters to the editor of newspapers to try and bring attention to the fiscal insolvency of the company he audits, I’d imagine that you’d be scandalized.
Well, it happened eleven days ago, and hardly anyone noticed.
David Walker, chief of the Government Accountability Office, made two important statements today on C-Span's Washington Journal. You can watch the December 8 show here. Walker's segment begins at 1:00:00. Walker has credibility. He's a person with mettle and has some scary things to say about our nations fiscal position. Early in the interview, Walker explains that the GAO serves Congress and is non-partisan. He also takes Congress to task for not completing its work on spending resolutions, thereby hamstringing many government agencies from doing important work. And then he drops some fiscal bombshells.
