Video: Some Practical Lessons in Budget Reform

The Mercatus Institute: Practical Lessons in Budget Reform:

The United States is not the first nation to accumulate unsustainable levels of debt, nor is it the first to face devastating economic and fiscal consequences because of it.

The good news is we're not flying blind. Economists' exhaustive research of other nations' experiences provides a wealth of insight on the most effective way to deal with unsustainable debt. There is also much to be learned from our own past attempts—successful or not—to meaningfully reform the budget.

At an hour and seven minutes, the video above is pretty long, some really good information in it.

Strike Three! Another Year, Another Trillion Dollar Deficit

The Hill's On The Money: Federal budget deficit on track to eclipse $1 trillion for third year:

...through eight months of the 2011 fiscal year the nation is facing its third straight $1 trillion-plus deficit -- totaling $927.4 billion so far compared with $935.6 billion during the same period in 2010...

It's just red ink as far as the eye can see.

Related articles

• U.S. government runs $58 bln May budget deficit (marketwatch.com)
• Another Trillion Dollars In Debt (And We've Still Got Four Months To Go) (reason.com)
• Of Course They Are... White House Says They're Serious About Deficit Reduction (thegatewaypundit.com)

Alan Greenspan: Scared of Debt Problem

CNBC: Greenspan 'Scared' Over Deficit; Calls for Debt Ceiling Rise:

"The fact that I am in favor of going back to the Clinton tax structure is merely an indicator of how scared I am of this debt problem that has emerged and its order of magnitude," he said.

...

"If I had my own way, I like the Ryan budget in all respects and I think that essentially that sort of thing is what I would vote for if in fact we're voting," he said. "But the problem essentially is that is not going to get a majority vote in Congress or be signed by the president of the United States. The question is, what's my fallback position?"

Interesting.

Related articles

• John Boehner Gains Leverage by Holding Down the Debt Ceiling (rebootcongress.blogspot.com)

House Leadership is United, but Will They Hold the Line?

CNSnews.com: Majority Whip: 'Not One Republican Vote' For Debt Limit Increase Without Spending Cuts:

[House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)]: “We have staked out very early what we see as a change to America. We have listened to the American public. They want jobs. They want government to cut their spending. They don’t want a credit card that just keeps expanding.”

Related articles

• House GOP whip says "no votes" for debt ceiling increase without spending reform (hotair.com)
• Both parties wary of debt ceiling politics (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)

There is no Sudden Leap into the Debtmosphere...

zero hedge: US Treasury: Winning The Future, One Math Failure At A Time:

We just ran across a newswire headline that said what we have been warning about for about a month: "US Treasury auction to take US over debt ceiling on Monday." As a result, we took a look at today's DTS update, and indeed, come Monday's full settlement of this week's auctions, the jig is up. Prior to this week's $72 billion in auctions, total debt subject to the $14.294 Tr ceiling has risen to $14.280 trillion. There is no way the Treasury can cut $42 billion in debt next Monday (pro forma for the $16 billion Bill paydown settlement). Next up: panic.

It looks like economic judgement day will arrive Monday.

Speaker of the House John Boehner Calls for Trillion Dollar Budget Cuts

POLITICO.com: John Boehner: Cut 'trillions' as debt limit nears:

“Without significant spending cuts and reforms to reduce our debt, there will be no debt limit increase,” Boehner said. “And the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in debt authority the president is given. We should be talking about cuts of trillions, not just billions.”