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May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
May 25, 2006
/ 27 Iyar, 5766
The mortgage you didn't know you have
By
Debra J. Saunders
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Washington politicians, especially on the GOP side, often complain about inheritance taxes. U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker, however, thinks elected officials should be talking about "the birth burden," the $156,000 that represents each American's share of the $8 trillion federal debt, plus $35 trillion in unfunded spending promises. Every child born in America receives this dubious legacy: a $156,000 IOU.
Walker was in San Francisco on Tuesday, speaking at what participants call, "The Fiscal Wake-up Tour." Their first hurdle is to break through Americans' numbness on numbers. You see a tab in the billions, and it doesn't mean anything to you. So Walker puts the numbers in personal terms. The average household share of the federal fiscal mess is $411,000. Imagine if every household in America had a $411,000 mortgage, but no house.
You can thank the crew in Washington President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress for, among other mistakes, passing a new Medicare prescription-drug benefit without paying for it. America's liabilities more than doubled from some $20 trillion in 2000 to $46 trillion in 2005, according to the Government Accountability Office.
There is no easy fix, as Alison Acosta Fraser of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation noted. Conservatives like to talk about eliminating luxury items, like the National Endowment for the Arts, and pork-barrel projects that lawmakers insert into spending bills.
Fraser agreed that the pork projects should be targeted because they are "emblematic" of Washington's overspending ways. Still, you can cut the pork earmarks, the NEA, as well as NASA and all foreign aid, and the result would be a blip in the overall picture. Federal spending would fall from an anticipated 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2050, to 48 percent of GDP, she said.
The situation is so dire that, despite Heritage's longstanding aversion to tax increases, Fraser accepts that a proposed bipartisan commission on entitlement spending would have to look at raising taxes to fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits although she is careful to stipulate that she opposes increasing tax rates.
From the left-leaning Brookings Institution, Diane Lim Rogers noted that America cannot balance future budgets on "tax cuts alone." Spending cuts have to be part of the package.
Rogers noted that all Washington has "given up" on Congress doing anything important this year, although Walker believes that a bipartisan commission could provide the answer. In this era of intense partisan rancor, the thinking goes, only a bipartisan commission would have the brass to both raises taxes and cut spending.
Whenever I write a column like this, readers e-mail me to ask what they can do. There is no easy answer. Sure, readers can tell their congressional representatives that they want a bipartisan commission and that they want Washington to reduce the deficit. Now.
The fact is, those messages will ring hollow in a Capitol where politicians know well that the best way to win re-election is to promise something for nothing.
So here's my advice: In state and local politics, look for the candidate who tells you what you don't want to hear. Look for the rare pol who argues that you not someone else have to give up something. Then vote for that person.
The old saw says that people get the government they deserve. But if Washington continues to borrow and spend, your children and grandkids will pay mightily for a government they didn't deserve because they didn't elect it.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Debra J. Saunders Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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