In a couple of other threads I've said that all of the alleged problems in health care delivery, the auto industry debacle and a couple others all tied back to the economy. The Bachus interview reinforces that position.

When LBJ and others started raiding the Social Security Trust Fund, trading cash for gov't IOUs, Social Security started having to depend on Contributions-in/Payments-out methodology. So, here we are with a greying American work force (for several reasons), a downward-spiral in domestic manufacturing and intellectual services (thanks to lousy foreign policy decisions) and the result is an unemployment rate at double what it was five years ago.

If the number of unemployed goes from roughly 4.5% to 9%, you've cut out one-in-19 who has been paying into the SS Fund (which runs from hand-to-mouth). Simple math says that SS contributions are now cut by roughly 5.5% while payments increase with each new SS retiree. That means the SS Trust (what's left of it) has to make up the difference (as we have run out of IOUs).

While I don't like the man, he was right when he said, "It's the economy, stupid!" When the economy is strong, there is no "health care crisis," or Social Security degeneration, or concern about the cost of ongoing wars, or even any care about illegal immigration. With a strong economy we can afford it all, and attempt to get to the moon or Mars.

Until we fix the economy by giving domestic manufacturers and intellectual service providers the breaks necessary to compete in the domestic market with the countries we have given "most favored trading partner" status, our economy still heads downhill like a bobsled at St. Moritz. The recent unofficial devaluing of the dollar by just printing up a couple trillion more Washingtons was like giving uppers to a dying man - the short term euphoria doesn't make it all better..