Quote:
Originally Posted by bkcunningham1
...Our problem is a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
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Unfortunately, if you'll do the arithmetic, it's both. Our fiscal problem cannot be solved by either spending cuts or increased taxes by themselves.
Our country is headed to where Greece is now. No amount of increased taxes can solve the problem without deep spending cuts as well.
Greece is still at the stage where they're refusing to accept the lifestyle changes required by spending cuts. As I write this, they're running all over the world trying to borrow money to finance their spending from sources who won't demand such cuts. They aren't being successful. The IMF is standing as the lender of last resort, and they
will require dramatic cuts in government services and spending in exchange for their loans. Then Greece will be faced with accepting the IMF loans with conditions or the equivalent of a national bankruptcy. Their alternative is for them to default on their sovereign debt. That could easily cause the the entire European Union to slip back into a deep fiscal crisis because all the EU is tied to the value of the Euro. It ain't a pretty picture.