Comments on: Some Predictions I Made in 2007

By: bigmaq1980

bigmaq1980 — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 01:59:00 +0000

Ok, so what do the next five years hold? With $1.3+T annual deficits, $16T debt, and similar credit troubles in Euroland, Japan and China, will the U.S. hold its own, highly inflate (with successive QE), or deflate (perhaps with a triggering even from one of the other geographies)? I think there will be major new "environmental" initiative, perhaps as big as Obamacare. I also think there will be a major move on retirement plans. Definitely more taxes and "fees".

By: Che is dead

Che is dead — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:14:00 +0000

There are also unlisted benefits, when you count those the number is, in fact, much lower.

By: Noumenon

Noumenon — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:26:00 +0000

Two prediction fails here: there were no new taxes, and Republicans did not object to the increased presidential powers just because a Democrat was using them.

By: NormD

NormD — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:11:00 +0000

I don't think country's consider cost when going to war. Not sure they should.

By: NormD

NormD — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Love or hate it, the only choice was Bush's "compassionate conservatism" or Gore's same plus cap & trade or a carbon tax. There was no Libertarian in the race.

By: nehemiah

nehemiah — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Bush's brand of "compassionate conservatism" was expensive and put the spending base line at and historically high level. Really opened the door for progressives to drive the spending to ever new heights. Funding the wars didn't help, but it was the domestic spending that are hurting us now. Wars have a way of ending, whereas social entitlement programs grow deep roots with lots of dependencies.

By: john mcginnis

john mcginnis — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 15:17:00 +0000

The $1.3T is what's on the books. If you throw in the unlisted liabilities the number is much much higher.

By: john mcginnis

john mcginnis — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 15:15:00 +0000

"...and yet, every page I read, I think "I should sell my house and buy a farm way out in the country"." Done it already myself. If you do some internet searching you will find that many on wall street are advocating the purchase of farm land (regardless of whether you live on it or not) as they see food stocks as the next hedge.

By: tjic

tjic — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 13:18:00 +0000

I am now reading Dan Simmon's science fiction detective novel Flashback. It extrapolates current trends in a really really scary way. Even though I'm a pessimist, I don't think things will be quite THAT bad. ...and yet, every page I read, I think "I should sell my house and buy a farm way out in the country".

By: mesocyclone

mesocyclone — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 05:30:00 +0000

I think it's a push to blame the Bush deficits on the war. Defense spending as a % of GDP under Bush was under 5%, which is half of its cold war standard. It was up from only 4% before the war. The deficits had other causes - the war was just one contributor.