I began to copy excerpts from this magnificently insightful piece by David Brooks. The two crashing forces can not be sustained by the present political polarization which is ineffective in solving the massive problems. I would add to the forces at work the rise of powers like China which will quickly threaten our place in the world.
I hope the election of 2008 would address these mega-issues, but I'm afraid it won't.
Notice: THIS COLUMN IS REQUIRED READING BY ALL!
One excerpt:
"The first wave is the exploding cost of the entitlement programs. The second wave is the ever-increasing polarization of the political class. The polarization will make it impossible to reach an agreement on how to fix the entitlements problem. Meanwhile the vicious choices forced on us by entitlement costs will make the polarization even worse."
"The realities of the first wave - the looming fiscal crisis - are pretty well known. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will consume 14 percent of national output in 2030 and 21 percent in 2075 - up from about 8 percent today. Partly as a result, the federal government will have to come up with an extra $50 trillion just to pay for the promises it's made as of today."
Today's politics are bankrupt. How can they possibly deal with this looming fiscal crisis without a major upheaval?
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