Threatening Crises
Our government is threatened by fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments.
Comptroller General, David Walker issued an exceptionally critical assessment of our country’s future in a report that warns of dramatic tax increases, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments holdings of US debt.
Walker warned there were similarities between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Roman Empire. These similarities include an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.
Walker is a nonpartisan in charge of the Government Accountability Office, which is described as the investigative arm of the Congress. He was a former senior executive at a prestigious auditing firm and was appointed to a 15 year term during the Clinton administration.
Walker said: “I’m trying to sound an alarm and issue a wake-up call... As comptroller general I’ve got the ability to look long range and take on issues that others may not be in a position, to take on... We are a great country, but we face sustainability challenges that we are not taking seriously enough. With the looming retirement of baby boomers, spiraling healthcare costs, plummeting savings rates and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks... Our current policy on education, energy, the environment, immigration and Iraq are unsustainable.”
The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a sobering wake-up call, because greater demands are being placed on our infrastructure. Billions of dollars will be needed to modernize everything from highways and airports to water and sewage systems.
Our elected representatives need to make fiscal responsibility one of their top priorities. Walker believes that we still have a chance to turn the current situation around, but if Congress doesn’t act, the risk of a serious crisis rises considerably.
Comptroller General, David Walker issued an exceptionally critical assessment of our country’s future in a report that warns of dramatic tax increases, slashed government services and the large-scale dumping by foreign governments holdings of US debt.
Walker warned there were similarities between America’s current situation and the factors that brought down Roman Empire. These similarities include an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government.
Walker is a nonpartisan in charge of the Government Accountability Office, which is described as the investigative arm of the Congress. He was a former senior executive at a prestigious auditing firm and was appointed to a 15 year term during the Clinton administration.
Walker said: “I’m trying to sound an alarm and issue a wake-up call... As comptroller general I’ve got the ability to look long range and take on issues that others may not be in a position, to take on... We are a great country, but we face sustainability challenges that we are not taking seriously enough. With the looming retirement of baby boomers, spiraling healthcare costs, plummeting savings rates and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks... Our current policy on education, energy, the environment, immigration and Iraq are unsustainable.”
The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a sobering wake-up call, because greater demands are being placed on our infrastructure. Billions of dollars will be needed to modernize everything from highways and airports to water and sewage systems.
Our elected representatives need to make fiscal responsibility one of their top priorities. Walker believes that we still have a chance to turn the current situation around, but if Congress doesn’t act, the risk of a serious crisis rises considerably.
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