The Coming Collapse of America: How to Balance the Federal Budget

Ken Casey

Description

This book is designed to solve the coming fiscal crisis in the US. Increasing debt will lead to hyperinflation within ten years. According to the CBO, if the US continues business as usual, the US will have a debt of $50 trillion in a decade. Investors will flee the US bond market and the Federal Reserve will end up paying off this debt with inflated currency (a technical but not actual default). Flooding our economy with fiat currency will result in hyperinflation and unemployment with the likelihood of a worldwide depression.
The solution is not to increase the US debt. The only way this is possible is to balance the federal discretionary and mandatory budgets. Interest on the debt should be paid by the Federal Reserve without borrowing more money, i.e., just printing money. The easiest way to balance the budgets is to cut the military and Medicare budgets. Using President Biden’s proposed 2022 budget, we need to cut the military budget from $.8 trillion to $.3 trillion (still greater than China's and Russia’s combined military budget) and reduce Medicare expenses by 50%. Medicare expenses can be cut by providing a low option Medicare plan (subsidized to the extent of 50%) with significant coinsurance and co-payments.

Sujets

• América
• Economics
• Business
• America

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 21 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669867913
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE COMING COLLAPSE OF AMERICA: HOW TO BALANCE THE FEDERAL BUDGET


Second Edition 2023







KEN CASEY



Copyright © 2023 by Ken Casey.

ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-6792-0
eBook
978-1-6698-6791-3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.





Rev. date: 02/21/2023





Xlibris
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www.Xlibris.com
851255



CONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction
Continuing Deficits Are Unsustainable
Raising The Alarm
What Is The Solution?
The Hypothetical Household Couple
The Analogy To The US Government
Chapter 1: Does Debt Matter?
The Debt/GDP Ratio
The Tipping Point: A Debt/GDP Ratio Of 120%
The Danger Of Exceeding The Tipping Point: Hyperinflation
The Greek Crisis Of 2009
The Japanese Crisis Of 2011
Chapter 2: The US Budget
Chapter 3: The US Debt
Chapter 4: Balancing The Budget
The Tipping Point
Reform Of Entitlements
Budget Deficits Due To Obamacare
Future Interest Costs
Entitlements Will Devour The US Revenue
Food Stamps And Welfare
Chapter 5: Social Security
History Of Social Security
The Heavy Reliance On Social Security Benefits By Retirees
Is The Social Security Fund Solvent?
Demographic Trends
Calculation Of Social Security Benefits
Is Social Security Taxable?
Is Social Security A Ponzi Scheme?
Can The Present Social Security Be Fixed?
Is Privatization The Solution?
The Foreign Models Of Individual Accounts
Is Partial Privatization The Answer?
The Solution To Social Security: Full Privatization
The Alternative To Privatization Is To Cut Benefits
Chapter 6: Medicare
The History Of Universal Healthcare
The Enactment Of Medicare In 1965
How Does Medicare Work?
Chapter 7: Foreign Healthcare Systems
The Four Models Of Universal Healthcare
France: An Example Of The Bismarck Model
Great Britain: The Beveridge Model
The Canadian Model
The Out-Of-Pocket Model
Chapter 8: Medicare Costs
The Skyrocketing Costs Of Medicare
Partial Privatization Of Medicare
Voluntary Euthanasia
Chapter 9: Cost Of Healthcare
Adverse Selection And Moral Hazard
The Elderly Spend Disproportionately On Health
Runaway Premium Costs
Annual Family Health Insurance Premiums Compared With Household Income, 1996 To 2025
Chapter 10: Medicaid
History Of Medicaid
Amendments To Medicaid By Clinton & Obama
Romneycare
Assisting The Uninsured
The Solution To The Uninsured Problem: Taxation Of Employers
Chapter 11: Defense
Military Spending
Military Spending In Iraq & Afghanistan
Should The Us Be The Policemen Of The World?
Chapter 12: Effects Of Inflation
Cost-Push Inflation
Demand-Pull Inflation
Steps Taken To Reduce Inflation
Expansion Of The Money Supply
Chapter 13: Hyperinflation
Chapter 14: Examples Of Hyperinflation
The Roman Empire Before Its Fall
The French Revolution
Germany In The Weimar Republic: 1923
Russia: 1998
Zimbabwe: 2008
Argentina: 1989
Venezuela: 2016
Chapter 15: State Bankruptcies
Puero Rican Bankruptcy
Illinois’s Underfunded Pension Funds
The Advantage Of Letting States Go Bankrupt
Chapter 16: American Democracy
A Broken System
Can Sequestration Solve The Budget Deficits?
Pros & Cons Of A Balanced Budget Amendment
What About A Constitutional Convention?
Do We Need A 3 Rd Party To Balance The Budget?
Can The Debt Ceiling Scenario Be Used To Balance The Budget?
Chapter 17: Default



DEDICATION
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Issac Newton
Normally I try to avoid showering praise on a single individual since most projects are a group effort. Nevertheless, I shall make an exception here. Peter Peterson, ex-CEO of Bell & Howell and ex-CEO of the Blackstone Group, has done more than any individual to highlight the dangers of the huge US debt. Peterson established two foundations, the Concord Coalition and the Peter Peterson Foundation, to carry on his work. The greatest threat to America is not being invaded by a foreign power but rather the insidious debauching of our currency by inflation. Peterson has thrown his heart and soul in trying to save America from this coming disaster. His efforts have been above and beyond the call of duty.
Peter Peterson has also published a number of award-winning books on the subject of the debt crises, including Steering Clear (2015), The Education of an American Dreamer (2009), Running On Empty (2004), and Will America Grow Up Before It Grows Old? (1996).
A great deal of appreciation also has to be shown to the many foundations that have promoted fiscal responsibility including the Cato Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Foundation, The Tax Foundation, and the National Taxpayers Union. In 2016, the Heritage Foundation published “Blueprint for Balance” detailing how lawmakers could lower federal spending and put the government on track to end deficit spending in just seven years. The Cato Institute published a study proposing a Balance Budget Veto Amendment to the Constitution.
If you are focused on the coming bankruptcy of the US, here are some well-written books: Economic Collapse , Bobby Akart (2016), The Escape from Balance Sheet Recession and the QE Trap , Richard C. Koo (2015), Hormegeddon , Bill Bonner (2014), The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy , Peter D. Schiff (2014), Inflation-Proof Your Portfolio: How to Protect Your Money from the Coming Government Hyperinflation , David Voda (2012), A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget , Mattea Kramer (2012), Endgame , John Mauldin and Johnathan Tepper (2011), The Price of Civilization , Jeffrey D. Sachs (2011), Bankruptcy of Our Nation , Jerry Robinson (2009), The Return of Depression Economics , Paul Krugman (2009), It Could Happen Here: America on the Brink , Bruce Judson (2009), The Dollar Meltdown , Charles Goyette (2009), I.O.USA. , Addison Wiggin and Kate Incontrera (2008), Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse , Peter D. Schiff (2007), Taxes, Spending, and the US Government’s March Toward Bankruptcy , Daniel N. Shaviro, (2007), The Coming Generational Storm , Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns (2004), and When Money Dies , Adam Fergusson (1975).
The best books on Social Security reform are as follows: The Politics of Policy Change , Daniel Beland and Alex Waddan (2012), Balancing the Budget is a Progressive Priority , Donald H. Taylor, Jr. (2012), Social Security: The Story of its Past and a Vision for its Future , Andrew G. Biggs (2011), The Moment of Truth , Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, (2010), Individual Accounts for Social Security Reform , John Turner (2006), Making Sense of Social Security Reform , Daniel Shaviro (2000), and Balancing the Federal Budget, J. W. Aros (1996).
The best books on healthcare reform are as follows: The Human Face of Obamacare (2016), How Obamacare is Unsustainable (2015), Health Care Wars (2012), and Breaking Point (2011), Dr. John Geyman, Reinventing American Health Care , Ezekiel J. Emanuel (2014), Power Politics, and Universal Health Care , Stuart Altman and David Shactman (2011), Tracking Medicine , John E. Wennberg (2010), The Healing of America , T.R. Reid (2009), Putting Our House In Order , George P. Shultz and John B. Shoven (2008), The Healthcare Fix , Laurence J. Kotlikoff (2007), and The New Health Insurance Solution , Paul Zane Pilzer (2005).
Great books on hyperinflation are as follows: When Money Destroys Nations , Philip Haslam (2015), The Death of Money , James Rickards (2014), Reinventing Collapse , Dmitry Orlov (2011), And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out) , Paul Blustein (2005), Minding the Public Purse , Janice MacKinnon (2003), and How to Profit from the Coming Hyper-Inflation , Henry B. Zimmer and Dave Greber (1984).



INTRODUCTION
CONTINUING DEFICITS ARE UNSUSTAINABLE
The word that keeps cropping up when experts talk about the US budgetary debt is the word “unsustainable.” Other expressions of the same sort are “the tipping point,” “the looming iceberg,” “a runaway train,” an “economic tsunami,” or “the fiscal cliff.” Every reputable economist in the US agrees that reform is imperative; otherwise, the economy will be seriously disrupted or may even collapse. The rising US debt and rising interest rates will eventually crowd out investment and the inevitable inflation will cause the collapse of pension plans and other savings.
The IMF (the International Monetary Fund) has warned the US multiple times to gets its house in order. The IMF has a benchmark which it considers the tipping point. This occurs when a country’s debt/GDP (Gross Domestic Product) exceeds 120%. The reason for this benchmark is that the 120% figure is a signal that a country’s debt service (payments of interest on its debt) is unsustainable.
In 2014, Greece was spending more than 30% of its total tax revenue just to pay interest. It defaulted on a major loan in