Comptroller General "Announces Departure for New Opportunity"

[bsdaddict]

Feb 14 - In a press release, US Comptroller General David M. Walker praises the GAO's Citizen's Guide for "improving public understanding of the federal government’s true financial condition and fiscal challenges-both today and over the longer-term."  He goes on to state "Unless the government makes fundamental changes in its budget, entitlement, discretionary spending and tax policies, and soon, the coming surge of spending on Social Security and Medicare will bring a fiscal tsunami of spending and debt that threatens to swamp our ship of state, damaging the U.S. economy.  Policymakers must look to the future and face squarely the need for fundamental changes to a range of government programs, policies and activities. This is the best way to return our country to a more prudent and sustainable fiscal track.”

Feb 15 - In a press release, CG Walker "Announces Departure for New Opportunity"...  Seems  They(tm) don't like hearing about "fiscal tsunamis" at the GAO...

hrmmmm...  

[Mickey1992]

Truly sad news.  David Walker is/was the only voice of reason in the federal government with regards to spending and the deficit.  He has been screaming from the mountaintop about the pending federal financial crisis for years.  I am not surprised that he got tired of beating his head against the wall.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/23/AR2006122300653.html

[bj229r]

Originally posted by Mickey1992
Truly sad news.  David Walker is/was the only voice of reason in the federal government with regards to spending and the deficit.  He has been screaming from the mountaintop about the pending federal financial crisis for years.  I am not surprised that he got tired of beating his head against the wall.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/23/AR2006122300653.html

(Well, his job would be over Jan 3, 2009 ANYhow)....but...crisis like THIS?

Senior benefit costs rise 24% since 2000

The cost of government benefits for seniors soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis.

That's a 24% increase above the inflation rate since 2000. Medical costs are the biggest reason. Last year, for the first time, health care and nursing homes cost the government more than Social Security payments for seniors age 65 and older. The average Social Security benefit per senior in 2007 was $13,184.

"We have a health care crisis. We don't have an entitlement crisis," says David Certner, legislative policy director of the AARP, which represents seniors.

He says seniors shouldn't be blamed for the growing cost of government retirement programs.

The federal government spent $952 billion in 2007 on elderly benefits, up from $601 billion in 2000. It's the biggest function of the federal government. States chipped in another $27 billion in 2007, mostly for nursing homes.

All three major senior programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — experienced dramatically escalating costs that outstripped inflation and the growth in the senior population.

Benefits per senior are soaring at a time when the senior population is not. The portion of the U.S. population age 65 and older has been constant at 12% since 2000.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-13-seniors_N.htm