The reason they hate him is because, like George Orwell, he has a gift of dealing honestly with the facts, and he's incredibly witty to boot. Here's how he describes government non-action as we careen towards the cliff...
Last year, our plucky heroine, the wholesome apple-cheeked American republic, was trapped in an express elevator hurtling out of control toward the debt ceiling. Would she crash into it? Or would she make some miraculous escape?
Yes! At the very last minute of her white-knuckle thrill ride to her rendezvous with destiny, she was rescued by Congress' decision to set up... a Super Committee!We Love Our Big Fat Greek-Style Government...
Those who can, do. Those who can't, form a committee. Those who really can't, form a Super Committee – and then put John Kerry on it for good measure. (Mark Steyn)
According to the most recent (2009) OECD statistics: Government expenditures per person in France, $18,866.00; in the United States, $19,266.00. [...]
In that sense, the federal debt might be better understood as an American Self-Delusion Index, measuring the ever-widening gap between the national mythology (a republic of limited government and self-reliant citizens) and the reality (a 21st century cradle-to-grave nanny state in which, as the Democrats' Convention boasted, "government is the only thing we do together."). (Mark Steyn)... But We Don't Like Paying For It
Generally speaking, functioning societies make good-faith efforts to raise what they spend, subject to fluctuations in economic fortune: Government spending in Australia is 33.1 percent of GDP, and tax revenues are 27.1 percent. Likewise, government spending in Norway is 46.4 percent, and revenues are 41 percent – a shortfall but in the ballpark. Government spending in the United States is 42.2 percent, but revenues are 24 percent – the widest spending/taxing gulf in any major economy. (Mark Steyn)
Do The Math
Democrat scolds like Bill Clinton enjoy wagging fingers in our faces and talking about "math," so here's some math for everyone...
President Obama want an additional $1 trillion in new taxes over ten years. To balance annual deficits, he would need to collect that much per year.
We could couple this paltry $100 billion per year in tax increases with a zeroing out of the Defense Department, and still not balance the budget.
2012 Spending/2017 Projections - Percentage of Total Budget
* DoD: 18% / 13%
* Health: 9.7% / 13%
* Medicare: 13% / 14%
* Income Security (Other than Social Security): 15.12% / 12%
* Social Security: 20% / 22%
* Interest on Debt: 6% / 12%
Source: White House Budget, Table 5.1
Note how interest on the debt balloons. That will get even worse if the economy improves and interest rates rise. Also notice how Health and Medicare, two items listed nowhere in the constitution, consume a greater percentage than Defense, which is a primary constitutional duty of the federal government.
So, Big Government fans, how do we pay for it?
See also: Six Fixes to America's Fiscal Crisis
