blog carnival

"Winterspeak" wonders if I would bet on the U.S. defaulting. Here are the alternatives that I can think of, and the odds I would give to them:

The finances of the United States are in need of reform. National debt must be reduced in order to restore a healthier economic future for individuals living in the United States. Currently, Social Security is funded by payroll tax and is the largest government funded program in the world and the largest expense in the federal budget.

For this edition of the Facing Up Blog Carnival, we wanted to examine another budgetary issue that is not earning the mainstream media coverage it deserves: Social Security and the financial burden that the U.S. will incur when the Baby Boomers retire. With the first Boomer drawing a Social Security check more than one month ago, we have plenty to be concerned about.

People in Washington who worry about Social Security’s long-term future often complain about mixed messages from the public. But when I talk to them I hear some mixed messages, too.

Just an update on our second blog carnival -- if you're interested, you've got more time. We're pushing the entry deadline back to Feb. 4. We've already got some great entires and we're looking forward to more. Thanks!

This following piece is being submitted to the Facing Up Blog Carnival on the $9 trillion national debt:

Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It’s expanding by about $1.4 billion a day – or nearly $1 million a minute.

My late father, who loved Fifties-era country music and hated debt, often used to mutter the chorus from this song at moments of financial stress, like back-to-school shopping and the State of the Union address.

Nine trillion is a staggering number. It’s hard to comprehend. Yet that’s how much the United States government owes at its current national debt. That’s more than triple the total federal budget ($2.6 trillion).