Who is David Walker and Why Do I Care?

[On a personal note, I got on quite a prolific pontification with this post, but please take the time to read it. It is a bit long, but very eye opening]

Why do countries and empires collapse? Was the Soviet Union destroyed by a nuclear war? Was the Roman Empire destroyed by a rival army? How about something closer to home: Enron, PanAm Airlines, or the mom and pop restaurant down the street?

If you look at each one of these it comes back to money and structure. The two are interrelated. If your structure is too big and your money is not enough, you are bankrupt. End of Story. Now this can be caused by many different reasons: deceit, bad management, incorrect market expectations, or what is probably the case in most of them: arrogance.

Here is a great quote I found about the Roman collapse:

One of the primary catalysts to the deterioration of the economy was the lack of circulating currency in the Western Empire. Two reasons for the lack of funds are wholesale hoarding of bullion by Roman citizens, and the widespread looting of the Roman treasury by the 'barbarians'. These two factors, coupled with the massive trade deficit with Eastern Regions of the Empire served to stifle the growth of wealth in the west. ~ The Economic Collapse

Sound familiar?

So let me pose this question to you. Put yourself in the position of Osama Bin Laden. If you wanted to bring down a super power, your options are a direct frontal attack. Scratch That. How about a Hit and Run (9/11)? That causes damage but we always recover. How about I just cut off his food supply and he will starve? That works. Bin Laden realizes he can never beat us militarily, so instead he has set his sights on bankrupting us.

FOLKS! IT IS WORKING!

Bin Laden Transcript 2004

"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.

He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers."

All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.

Now let me ask a very hard question. When all is said and done with Iraq what tangible benefits will we, the American People, have received for our investments of our money, sons and daughters, and our military resources? What about Afghanistan? Remember them? When is the last time you heard a report out of Afghanistan? At what point are we coming home from there? We have been there for over 6 years now. In Pakistan, we have given Musharraf $10 billion since 9/11. I'm not seeing a return there. One report I read (If I find it again I'll cite it) said that we have over 700 bases around the world at a cost of around $1 Trillion per year to maintain. Do we really need a base in Japan and Germany 60 years after WWII?

If somebody attacks us, we have every right to defend ourselves (Japan in WWII, Afghanistan in 2001 are a fine examples, except we are still in Afghanistan with no plan to get out). Also we must maintain a strong national defense. That being said, lets face the cold hard facts, Iraq did not attack us. What would happen if every country in the world had the right to attack another country just because they *thought* they might be attacked? Total Chaos. Probably WWIII.

So back to my original question, who is David Walker?

I was sparked on this topic by a video of David Walker on Glenn Beck's show on CNN. You have probably never heard of David Walker, but in short, he is the Comptroller General of the Governmental Accounting Office (GAO). Basically he is the lead accountant for our Government). He is not in an elected position. He is appointed to 15 year terms, and he has just started his 2nd term. In short, he paints a very dire picture.

One side note, Republicans love to paint Democrats as the big spenders, but in reality, our actual debt has gone from $20 Trillion to $50 Trillion in the last 6 years. Who has been in control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency over the better part of the last 6 years? Republicans. There is plenty of blame to go around.

Here are the major points of his clip:

• Every household owes our US Government $400,000 to cover our debt
  
• By 2040, our Government can only cover Social Security and Medicare and NOTHING ELSE!
  
• Every year we don't act, our debt goes up $2-$3 Trillion based on compound interest
  
• If we were a business we would be bankrupt, but Government can just Tax more.
  
• Can not solve the problem through Tax increases, but through a combination of Tax Increases and Spending Cuts
  
• Ron Paul only candidate talking about these issues.
  
• Universal Healthcare is off the table. Tax Cuts don't cover it.
  
• This year, Government will run $163 Billion deficit, but the real deficit is $344 billion because the Politicians don't mention that they spent our Social Security surplus.
  
• If a business did this, somebody would be going to jail
  

So, now that being said, take a listen to our Chief Accountant.



Here are some additional videos. They are all worth watching:

David Walker on 60 Minutes

Recap of the 60 Minutes show

A 26 minute speech by David Walker

So what happens when we finally sink? Here is the answer:

Subprime Nation - Pat Buchanan

Since it began to give credit ratings to nations in 1917, Moody's has rated the United States triple-A. U.S. Treasury bonds have been seen as the most secure investment on earth. When crises erupt, nervous money seeks out the world's great safe harbor, the United States. That reputation is now in peril.

Last week, Moody's warned that if the United States fails to rein in the soaring cost of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the nation's credit rating will be down-graded within a decade.

Why we need a Ron Paul Presidency right now!

Our political parties seem oblivious. Republicans, save Ron Paul, are all promising to expand the U.S. military and maintain all of our worldwide commitments to defend and subsidize scores of nations.

--Pat Buchanan


A drop in rating by Moody's is a very big deal. It would bring our economy to a very quick halt. Look what happened to Argentina from 1999 to 2002 [wikipedia]

Of all the presidential candidates, Ron Paul is the only one who is telling the truth. He has voted against nearly every spending bill put in front of him. He has the nick name of "Dr. No". This is a tough and lonely stance to take in Washington. John McCain bragged that he saved the American Tax payers $8 Billion on a taker deal. Thanks John, but that is just a drop in the bucket. Our spending needs to be BELOW our income so that we can start paying off the debt.

Take a look at:

Debt and Taxes and click on the Play button at the top right.

Another good one is How Government Debt Grows

Dr. Paul is the type of individual who runs his office so frugally that he actually returns money at the end of the year to the Treasury. Ask your Congressman if he does that.

Finally, this is a man who even votes against the Congressional Medal of Honor for people like Mother Teresa, Dali Lama, and Tony Blair. His reason? That is not a good use of the tax payers money. Each of those medals is $30,000. They are pure gold. He instead said that every Congressman should give $100 personally. Nobody took him up on that. Surprise.

I wonder if my colleagues see the irony in honoring a devout Buddhist monk with a material gift of gold. The Buddhist tradition, of course, eschews worldly possessions in favor of purity of thought and action. Buddhism urges its practitioners to alleviate the suffering of others whenever possible. I’m sure His Holiness the Dalai Lama would rather see $30,000 spent to help those less fortunate, rather than for a feel-good congressional gesture.

We cannot forget that Congress has no authority under the Constitution to spend taxpayer money on medals and awards, no matter how richly deserved. And I reiterate my offer of $100 from my own pocket to pay for this medal–if members wish to honor the Dalai Lama, all we need to do is pay for it ourselves. If all 435 of us contribute, the cost will be roughly $70 each. So while a gold medal sounds like a great idea, it becomes a bit strange when we see the actual cost involved.

-- Dr. Ron Paul -- Floor of the House -- September 13, 2007

Here is his speech from the floor of the House


Help save this country. Please consider voting Ron Paul.