NoisyRoom.net

By: Jeffrey Klein
Examiner.com

A national debt level of $16.2 trillion, which is now greater than our annual GDP, is finally catching up with President Obama’s socialist agenda, the Democrat’s failure to pass a budget since 2007, and total blockage of serious entitlement, job creation and tax reforms in the Democrat-controlled Senate–before the U.S. bleeds to death.

The [non-partisan] Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Doug Elmendorf, leveled some very dire projections at lawmakers on Wednesday, during a meeting before the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill.

He stated that economic growth will slow by next year [2013], and that unemployment will rise before the end of 2012, according to Jim Angle’s FOXNews article yesterday.

“The pace of the recovery has been slow since the recession ended two and a half years ago,” Elmendorf said. “And we project that it will continue to be slow for the next two years.”

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Chairman of the committee, called the forecasts “ominous, grim and alarming,” and … “will mark the fourth straight year of trillion-dollar deficits.”

“Trillions more dollars will be added to debt in the years ahead, putting a chilling effect on job creation today and committing the next generation to a diminished future,” he said.

Note: Democrats controlled Congress since January 2007–then added the White House in January 2009. For the next two years they had total control over the government and spending; and since January 2011, they still controlled the Senate and Obama’s veto.

Nonetheless, in typical Democrat fashion, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), deflected Ryan’s reckoning, continuing in the attempt to absolve themselves from responsibility, as he repeated their worn out narrative … “deficits and growth would have been worse without President Obama’s stimulus plan. The Recovery Act did serve its purpose.”

The CBO believes that economic growth will be only 2 percent this year, and an anemic 1.1 percent next year, resulting in a projected election year unemployment rate increase from the present 8.5 percent to 8.9 percent or more by year end.

This information compelled Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), to address the CBO director, by saying … “Let me ask you, are there more people working today, or fewer people working today, than at the — on inauguration day of 2009?”

“I believe the answer to that,” said Elmendorf, “is there are fewer people, congressman.”

The CBO estimates that unemployment will rise even higher in 2013, to 9.2 percent.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J), railed against Republicans, who he said only focus on cost cutting … “Because there are people here that want to destroy the government, that it has no responsibility and it can’t live up to the obligations.”

That is true; the United States cannot meet the future entitlement obligations as they are now designed–no matter how high income tax rates would be raised.

The primary factor driving the explosive expansion for entitlement spending is the retirement of ‘Baby Boomers,” who are do so at a rate of about 10,000 per day–which directly affects the two largest entitlement programs–Social Security and Medicare.

Elmendorf explained that “the fundamental fiscal challenge during this decade and beyond remains the aging of the population and rising costs for health care. The number of people aged 65 or older will increase by one-third in the coming decade, substantially raising the costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”

In addition, he said, the new federal health care overhaul ["Obamacare"], will significantly increase the number of non-elderly people receiving assistance, through federal health care programs, such as Medicaid.

President Barack Obama and the Democrats must truly be experts in “audacity,” for them to publicly continue to skewer hospitals, healthcare professionals and insurance companies for the exponential increases in healthcare costs–while “Obamacare” mandated every company to provide birth-control and abortions to their employees.

Especially the many that are owned and operated by the Catholic Church.

As 27 percent of voters are Catholic, and with the church about to spend tens of millions of dollars railing against it all over the world–perhaps Obama’s folly will actually turn out to be a true “blessing in disguise,” come November.

Copyright (c) 2012 by Jeffrey Klein