US Debt Crisis is our Crisis too

On one side of our political divide there is an urge to spend in order to boost recovery.

The danger of this is that your spending gets out of control. In the US, they now have $14 trillion of debt. It isn't just that they are fighting two wars, it's about the average spend versus average revenue. The equations are not balanced and no one area of spending is going to solve it. The matter is more about politics and mentality than actual economics as there can only be one answer if you can add up. If the US don't control this, and soon, then they risk going into a debt spiral.

As I blogged yesterday, there will be only one benficiary of that and it would be China as they are the only country financially strong enough to keep lending money to the US. The danger of being hock (big time) to potentially your biggest threat is obvious.

Why doesn't the US deal with the debt? Mention tax rises and American citizens scream 'Tea Party' and that's not a stereotypical joke because it's what is happening. But as the elections approach we have exactly the same scenario as Gordon Brown had, put off the bad news until after the election. Until then, keep spending and pretend it's a strategy to boost the economy. Let the next Government sort the mess out.

And the mess becomes a political hot potato. This Thursday, teachers in the UK will be the first to strike over the proposed amendments to Public Sector pensions. Sitting in the Private Sector we stand aghast at the audicity to do so - and noble, learned people like teachers too. But that is the problem. Raise taxes, cut spending and you risk outrage by decent people. Continue to spend and everyone stands back and points out that disaster looms.

No one is prepared to take the accountability for the past 12 years of idiotic financial spending. In fact, we have set up the banking system with exactly the same scenario to allow it to happen all over again. And next time around it will be harder to get out of the mess, potentially impossible. Take a long look at Greece to see how that affects you and how your amenable friends who lent you the money smile and desert you when the proverbial hits the fan.

I have blogged extensively in the past over the concept of denial. We are all guilty.

First Dog To Be Inaugurated

Portuguese Water Dog, thought to be named Moose, is set to be sworn in as First Dog later this week. He has already pledged he will get rid of cats and introduce compulsory butt-sniffing for identification purposes.

President 'Moose' Obama, is to be rescued from political oblivion after intervention by Senator Ted Kennedy who has given his personal recommendation for the candidate that apparently swayed the voting in the Obama family.

'They are political animals,' said Sen. Kennedy. 'I have two of them and they have kept me and my family out of controversy for many years, helped on my decision making particularly while driving and they are defence experts. Besides they are better than the bald rats proposed by the guy in Peru.'

Longest Election Campaign In History

The election victory comes at the end of a long campaign which started at the vote winning speech by Barack Obama in Chicago when he pledged that his daughters would have a dog. It was the first Presidential order he signed with ditching Guantanamo Bay coming a distant second.

'Every President needs a dog,' said President Obama. 'Look what it did for George W Bush - he even made Christmas addresses to the people with his. I plan to make every policy decision in conjunction with the First Dog, just after he has his daily constitutional. His paw will be on the Red Button should the time comes - rest assured, my fellow Americans, if it comes to oblivion, I'd rather a dog choose it than me.'

Portuguese Water Dogs are known for their energy and intelligence and have a thick, tight, curly black coat that almost shields their eyes from view which makes them ideal helicopter pilots. They also have the benefit of being one of the few breeds of dogs which are hypoallergenic, which was critical in the choice by the electorate.

Sen. Kennedy's Water Dog, Splash, even featured as narrator in a children's guide to US politics called 'My Senator and Me: A dog's eye view of Washington DC' which was ground-breaking if unintelligible and focused mainly on the lampposts suitable for urinating on.

'I am proud to endorse the Portuguese water Dog as the First Dog of The United States of America,' said Sen. Kennedy back in January. 'They have a can-do and hopeful spirit. They are smart. They are resilient. They are determined. They are optimistic. And they are tireless. Sounds like the perfect fit for the Obama family and his Administration.'

President 'Moose' Obama is expected to have his own office in the White House and not be in the Oval Office as a continuous wall may confuse his urinating habits.