The letter of the day is 'D'...for DOOM!

"The Fed bet $900 billion it didn’t have — and it lost."

In what can only be termed comic understatement, the New York Times calls a $900B waste of taxpayer money “disappointing”. (In the same way they refer to World War II as “that bit of mid-20th century unpleasantness”.)

America's welfare empire. And Barack Hussein Obama rules as emperor over this domain. (Ferrara refers to a book I've linked in a previous book thread: Never Enough: America's Limitless Welfare State.)

Michael Barone opines further on the essential unsustainability of most defined-benefit systems. The basic problem with these systems is that actuaries cannot yet accurately predict the future more than five or six years ahead (and sometimes not even that far), and so they rely on (usually overoptimistic) rate-of-return calculations that turn out to be wildly off the mark. But these overoptimistic projections mean that people can contribute less (or nothing at all, if it is a shared plan), which is why there is a vested interest in assuming high rate of returns. In private pension plans, bankruptcy or a bail-out is the usual end-state; for sovereigns, collapse and penury. ("We have turned into a pension plan with an Army," is how one commentator put it.)

It bears repeating, too: We really suck at predicting the future.

Let's all welcome Australia to the Loyal Order of the Terminally Boned! A big hand for the new guy!

Finally, a public-service message -- if you operate on the distaff side of the law-and-order divide from time to time, you might want to be aware that your favorite bail bondsman may no longer accept the title on your crackhouse as collateral on your bail-bond.

Doom! DOOM! DOOOOOOM!

[UPDATE 1]: Congressman Ryan's budget doesn't benefit the recliner-bound all that much, that's true. However, I consider that a advantage, not a drawback.

[UPDATE 2]: Fareed Zakaria: "The Chinese will keep buying our debt! They have nowhere else to go!" China: "We might stop buying your debt." Fareed Zakaria: "...aw, shit."

[UPDATE 3]: Maxed-out America. (Via Insty.)

"Stop! Stop! You're killin' me with the DOOM! vibe, man!"

posted by Monty at 09:20 AM

| Access Comments