Baby’s First Number
By Pat Racimora on August 31, 2009 at 5:31 PM in Deficit, Economy, Medicare, National Debt
It used to be, not so very long ago, that the first numbers assigned to each newborn were date and time of birth, weight, and Apgar test scores (ratings on muscle tone, respiration, reflex irritability, pulse, and skin color).
Now, the instant babies pop out their sweet heads (or butts, out of respect for those of us born breech), they are slapped with a bill. A really big bill.
Actually, $186,000 is what each and every one of us owe right now (add an extra 10 grand if you wait a year before paying) according to a new report out by Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The PGPF figures our debt a little differently by including projected governmental commitments, believing the actual total to be a mind-blowing $56.4 trillion.
We know that the federal government carries both publicly held debt and debt for money it has borrowed from itself. Together, these sums are closing in on $11 trillion. This is the figure most commonly cited as our “national debt,” but actually, that’s only the start of the REAL national debt.
How exactly does this $56.4 trillion bill add up? First, there are the federal government’s known liabilities that it is legally obliged to fulfill. These include publicly held debt, military and civilian pensions and retiree health benefits. As of September 30, 2008, these liabilities added up to $13.5 trillion.
Then there are various commitments and contingencies – i.e., contractual requirements that the government is expected to fulfill when, and if specified conditions are met. These include federal insurance payouts, loan guarantees, and leases. As of September 30, 2008, they added up to $1.4 trillion.
So where does the remaining $43 trillion or so come from? That’s what the government has promised to pay in Social Security and Medicare benefits in excess of related revenues. As of January 1, 2008, current and promised future Social Security benefits amounted to $6.6 trillion. And between Medicare’s three programs (hospital insurance, outpatient, and prescription drug), current and future promised Medicare benefits amounted to $36.3 trillion.
Unless we make major reforms soon, the PGPF reaches a sobering conclusion.
Making extraordinary commitments for the future before that future has arrived goes against the very nature of democracy. Each generation must have the flexibility to set their own priorities according to the opportunities and needs of their time.
What will this little baby’s life be like when she is my age? And yet how do we soften the future blow in a way that doesn’t starve us now or weaken our global position to the point where we will have little to offer our children and grandchildren?
Or is the Peterson Foundation messing unfairly with the numbers to further scare old people (or make them feel guilty)? For example, people will continually be paying into Social Security. And, Medicare is not free to its recipients. I’m not sure about the figures the foundation used, but I am pretty sure we are in a lot of trouble.
(Release: November 13)
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All I can say is impeach, who we can and vote the rest out. It has to have been domestic terroism to create this crisis. All of these crisis. I am not alone in thinking this either. There was a video I watched today, with an AA minister telling it like it is.
Another American Exposing This Administration
http://countusout.wordpress.com/
Do I hear an “Oh Shit” as the polls dip even further downward.
Tick Tock…. Tick Tock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
Some health care insurance company CEO can pay my share.
Stan Davis
Lakewood, CO
I’ll let a Congressman (or woman) help me by using a share of the vastly larger amount he or she will be getting from his or her retirement fund.
Something like 85% of the under-30 voters voted for Obama.
This bunch of airheads, who voted for nonsense like “We can do better” and “Hope and change” will get to pay the bills.
And most of them are too lazy and/or stupid to make enough money to pay back anything.
Enjoy your high taxes and poor (rationed) health care, chumps.
completly off topic: what did hillary know about the lockerbie bombers release, and when did she know it? media reports are saying the state dept was informed weeks before the release of the mass killer from libya. hmmmmmm
How about staying on topic, troll? Your comments are just as moronic and specious as any an obamabot would post. Why don’t you zip your gaping maw and leave commenting to the adults, buster?–You know, the ones who tuck your sorry 12-year old backside into bed every night.
Ferd, all he wants to do is bash Hillary. If it’s not a Hillary thread, he feels…. unsatisfied… unfulfilled… unrequited.. So then he has to bring in something OT in order to have the chance at release, the glorious bashing of Hillary.
I think you’re more than likely right. It must make him feel like a man of 13.
Like a bad penny, here’s mark with his dig against Hillary. Guess what, I read that she asked them not to release the guy. I also guess that it would have been appropriate for O to make a firmer statement before when he knew. He’s the one with the “more important” job.
You’ll only confuse little Markie with facts since all he knows is a dank basement with no sun, a naked incandescent bulb for company, and his Mommy’s computer for human interaction.
wow. I must have struck a nerve. The only reason I brought it up was because I knew waiting for this to be discussed in here was like waiting for hell to freeze over. So I guess hillary really isnt in charge of the state department. And the questions I posed are important {to anyone that doesnt worship at the clinton altar}. Ignoring the legitimate questions about a man released that killed 12 american school kids deserves an answer from the Sec of state. Thats Hillary clinton. I suggest you guys put away the kool-aid
You hit no nerve, punk; you only demonstrated your complete lack of gray matter with your banal claptrap bs. Why don’t you lower the collective IQ by three orders of magnitude over at Neocons-r-us.com, where they put the “no” in Knowledge.
thats quite a rant….I noticed you didnt address a single point I raised…only had personal attacks……..I win…next?
Why don’t you make these comments on an open thread, where they would be more appropriate, but still just as inane.
Yes. This is off topic -there is an open thread for these items.
you are correct…I will use the open thread next time…..
Maybe you’ll post somewhere where they actually care about what you, a silly troll, think. Try imaloserandcantgetadate.com.
lol Ferd, you’re on a roll!
Mark, your mom is sad. Maybe it tears her up to see your whole purpose in life is to tear down an accomplished woman. Maybe some more balance in your life would help - find a man to tear down, find a woman to laud…. you know, diversify…
I heard that the White House knew 3 months ago. Sounds like Hillary heard much later, and fought against it. Maybe that’s why BO didn’t let her know when he first found out - because he didn’t want to do anything about it.
Not to worry, Bernanke will be back to guard our future. Look at the praise he has receive from economists for the great job he has done since his appointment.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/32546244
And if he can’t do it, Tim Geithner will. Great pair!
The baby is sucking his toe, which puts him in a self-contained foetal position. Nothing bad or threatening from outside should intrude into this uroboric bliss. (The uroboros is the familiar archetype of the snake swallowing its tail.) The teddy bear, which is the appropriate companion in the baby’s rightful Eden, floats along with the baby in a pink-pale blue blissful sea of tranquility.
BUT–Uncle sam’s garish hand intrudes holding the bill. Too much, too soon. The intrusion forces the baby to look upwards and pulls him out of his bliss. The position of the hand coming down from heaven to hand the baby the bill is a sardonic parody of God’s hand touching Adam, giving him life, as painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Intriguing cartoon, Pat–and once again deceptively simple. Or maybe I’m just confusing things once again.
You’re not confused, oowawa. As usual you are spot on.
You did it again oowawa — another brilliant take on Pat’s cartoon that aids our appreciation of it.
I nominate you to be our official docent.
Yes, very good. you did it again. What I want to know is how much of that was also Pat’s thinking as she created this. Did she follow the same thought process?
Of course, oowawa always says it far better than I ever could, but the “flow I get into” was actually along those lines for this one–a baby just trying to enjoy and amuse itself being rudely interrupted.
Often I wait for oowawa’s analyses to see what may have been floating around back in my unconscious.
Oh come on, Pat. I’ll bet you were channeling the spirit of Michelangelo and you drew this ‘toon lying down, looking straight up:
—Yeats—
Now isn’t that kind of the way you create these wonderful cartoons?
Yeats oowawa? Geeze, I’m in over MY head. Since you seem to be so well schooled in the classics, perhaps you can help me with the poem that I’ve been trying to recall in honor of the late T. Kennedy. It starts out “There once was a man from Nantuckett….”. Is it possible you could supply the remaining lines that seem to have escaped me?
LMAO–I’m old. I need sleep. The limerick challenge is cruel and unusual punishment. Now I am going to be wrestling with the words “Nantuckett,” “Chappaquiddick,” and “Oldsmobile 88″ until all hours.
Awww, I can’t believe a Marine wouldn’t know the classics. Perhaps i can use a dead language that nobody understands, Pig Latin! (but only for the naughty words)
There once was a man from Nantuckett
Whose ickday was so long he could ucksay it
He said with a grin
As he whiped off his chin
If my ear were a……oh hell, I’m sure you know the rest.
Yikes–that’s funny–uroboric, too. I’m afraid we’ve drifted just a bit off-topic . . .
Off topic, yes, but certainly flowing within the thematic continuity. And, besides, you started it!
Well, perhaps I did get off the path a bit . . . but now, after a night of uroboric bliss clutching my teddy-bear and drifting in a pastel sea of blue-pinkiness, I am ready to face the intimidating bills of morning that are inevitably staring me down . . . (I knew we could get back on track.)
Oh, gives me shivers.
Sometimes I do think I have attracted a minor muse because I find msyelf just watching my hand that feels like it is being moved from elsewhere. Those particular drawings are usually the better ones.
It is a wonderful thing when interpretation coincides with the spirit with which it was created.
Maybe the baby is thinking that if it can suck hard enough on it’s toe, he/she might dissappear, and not have to face the burden that we’re placing on it.
And since Pat breached the subject, I was present when one of my children was being born ass first, and I remember thinking “God! What a butt ugly kid! Still, it seems very happy, just look at the size of that shit eatin grin!”.
I like your ANALysis oowawa, but here’s mine.
The teddy bear represents the type of medical team we can expect for childbirth situations under Obama care. And the baby seems to be positioning itself for maximum spread for it’s ejectile diarhea targetted at Uncle Sam in what may be it’s only chance to shit on the guy that will end up shiting on him for the rest of his life.
HaHaHa, Onofre’s arm. I have to admit, your analysis is a lot more emotionally satisfying.
Thanks for the uroboros information, I can envision many future possibilities for it’s use.
Also, even though wikipedia is cracking down on questionable contributions, I’m still working on a plausible and compelling page for Sphinctoro, the demon most likely in possession of our POTUS.
Ah yes, Sphinctoro. You are a clever and scholarly disembodied appendage–I think you can slip that by the Wiki editors: they’ve got their hands full arbitrating things like the Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick entries. Just leave lots of footnotes pointing to treatises in dead languages that few understand.
You mean, like… proper English?
Well, this thread has been a total hoot! Thanks for the giggles!
So what does your name mean, anyway, O’s A? It seems to be a man’s first name, also a kind of jumping spider from Brazil. Or is there also a literary reference that I’m missing…?
Wait a minute - were you just a regular, unnamed arm, but then started feeling like bugs were crawling under your skin? Like maybe spiders jumping around in there? Maybe your arm is a meth user! lol
Thanks for the commentary, Pat. You have brought up some things that need to be pondered.
That’s a very good question. Our “global position”, however, is more than likely a secondary question to what the globe itself will actually be in the coming years. It doesn’t take much of a stretch to understand that only so many can live on a given piece of property–and we’re running out of said property. Global position, neither in the spatial sense nor the political sense, will be of benefit when the next shortage occurs. We have already witnessed what a commodity like oil does to nations and their interactions with each other–none very good. What will water shortages do, which have more far-reaching implications? I rather doubt many have thought this one through to its ultimate conclusion.I don’t think we’ve seen anything, yet.
Ferd, you’ve made some compelling remarks — and dished out even more food for thought.
The water issue is timely in light of the fires raging (once again) in CA, as well as the extreme measures that’ve already been taken to provide it to other sunbelt areas where population has grown so quickly. I have a friend who for a long time has considered retiring to the high desert area of southern AZ, reasoning he could save money on his gas and electric bills compared to living here in our river city where we have hot summers and cold winters. I’ve asked him, but what about water?
Sorry folks for my son’s inappropriate commenting. Since he was dropped on his tiny little head at the tender age of 37, he’s been even worse than before. He sees things that aren’t there and doesn’t see things that are, which explains the many lumps on his head from approaching tree branches, telephone poles, and my hand.
Again, my apologies.
Mrs. Connette
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A wonderful cartoon! I love it even, though it is not accurate in the amount of Debt we owe.
You say what? Well, I think to show debt without showing assets gives an unclear picture. We have many assets that we could sell to foreign governments that would lower our debt. We could sell all of our parks to either land developers or foreign countries who would develop them one way or another. We could sell land for mining and drilling, which we already do, but without caring how the land is used or left. We could sell our roads and let the owners create toll roads. We could sell our airports and ports. We could sell positions in our house and senate, or are we already doing so? We could also sell all of our water to foreign companies. We could even sell our military secrets or just get rid of the military and hire out our security or do we kind of do that already. Anyway, that should greatly reduce the debt, so the net amount owed could be much less. (snark)
Rich
Another wonderful toon combined with vital information for us all to ponder. You definitely have a way with the toons Pat!
Those poor, poor babies.
What kind of scary future are delivering them into.
I wasn;t aware of this-was anyone else??
http://216.221.102.26/blogger/post/COVERAGE-UNDER-OBAMACARE-WILL-REQUIRE-AN-IMPLANTABLE-MICROCHIP.aspx
Pacemakers are implanted, and routinely monitored over the telephone by technicians using a special at-home device provided by the manufacturer.
Gosh, what if someone with Tourette’s were to dial the wrong number and get somebody’s pacemaker? (O.K. at this point I must confess that I recently stumbled across my collection of old Gahan Wilson books, so forgive me if my observations are a bit…..macabre.)
Stumbled? LOL
An arm doesn’t have eyes - it must stumble a lot!
No, I had not heard this before, pm. So, I can look forward to a microchip? Just like my dogs.
Welcome to the future!
Pat, can I get intrest free financing for my grand daughters part?
I tried to explain to her 20 year old mother how they owe… it doesn’t seem to sink in fast enough.
I’m with Harp. Tick Tock Peter Pan
Adorable cartoon!
There are more then 400 members of congress, past and present, who voted us into debt. I’m not willing to view this as my debt, not on an emotional level anyway, not when it comes to taking responsibility for it. I checked the little box several times that said, “opt out” and “no I do not approve.”
What’s really awful is the value of our dollar. The nat’l debt is like an invisible tax. You used to pay 60 cents for a loaf of bread, now you pay close to four bucks and nearly 3.60 of that is just the interest on the nat’l debt.
Applying the “cradle to the grave” analogy, the life expectancy in this country will need to increase dramatically.
Puts a new twist on “born free” doesn’t it?
Great drawing Pat!
Those infants! Let ‘em get jobs! Let ‘em eat cake, or formula, or breast milk, or something! Lazy slobs.
I know. They act like they think they’re the center of the universe or something.
poor baby I bet it wished it hadn’t been born
Another good toon, Pat. I am concerned for my kids and any future grandchildren. McCain referred to it as “generational theft.”
If only wish he had said that during the GE because we might have an Administration that was more fiscally restrained.
But like HRC, McCain was not the type to be bought outright. Obama was the perfect foil. “Yes, We Can” sell our soul to the money changers. “Yes, We Will” sell the soul of every citizen, even the unborn.
We are in grave danger.