Restoring Fiscal Sanity in the United States: A Way Forward
John Mauldin
May 2, 2011
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One of the great privileges of traveling and speaking as I do is
getting to meet a wide variety of very interesting people. Of late, I have
become friends with David Walker, former Comptroller General of the US, who is
now crisscrossing the country warning of the deficit crisis. It is a message
that my book Endgame
resonates with. If we do not bring the deficit down below the growth rate of
nominal GDP, we become Greece. We hit an economic wall and everything
collapses. It will be a real and true Depression 2.0. Fixing this is the single
most important topic and task of our generation. If we do not, worrying about
P/E ratios, moving averages, long-term investments – anything else, in
fact – is secondary. Solve this and we can go back to the usual issues.
This week’s Outside the Box is a presentation that David made
recently. Powerful stuff. I urge you to forward this on. The message must be
heard so that we can as a nation get this right. The world does not need a
crippled USA.
David released a short statement about the Navy Seals getting
Osama (finally!). It echoes my own thoughts.
“All Americans should come together in appreciation for
the work of America's intelligence agencies and special forces who planned and
executed yesterday's Osama Bin Laden operation. While his death is a key
milestone in the fight against terrorism, the battle is far from over. More
importantly, as I said in a CBS 60 Minutes segment in 2007, 'The greatest
threat to America is not a person hiding in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan,
it is our own fiscal irresponsibility.' That statement was true then and it is
even more true now. It's now time for the President and the Congress to work
together and address the fiscal debt bomb that represents a much greater threat
to our country's and families futures.”
My flight was cancelled, so I am in Toronto for one more night.
The folks at Horizon Funds have graciously offered to take me to an early
dinner and a private wine cellar, as I have a 4:30 AM (ugh) wake-up call and
will turn in early. I hate 4:30 AM. That is not a civilized time of day. If I
wanted to live like Dennis Gartman I could learn to deal with it, but I guess
occasionally one does what one must.
One final thought. While getting OBL is a wonderful thing, it
does little to change the reality of the Middle East, and may even finally
create a true martyr (albeit one who was living well, and not in a cave). The
world remains unsettled. Every speaker at my recent conference was asked what
keeps them up at night. Every speaker mentioned the Middle East, some rather
pointedly. It is a true wild card. But let us enjoy for the moment some token
of pleasure for the just end of the planner of the 9/11 tragedy.
I will report more about the conference in future letters.
Your
having a lot to think about analyst,
John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box
JohnMauldin@2000wave.com
Restoring Fiscal Sanity in the United States: A Way Forward
By:
Hon. David M. Walker, Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative and
Former Comptroller General of the United States (1998-2008)
Two hundred and twenty two years ago,
the American Republic was founded. The United States had defeated the world’s
most powerful military force to win independence, and over a several year
period, went about creating a federal government based on certain key
principles, including limited...
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