Non Investment Grade America

"Giving the keynote address at Washington's St. Regis Hotel [this week, House Majority Leader Democrat Steny Hoyer] lamented: 'For years, our government has lived far beyond its means -- and we see now that when we over-rely on debt, things can turn very ugly, very quickly.' He warned darkly: 'If a fiscal meltdown comes, there will be no one to bail out America.' Of course, that didn't stop Mr. Hoyer from voting for President Obama's $800 billion stimulus bill and a new budget that runs up the debt by $9 trillion over ten years....

"All of this comes, by the way, when the Medicare and Social Security Trustees warn that the long-term unfunded liabilities of the government's entitlement programs have reached $62.9 trillion and are growing fast.... Moody's and S&P are talking about taking away the U.S. government's Triple-A credit rating. What is Congress's response as the Titanic heads toward the iceberg? Democrats apparently believe the time is ripe to pass a $1 trillion universal health care entitlement.

"The new Obama budget doubles the debt as a share of GDP in ten years. The president claims with a straight face that high on his agenda list, after his vast spending plans, is hosting a 'fiscal responsibility' summit. Good one. 'Politicians only care about the deficit when they think the time is right to raise taxes,' says [Dan] Mitchell, economist at the Cato Institute. Borrow-and-spend or tax-and-spend -- pick your poison. Both are good ways to wreck an economy and blight American living standards for a generation."

-- Stephen Moore and Tyler Grimm, Wall Street Journal