The President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released its report yesterday, entitled, appropriately, “The Moment of Truth.” A national train wreck is coming. It’s happening, right now. The processes are already at work all around us, if only by default. Assuming that the structural imbalance of revenues and expenses in the federal budget are not brought back into line and soon, the net present value of the United States government over the next 75 years is -$89 trillion. Gov’t Accountability Office, The Federal Government's Long-Term Fiscal Outlook 7 (2010) (GAO-11-201SP). In other words, if we were to do nothing to change our situation and tame the deficit, we would need $89 trillion dollars in cash today in order to meet the current promises for tomorrow. This is a number so large that it lacks meaning. Something must be done, and the report is at the very least a good first step in the right direction. If you want to understand the gravity of what’s happening to us and what it’s going to take to cope, check it out.
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