Tales from the Nanny World: Why Doesn't the U.S. Just Declare Bankruptcy?

I received a moment of enlightenment recently when a well-educated health care professional proposed to me, with a straight face, what seemed to her an obvious solution to our out-of-control national debt: "Why doesn't the U.S. just declare bankruptcy?"

That question illustrates just how detached many Americans have become from the concept of personal and financial responsibility.

A large segment of the American population have become so accustomed to the Nanny State that they now believe in a Nanny World. In the U.S. version of the Nanny State, it has been possible to run up huge credit card debts and then dismiss them, without as a consequence losing food, shelter, clothing, or automobile, not to mention the numerous other possessions purchased with the debt. Life goes on as usual, more or less, but creditors stop calling. Not surprisingly, many folks have taken advantage of that fact, acquiring tens of thousands of dollars of goods and then declaring bankruptcy to rid themselves of their debt.

Perhaps it isn't surprising, then, that many voters assume that, when push comes to shove and our country's debt becomes really uncomfortable, we can just throw up our collective hands, keep the goodies that we purchased with our debt, and continue on pretty much as before.

So when President Obama proposes "to go on a multitrillion dollar borrowing spree that risks the "full faith and credit of the United States," to many people--if they even bother to notice--it's no big deal. Why should excessive national borrowing be different than excessive private borrowing? There's always a safety net, right?

Clearly not enough Americans are getting the picture that the safety net only exists because somebody else has created it and paid for it. What if that somebody else happens to be China?

As Investors Business Daily pointed out, Obama plans on spending almost a quarter (23.7%) of our gross domestic product for at least a decade. So, just for starters, plant a goodbye kiss on a quarter of everything you produce. Bye bye to all that effort and labor.

Just 2 1/2 short years from now, by 2012, public debt will reach 70% of GDP, and in 10 years, that debt will equal more than 80% of everything produced in this country in a year.

What were you planning on doing in 2 1/2 years? In 10 years? It's time to rethink what you are going to be able to do.

Even if Obama were not spending money like the country could declare bankruptcy one day and return to business as usual the next--even if we were being fiscally frugal--taxpayers are looking at paying income tax rates of 60% to 70% just to pay for existing entitlements.

American families over the last year have already lost 8% of their net worth — in part as a result of inept government meddling, past and present. For many of the same reasons, they are also buried under a mountain of mortgages and private-sector debts gone bad. On top of that, if the president has his way, they will soon be hit with more than a 100% increase in public debt (from $8 trillion this year to $17.3 trillion in 2019).

Furthermore, the Treasury (and taxpayers) will soon have to begin repaying to Social Security more than $5 trillion in payroll tax revenues that the government had taken from the trust fund and spent for earmarks and other purposes.

Enter the universal health care entitlement, on top of that 60% to 70% tax and work burden. Government sources tell us that will clock in at about $1.6 trillion. Hardy har har. A more realistic view, we are hearing, is $10 trillion.

Something tells me that none of the bean counters are considering the hugely increased wear and tear on national health due to work and worry.

Do yourself a huge favor and hound your Congressmen and Senators not to pass Obamacare:

• Representatives' names and addresses here. Email and fax numbers here.
• Senators' name and contact information here.

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