The End of Emprie?

[Paul Paryski]

Interesting:  Perhaps the decline of the US began with the  assassination of
JFK?  Paul
 
Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

By Jeremy Grant  in Washington

August 14 2007 00:06

The  US government is on a 'burning platform' of
unsustainable  policies and practices with fiscal
deficits, chronic healthcare  underfunding,
immigration and overseas military  commitments
threatening a crisis if action is not taken  soon,
the country's top government inspector has  warned.

David Walker, comptroller general of the  US,
issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his
country's future in a report that lays out what he
called "chilling long-term simulations".

These include  "dramatic" tax rises, slashed
government services and the  large-scale dumping by
foreign governments of holdings of US  debt.

Drawing parallels with the end of the Roman
empire, Mr Walker warned there were "striking
similarities" between America's current situation
and the  factors that brought down Rome, including
"declining moral  values and political civility at
home, an over-confident and  over-extended military
in foreign lands and fiscal  irresponsibility by
the central government".

"Sound familiar?" Mr Walker said. "In my view,
it's time  to learn from history and take steps to
ensure the American  Republic is the first to stand
the test of time."

Mr Walker's views carry weight because he is a
non-partisan figure in charge of the Government
Accountability  Office, often described as the
investigative arm of the US  Congress.

While most of its studies are commissioned  by
legislators, about 10 per cent - such as the one
containing his latest warnings - are initiated by
the  comptroller general himself.

In an interview with the  Financial Times, Mr
Walker said he had mentioned some of the  issues
before but now wanted to "turn up the volume".
Some of them were too sensitive for others in
government  to "have their name associated with".

"I'm trying to sound  an alarm and issue a wake-up
call," he said. "As comptroller  general I've got
an ability to look longer-range and take on  issues
that others may be hesitant, and in many cases  may
not be in a position, to take on.

"One  of the concerns is obviously we are a great
country but we face  major sustainability
challenges that we are not taking  seriously
enough," said Mr Walker, who was appointed  during
the Clinton administration to the post, which
carries a 15-year term.

The fiscal imbalance meant  the US was "on a path
toward an explosion of  debt".

"With the looming retirement of baby  boomers,
spiralling healthcare costs, plummeting  savings
rates and increasing reliance on foreign  lenders,
we face unprecedented fiscal risks," said Mr
Walker, a former senior executive at PwC auditing
firm.

Current US policy on education, energy, the
environment, immigration and Iraq also was on an
"unsustainable path".

"Our very prosperity is placing  greater demands on
our physical infrastructure. Billions of  dollars
will be needed to modernise everything from
highways and airports to water and sewage systems.
The  recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a
sobering wake-up  call."

Mr Walker said he would offer to brief the
would-be presidential candidates next spring.

"They  need to make fiscal responsibility and
inter-generational  equity one of their top
priorities. If they do, I think we have  a chance
to turn this around but if they don't, I think  the
risk of a serious crisis rises  considerably".






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