The increasingly fevered discussions, may we say overt brinksmanship, in the capitol over the US debt ceiling and long-term budget deficit are by their very nature a political issue. Missing from this debate and war of talking heads is a non-partisan voice in the middle of the storm. One stating the fundamental facts and figures with cool dispassion and laying out tough solutions.
In this case, forgotten might be a better word than missing. Two separate reports have come and gone with similar possible solutions.
The President’s Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform released a report in December 2010 with a number of solutions to drive down the deficit. The full report, along with panel member commentary is available on the Commission’s website. A majority voted for the sobering plan, but it lacked the supermajority necessary for further action in Congress.
Similarly
, Mary Meeker, a partner at KPCB and business analyst, released an independent report titled “USA Inc.” in February 2011 approaching the federal government as if it were a business in need of a dramatic turnaround for its shareholders. The full USA Inc. report is available for viewing and downloadable as a PDF.
I have attached one of the last slides of the report that sums up the problem at hand.
A new video presentation from Meeker has also just been released (highly recommended):
We are available for discussing the debt situation, as well as the investment implications for a variety of potential scenarios.