The Unknown Candidate: U.S. Controller General Says U.S. May Fall

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

U.S. Controller General Says U.S. May Fall

MUST READ:

"The US comptroller general David Walker issued a report last week in Chicago in which he likened the present situation in the United States to the Roman Republic or an organization that fails to adapt and 'may not survive.'

Nobody reported it. The first report of the speech came today in London's Financial Times...."

Cosmic Iguana's response: "Why report that? After all, the big story is Michael Vick's dogfighting thing again."

Excepts from the FT's:

"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....”

Read Walker's full speech here.