"Immoral and un-American"

"Immoral and Un-American"

"We should avoid ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden we ourselves ought to bear." - George Washington - 1796

Last week the Fiscal Wake-up Tour came to Maine. Representatives from the non-partisan Concord Coalition and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation graphically illustrated the financial hole that has been dug in Washington by both political parties. Peterson Foundation President David Walker declared the fiscal management by our elected leaders to be "immoral and un-American"; strong words but deadly accurate based on his data and projections.

Walker, the former Comptroller General of the United States which runs the Government Accountability Office (GAO), told the Maine audience that the Premiere of China has publicly questioned if the United States is capable of repaying its loans to his country. China has reason to worry. Walker's 2007 cover letter to the President of the United States and Congressional leaders stated

"Certain material weaknesses in financial reporting and other limitations on the scope of our work resulted in conditions that, for the 11th consecutive year, prevented us from expressing an opinion on the [government's] financial statements other than the Statement of Social Insurance."

That declaration amounts to the government's chief accountant saying he was certain of only one thing: our unchecked borrowing for government entitlement programs, specifically Medicare and Social Security, would result in an unfunded liability of $47 trillion over the coming 75 years if funded at current tax rates. That's just for the social insurance programs.

Walker stated it in more understandable terms saying, "This translates into a current burden of about $175,000 per American or approximately $455,000 per American household."

That was before the bail-outs of the Bush and Obama administrations or the current health care reform proposals that mirror aspects of Maine's own Dirigo health plan.

An article from the Wall Street Journal on Thursday equated Maine's Dirigo health plan to proposals being advanced in Washington recounting the promises of greater coverage at lower costs. The article suggests, however, that if Dirigo's architecture were scaled to national proportions, Congress and the President would compound our financial woes but without the protection of a constitutionally required balanced budget.

The United States has a health care cost crisis that cannot be solved by more spending. Just as Dirigo has failed to meet its promises and expectations, we cannot afford to have the federal government following suit. Our members of Congress need to know that we will support them in reducing the scope of benefit social insurance programs so that more people can be covered at the same or lower cost.

If you haven't let ALL of your elected leaders know what you want and expect, now is the time to do so. For a list and contact information, click here.

For a look at the details of the Peterson presentation, go to http://www.pgpf.org/getinvolved/citizens-guide/

NEXT Nominations due by August 28th

While the Alliance often cites the challenges of doing business in Maine and the choices we need to make to improve the economy, there are many current success stories and examples of leadership that ought to be celebrated -they are the people in your communities who will shape the state's economy over the next decade.

MaineBiz, the state's leading all-business digest, is accepting nominations for their seventh annual NEXT awards. Take a minute to make a nomination and celebrate the success of those all-important entrepreneurs who are making a difference in Maine's economy.

Nominate a MaineBiz Nexter by clicking here today

For a list of previous MaineBiz NEXT honorees, click here.

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We really appreciate your support and engagement and hope you continue to find our newsletter of use and interest. In the meantime, please pass this and future newsletters along to your friends, family, co-workers, customers and vendors. Knowledge is power. Thanks so much!

Need a speaker?

We are always looking for opportunities to talk about Maine's economy and the impact of public policy on jobs, capital investment and the cost of government. Please let us know if your company, service organization or trade association would like to have a speaker. Just drop us an e-mail and we'll get back to you.

You can make a difference! Thanks!

Tony Payne

Executive Director

207-232-7830

tpayne@allianceformaine.org

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To read previous Alliance newsletters, go to

http://mainebusiness.mainetoday.com/blog.html?id=124464