ZeroHedge.com had a article this week that touched on something I've spent a lot of time thinking about recently, our prison system in America. (Article here http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-08/united-states-has-more-people-jail-high-school-teachers-and-engineers )
How did we end up with more people in Prison than we have High School teachers? The article points to the "War on Drugs." The sheer idiocy of locking up people for putting something in their body. The war on drugs has succeeded only in creating a caste system in America. Once you check into the system, much like the Hotel California line, you can never leave. You're marked for life.
We're broke as a nation. We have $17 trillion in Federal Debt - roughly 100% of GDP. Of new debt (Treasury Bonds) that are being sold, the Federal Reserve is buying anywhere from 30% to 50% depending on whose numbers you believe. No one is talking about the Baby Boomers that are leaving the work force by the millions as we go forward. Those new retirees, along with the exploding numbers of people being added to the Social Security Disability, SNAP (food stamps) and MediCade we have another $90 Trillion of unfunded liabilities. Finally we have around $100 Trillion, give or take, of shortfalls in state and union pensions.
We don't have much time before we're going to forced to either curtail our spending to make outgoes equal income, or we're going to have continue to expand the empire, externally or internally.
Either more freedom for everyone, or less. I just don't see another path.
How did we end up with more people in Prison than we have High School teachers? The article points to the "War on Drugs." The sheer idiocy of locking up people for putting something in their body. The war on drugs has succeeded only in creating a caste system in America. Once you check into the system, much like the Hotel California line, you can never leave. You're marked for life.
We're broke as a nation. We have $17 trillion in Federal Debt - roughly 100% of GDP. Of new debt (Treasury Bonds) that are being sold, the Federal Reserve is buying anywhere from 30% to 50% depending on whose numbers you believe. No one is talking about the Baby Boomers that are leaving the work force by the millions as we go forward. Those new retirees, along with the exploding numbers of people being added to the Social Security Disability, SNAP (food stamps) and MediCade we have another $90 Trillion of unfunded liabilities. Finally we have around $100 Trillion, give or take, of shortfalls in state and union pensions.
We don't have much time before we're going to forced to either curtail our spending to make outgoes equal income, or we're going to have continue to expand the empire, externally or internally.
Either more freedom for everyone, or less. I just don't see another path.
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