Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do about It

UPDATED 15 Dec 07Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches This extraordinary book should be read in tandem with Lewis H. Lapham's Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling of Democracy and perhaps also William Greider's The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy as well as Jonathan Schell's The Unconquerable World. I find it extraordinary to have the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, which I have always considered to be an old man's club of established elites, largely out of touch with 80% of the real world (that is to say, the 80% that has almost nothing in the way of wealth, health, or rights), step up to the plate and speak truth. This book addresses the second core issue in America's future, i.e. the twin deficits that are not only going to kill the business of America, but also deprive the children of America of their future. (Lapham addresses the first: restoration of honest democracy). In combination, the $7 trillion deficit in federal spending, and the $500 billion a year trade deficit, with roughly $2 billion in foreign loans being required every single day to keep America afloat, both suggest that we are snorting political cocaine and every one of us is a damn fool for allowing two political parties to get away with selling us down the river. As the author points out in the Preface, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautions its own master, the USA, that it is in danger of becoming an insolvent Third World country, running up bills that "would require an immediate and permanent 60 percent hike in the federal income tax, or a 50 percent cut in Social Security and Medicare benefits," we cannot say we have not been warned. The author is balanced, focused, deliberative, and earnest. He carefully explains how both the "mainstream" political parties have completely abdicated all responsibility, and completely betrayed the public interest in their eagerness to sell legislation to the highest corporate bidders. There is one grievous flaw in the book. In concluding that we can only survive by educating ourselves and then finding our voice, the author neglects to address the fast means of achieving short-term fiscal recovery in tandem with campaign finance and electoral reform: the elimination of subsidies, tax fraud, and tax relief for corporations. We have close to a trillion in unwarranted and unsound subsidies to poor agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and minerals programs where every dollar in subsidy is yielding high long-term costs to the taxpayer citizen; we have over $50 billion a year in documented import-export tax fraud ($25 rocket engines going out, $3000 toothbrushes coming in--advanced money laundering and tax avoidance); finally, the corporate share of federal tax revenue has dropped from 32% to 6% in the past twenty years, with corporations like Halliburton paying $15M in taxes on billions in profit--easy to fix: pa

This book should be required reading for everyone in the House of Representatives or Senate, not to mention the Executive branch. If I had enough money, rather than make yet another donation to a political party, I'd buy the book and mail it to every congressman/woman and senator with a note to read it if they care for this country's future. Pete Peterson makes a compelling argument that we're heading for a SEVERE financial and social crises if we continue with business as usual politics in Washington. No matter what your political persuasion is, if this book doesn't make you worry then you're living in denial, or just don't care about the legacy the coming generations will be left to face.

An outstanding book on the lack of political courage on both sides of the aisle and the resulting fiscal train wreck it will soon lead to. However, the American people also bear much of the blame since we as a people have become increasingly reluctant to trade in instant gratification for future rewards and keep electing politicians that don't want to implement tough but necessary policy changes. The author suggested several solutions to the problem. However, I'm pessimistic those have a realistic chance of being put in place. I think the most likely outcome of the impending crisis is that the Treasury will simply print more money so politicians can avoid raising taxes or reducing spending. This outcome will be the least painful in the short term. However, in the long term it will have the most adverse consequences as inflation will be kept at a high level and it does not address the fundamental issue of fiscal responsibility.

This is an excellent and easy book to read. It's main theme is that both Democrat and Republican Administrations are equally fiscally irresponsible. Even the rare Budget Surpluses generated during the Clinton Administration were really a mirage. If the Government had to report its fiscal condition just as publicly held companies report their financial condition to the SEC, the Government would be deemed insolvent. This is not so much due to the yearly Budget Deficits, but much more so due to the negative net present value of the net cost of the Social Security and Medicare programs (social security taxes minus Social Security and Medicare claims). This huge cost is due to the demographic forces of an aging society. As a metaphor, this is as if IBM's pension plan was so underfunded that it's negative present value that IBM had to report on its balance sheet would cause IBM's net worth to be negative. This is not what you see with Government stealthy accounting. But, that is what the true fiscal condition of the Government looks like. Among Peterson's solutions, he proposes a severe restructuring of Social Security and Medicare programs. It entails painful decisions. But, it is inevitable. The Government behind close doors is currently talking about such restructuring. One of the main issues is what is the age cut-off for the grandfathering of existing benefits. Government leaks suggest the age cut-off considered is between 50 and 55. This means that if you are of this age or older, the Government will not touch your benefit. But, if you are younger they will be curtailed. I have read interesting rebuttals to this overall fiscal storm argument. Many experts view that Peterson over dramatizes the situation. One argument suggests that higher labor productivity will decrease the impact somewhat. This is true, but it is very relative. Meaning higher productivity may help, but not nearly as much as to avoid the perfect fiscal storm. The other rebuttal suggests that the problem is not so much an aging population but a U.S. health care system with out of control cost. Our health care system may engulf both the Government and the private sector's financial condition. I think this is an excellent argument. But, it does nothing to truly exclude the other. In other words, we still do have a fiscal storm associated with an aging population. And, we also do have a healthcare system that is putting increasing pressure on both the public and private sector resources. In summary, none of these arguments truly affect the importance of Peterson's message. In view of the above, this is an important book for anyone to read regardless of your age. On the same subject, I also strongly recommend Laurence Kotlikoff's "The Coming Generational Storm." I also recommend the two excellent books by Robert Stowe England: "Global Aging and Financial Markets" and "The Fiscal Challenge of an Aging Industrial World." Robert Stowe England

Edit of 16 Apr 08 to add more links on the bad and the good. Edit of 17 Jan 07 to add links. This extraordinary book should be read in tandem with Lewis H. Lapham's Gag Rule: On the Suppression of Dissent and the Stifling of Democracy and perhaps also William Greider's The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism as well as Jonathan Schell's The Unconquerable World. I find it extraordinary to have the Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, which I have always considered to be an old man's club of established elites, largely out of touch with 80% of the real world (that is to say, the 80% that has almost nothing in the way of wealth, health, or rights), step up to the plate and speak truth. This book addresses the second core issue in America's future, i.e. the twin deficits that are not only going to kill the business of America, but also deprive the children of America of their future. (Lapham addresses the first: restoration of honest democracy). In combination, the $7 trillion deficit in federal spending, and the $500 billion a year trade deficit, with roughly $2 billion in foreign loans being required every single day to keep America afloat, both suggest that we are snorting political cocaine and every one of us is a damn fool for allowing two political parties to get away with selling us down the river. As the author points out in the Preface, when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cautions its own master, the USA, that it is in danger of becoming an insolvent Third World country, running up bills that "would require an immediate and permanent 60 percent hike in the federal income tax, or a 50 percent cut in Social Security and Medicare benefits," we cannot say we have not been warned. The author is balanced, focused, deliberative, and earnest. He carefully explains how both the "mainstream" political parties have completely abdicated all responsibility, and completely betrayed the public interest in their eagerness to sell legislation to the highest corporate bidders. There is one grievous flaw in the book. In concluding that we can only survive by educating ourselves and then finding our voice, the author neglects to address the fast means of achieving short-term fiscal recovery in tandem with campaign finance and electoral reform: the elimination of subsidies, tax fraud, and tax relief for corporations. We have close to a trillion in unwarranted and unsound subsidies to poor agricultural, fisheries, forestry, and minerals programs where every dollar in subsidy is yielding high long-term costs to the taxpayer citizen; we have over $50 billion a year in documented import-export tax fraud ($25 rocket engines going out, $3000 toothbrushes coming in--advanced money laundering and tax avoidance); finally, the corporate share of federal tax revenue has dropped from 32% to 6% in the past twenty years, with corporations like Halliburton paying $15M in taxes on billions in profit--easy to fix: pay taxes on the profit declared to th