The Free Liberal: A Good Gadfly Resigns

A Good Gadfly Resigns

by Paul Jacob

Are America’s politicians resigned to endless budget deficits and rising debt?

Well, Comptroller General David M. Walker isn’t. As the designated gadfly of the U.S. government’s flaky finances, he’s done a bang-up job. Or, at least, that’s what my accounting friends all say.

But now he has resigned. Effective March 12, he will no longer serve as Comptroller General, or work as the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

He still hopes to serve as gadfly, though.

You see, he’s heading up the newly founded Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which will seek to educate citizens, businesses, and maybe even that unlikeliest class of uneducated numbskulls, our political class, as to the real dangers we face with continuous deficit spending.

Pete Peterson has been ranked by Forbes magazine as the 165th richest man in America. Now he’s investing over a billion dollars in the new foundation. His first big coup is getting David Walker on board.

Walker says that the move away from government and to full-time critic of government will be for the best. He understandably felt constricted in his old role. As a member of the government, you cannot go on bad-mouthing your bosses endlessly, even if they deserve it. Especially if they deserve it.

Walker also says that he has met all the goals in office that he had set for himself. Save one: “Congress to address the nation’s large and growing fiscal and other key sustainability challenges before a crisis hits.”

Look for more from Walker and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. And more about deficits, debt, and our uncontrolled Congress.

Paul Jacob's "Common Sense" is published by the Sam Adams Alliance. Their website can be visited at www.samadamsalliance.org.

Comments

The biggest constraint Walker faced (aside from his reputedly harsh management style) was the fact that he could not mention the logical solution to the deficit crisis - the repeal of the Bush Tax cuts and an increase in reveue for Medicare (and Medicaid as well).

When doctors begin to opt out of the program, the rates have been pared back as far as they can be. The federal and private health insurance industries have also created the health insurance crisis for the uninsured, because every patient without a third party payer must pay an undiscounted rate, which of course they cannot afford. The recent changes to the bankruptcy law have compounded this problem, since some of this debt is now unescapable. The only out is to ban preferential fees and to stop seeking them so that all payers, including the uninsured, pay the same rate. This will cost many of us more money - but that cost will be to get services we are actually receiving.

Why should Medicare taxes go up? Simply put, to not do so means that those of us with (a)living parent(s) and/or fewer siblings pay more than those who do not if more costs are transferred to the patient (either directly or through loss of inheritence), due to accidents of death and birth. Unless one kills ones parents, an activity we are not encouraging at the Free Liberal, one has no control over whether one has a greater liability - which indicates that risk sharing is in some way appropriate. Whether that risk sharing is public or through an employer or religious organization can be debated - however some such sharing is necessary.

Posted by: Michael Bindner | March 17, 2008 01:31 PM