Congressional Budget office says Social Security Now Officially Broke

And you still think NASA (or any other federal program) is going to get a lot of money? The Congressional Budget office (CBO) admitted today that Social Security is now officially broke. Key quote:

The CBOโ€™s revenue/expenditure estimates now place the program in permanent deficit. There had been some hope that payroll taxes would recover sufficiently post-recession to put the program back into the black (the theoretical black) for at least a few more years, putting off the day of reckoning for an election cycle or more. No more: The new CBO estimates put Social Security in the red for as far as the eye can see. [emphasis mine]

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The difficulties of doing business in the socialist state of Berkeley

The difficulties of doing business in the socialist state of Berkeley. Key quote:

When a planner working in design review looked at Dalrympleโ€™s plans, she told her she didnโ€™t think a black and white awning would fit in with the neighborhood, said Dalrymple. The planner didnโ€™t give her any specific recommendations for a different color, but just nixed her idea. . . . “Rules arenโ€™t written down anywhere,โ€ said [Dan Marks, director of the Planning and Development Department]. โ€œBut the planner has worked in the neighborhood a long time and she knows what the neighborhood likes.” [emphasis mine]

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Ship of fools

Iowahawk: Ship of Fools. Key quote:

As you may have read recently, a panel of 100 scientists is now warning that the state of California faces the risk of severe โ€œsuperstormsโ€ that could inflict more that $400 billion in economic damages to our state economy. According to these predictions, such storms could bring more than 120 inches of rain to the Central Valley, and last as long as 40 days. And, possibly, nights.

In anticipation of such a catastrophic event, I will soon begin seeking $75 billion in emergency supplementary appropriations from the California Assembly and federal sources for the construction of the California SuperArk, a state-of-the-art mass transportation vehicle which will help insure the sustainability of our state and its endangered species.

Read the whole thing.

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Congressman says that Congress has the right to force people to buy insurance

Behind the curtain, a dictator: Congressman John Lewis (D-Georgia) said yesterday that he not only thinks that Congress has the power to make people buy insurance according to the Constitution, it is his obligation to force them to do so. In his own words:

โ€œI think people should be required to get health insurance. We require people to get insurance for their automobile state by state but the federal government has an obligation to encourage by law, moral persuasion, to get people to get health insurance,โ€

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