"the pending bankruptcy of the U.S."

[donsu]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/251561_review10.html


Elder Gates worried about America

Bill Gates Sr., co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gave a CityClub gathering their money's worth Friday at a luncheon to review the year almost gone.

As a participant on a panel that included Sen. Patty Murray, state Secretary of Health Mary Selecky and Issaquah developer George W. "Skip" Rowley, Gates, along with the others, was asked to tell about someone he'd been impressed by and to say why.

He picked Wall Street big shot Pete Peterson, who, Gates said, has warned against "the pending bankruptcy of the U.S."

His response drew shocked laughter from the crowd. But Gates wasn't kidding, and he would return to that theme later in the luncheon.
-snip-
------------------------------


HOWEVER

Gates Sr. is a flat earther when it comes to jobs going out of america:

"We need to get over it," he said. "Seems to me it's the only way to raise all ships" and create what he described later as a truly "flat earth."

so, what do we know about Pete Peterson?

what bubble did the audience live in to be "shocked" by what Gates Sr. said?

[NMDemDist2]

1. he wrote "Running on Empty" and was Commerce Sec for a repug

prez Nixon? Reagan? dunno one of those guys

he's a Wall St hi-flyer too IIRC

google is your friend

[donsu]

5. I'm on dial-up and googling takes forever - I knew you speeders

would have the info in a second.

and thanks to all who replied.

[madfloridian]

2. "Running on Empty" by Pete Peterson...review of it last year.

http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/OnWallStreet/2004/11/01/636620?extID=10037&oliID=229

"Peterson invokes the current accounting scandals to further support his thesis, using data from the government itself. By applying the same accounting standards used to prosecute Enron, the U.S. Treasury determined a shortfall in funding for future liabilities in Social Security and Medicare at $21 billion - "eight times the amount of total Government spending in fiscal 2002." Yet, as Peterson observes dryly, "if Congress had to abide by its own rules, it would have to throw itself in jail for fraudulent accounting."

"Running on Empty" delivers the facts behind the retirement fiscal calamity, as well as a balanced analysis of how it developed. Neither Democrats nor Republicans escape Peterson's scorn, as he outlines each party's policy foibles from Wilbur Mill's 13 percent expansion of Social Security to George W. Bush's prescription drug program.

Spiking the narrative are Peterson's personal discussions with world leaders. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, for example, told him that world leaders ignore the potential crisis because "it won't hit on (their) watch...so why take the pain for someone else's gain?" The author declares his own belief that each generation has a moral duty not to burden subsequent generations with its financial problems, relating discouraging anecdotes about some current leaders who do not share that commitment. And he denounces the acidic partisanship in U.S. politics.

What does this mean to you as an advisor? Being a superb financial advisor requires more than a textbook grasp of modern portfolio theory or liability matching. Achieving at the highest level requires passion, a sense of mission. Our mission is to help an entire generation of households overcome the challenges revealed in "Running on Empty." Success is dependent on a full understanding of the situation."

[sendero]

6. $21 billion...

... that is chump change. Surely a typo :)

[cliss]

3. Look no further than Steven Roach, economist

for Morgan Stanley. Mr. Roach has been pushing the 'red alert' button for about 1 year now.

He sees the house of cards for what it is: the U.S. is desperately hanging on, like a 'check kiter' who writes a bogus check to cover a payment made and then prays that it will not bounce.

Currently, the U.S. borrows $2 BILLION DOLLARS PER DAY, just to make our interest payment. Mr. Peterson is right. If you look closely enough, you can actually see it happening in the U.S., today.

[madfloridian]

4. "How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future"

http://www.cfr.org/publication/7320/running_on_empty.html

Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties Are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do About It
Authors: Peter G. Peterson
Robert D. Hormats

September 7, 2004

Speaker: Peter G. Peterson, chairman, The Blackstone Group; chairman of the board of directors, Council on Foreign Relations
Presider: Robert D. Hormats, vice chairman, Goldman, Sachs & Company

Council on Foreign Relations
New York, N.Y.
September 7, 2004

Interview follows at the link.