Sheila Bair Warns of Unsustainable Spending, Need to Tackle Debt

[golfguru]

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair warned in a Washington Post op-ed that the next financial crisis could come from out-of-control spending in Washington and urged lawmakers to put aside partisan differences to tackle the debt.

She outlined a number of areas where she felt the debt was under heavy pressure. She said retiring baby boomers would live longer, putting more pressure on spending. She called defense spending “unsustainable” and referred to the tax code as “riddled with special-interest provisions that have little to do with our broader economic prosperity.”

Her op-ed comes less than a week before the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform votes on whether it can reach enough consensus to recommend changes in U.S. policy that would reduce the debt. Their recommendations are due Dec. 1.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/11/26/bair-warns-of-unsustainable-spending-need-to-tackle-debt/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_EC_RT_Blog

IS BI-PARTISANSHIP EVEN POSSIBLE IN THE CURRENT ATMOSPHERE IN D.C.?

[DJ13]

1. IS BI-PARTISANSHIP EVEN POSSIBLE IN THE CURRENT ATMOSPHERE IN D.C.?

If its concerning hurting the bottom 90% in order to reduce expenditures so the wealthy can continue skating on their taxes, yes, in a heartbeat the two sides will "unite" to screw the rest of us over.

[PBS Poll-435]

2. She needs to be removed from the post.

She does not know what she is doing and she is harming the country.

[nsd]

3. Her term lasts until the middle of next year. /nt

[golfguru]

7. How did she get the job? Appointment??

[DeSwiss]

4. Mind your business Sheila......... n/t

[msongs]

5. slash military welfare by 50% - problem solved nt

[OlympicBrian]

6. She's way off base...

She refers to TWO deficit reduction plans, when there are at least FOUR. And only one is reasonable:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/linkframe.php?linkid=122070

[golfguru]

8. Europe Tries to Contain Debt Crisis

Portugal's parliament on Friday passed a budget for 2011 that aims to reduce the country's deficit from 9.3% of gross domestic product in 2009 to below 3% by 2013, and Prime Minister Jose Socrates said he hoped it would help calm markets.

"We must put Portugal out of the focus of the crisis. This budget will defend the country against the euro-zone crisis," Mr. Socrates said.

That wasn't enough to reassure investors. The euro tumbled against the dollar to $1.3248 in New York Friday. The yield premium that investors demand to hold 10-year Spanish sovereign bonds rather than German bunds widened to a fresh euro-era record of 2.67 percentage points. The spread later recovered to 2.59 percentage points, still 0.07 percentage points higher than Thursday.