Simon Smelt's  Instablog

 This from "thehill.com":  

"Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general over the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), will tell lawmakers on Tuesday that taxpayers are being left in the dark about what banks are doing with bailout money, don't know the value of the government's investments and will not know the full extent of how the money is invested.

Medicare and social welfare are heading for insolvency more rapidly than previously forecast.  The $50 trillion plus of their unfunded liabilities (according to the government’s “Financial Report of the United States” is beginning to appear over the horizon.  At the same time, the U.S. congress is discussing extending Medicare to those not covered. 

Beyond the immediate, investment in building productive capacity must occur if the U.S. is to prosper and if higher national debt levels are to be serviced. Three forces that have built up in recent months and that will interact ferociously now make this almost impossible.