A Greek Tragedy: Could Federal Debt Turn the United States into Greece?  

Allen West / Townhall Columnist

 

Editor’s Note: This column was coauthored by Geno Lattus.

The perfect formula for financial crisis: Imagine a country that spends more than it makes and continues to borrow to make up the difference, leaving it forever catching up on debt payments because of mounting interest. Another analysis on the Greek crisis? No. The United States is running its government in the same fundamental way as Greece and a meltdown may be coming soon.

The Greek Formula. Greece recently defaulted on a $1.8 billion debt payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). After borrowing large sums, big bailouts and profligate government spending, Greece’s struggling economy still lags from the 2008 global financial crisis. Its gross domestic product (GDP) has declined steadily since the crisis, dropping 33% from 2008 to 2014. It’s debt-to-GDP ratio, essentially a measure of how much the Greek government has borrowed compared to how much revenue it collects, has reached the 175 percent mark. Greece is not generating enough tax revenues to service its debts.

The U.S. Formula. Like Greece, the U.S. experienced financial turmoil and a severe drop in economic productivity during the financial crisis of 2008. In response to the downturn, the federal government spurred the economy by increasing spending, inflating deficits to a total of $5.6 trillion by 2012.

Iran Nuclear Talks Extended for Fourth Time

By: Adam Kredo / The Washington Free Beacon

VIENNA—Secretary of State John Kerry informed reporters on Thursday that nuclear talks with Iran would continue past any deadline and only come to a conclusion when the Obama administration feels that no more “progress” is being made.

 

Kerry’s announcement—which was vague about details or a future timeframe for the talks—appeared to annoy some reporters in the audience, with one shouting at Kerry, “How long is this going to take?”

Deadlines—and the administration’s failure to adhere to them—have become a major theme in recent weeks as negotiators prepare to blow past a third self-imposed deadline of July 10.

Should this occur, Congress would be given 60, rather than 30 days to review and potentially reject any deal that is struck.

“Let me assure you we would not be here continuing to negotiate just for the sake of negotiating,” Kerry said. We’re here because we believe we’re making real progress.”

Kerry then claimed that he is prepared to walk away from the talks with no deal. That threat has been repeated multiple times by senior administration officials in recent days, though they continue to negotiate with no final deadline.

“As I’ve said many times, and have discussed with President Obama last night, we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever,” Kerry said. “We also recognize that we shouldn’t get up and leave because the clock strikes midnight.”

Iran and the United States will not be rushed by these self-imposed deadlines, Kerry said.

“We will not rush and we will not be rushed and we won’t let ourselves be rushed through any aspect of this,” he said, adding that the “quality of the agreement” is the most pressing issue.

FBI says it thwarted Islamic State-inspired attacks on July 4

By Robert Spencer / Jihad Watch

 

“Comey told reporters more than 10 people inspired by the Islamic State’s recruitment online have been arrested over the past four weeks, some of which were focused on attacks around the July 4 holiday.” And now the FBI can’t read what the jihadis are plotting, as it is encrypted. “FBI says thwarted Islamic State-inspired attacks […]
 
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Saudi Prince Pledges $32 Billion to Promote Islam/Sharia in America

Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a senior member of the Saudi monarchy, says he’ll pledge his $32 billion to advance the islamization of America. This is a MOAB (mother of all bombs) in the information battle-space. Looks as if I will be keeping  busy for quite some time.

The Saudis have spent billions already. 80% of the mosques  build in America are Saudi funded. Islamic groups working to impose the sharia are largely funded by the Saudis.

We can look forward to 32 billion more of the “kingdom’s brand of Islam, while censoring criticism of Islam.”

And it’s not just the media that is on the receiving end of this blood money, but also Muslim Brotherhood fronts like CAIR, which spend millions whining...

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