On Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:21:07 -0700, "nom=de=plume"
wrote:

People complain about
entitlements, as though the are terrible things. They aren't. Ask an average
senior if she's willing to give up her SS or Medicare (or for that matter
anyone even close to collecting it)... I think we both know what they'll
say.

That's the problem with entitlements. Once they're out there, they
become a sacred right. For a variety of reasons US manufacturing has
become uncompetetive in the world market place. Increased
entitlements and the resulting higher tax rates can only make the
problem worse. A service based economy can only take you so far.
Sooner or later you have to make something or have enough foreign
exchange to purchase it elsewhere. Right now we are extending IOUs to
fund our imports but sooner or later those chips will be called in.