Those who blame the kamikaze, hostage-taking tea party for ruining the U.S. credit rating do not see what the bond market sees. The last-second budget deal, which was really about nickels and dimes, underscored two things:
First, it again revealed a political system unable to address the big issues. And if it tries to address them, it is likely to make things worse.
Second, it shows a nation that is no longer able to grow itself out of fiscal difficulties.
Experts know that the deficit and debt figures tossed around in public discussion are only the tip of the iceberg. The real iceberg is the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. Their unfunded liability is how much money we would have to set aside to meet the future obligations of these two programs. Our national debt, which may soon reach the size of GDP (say $17 trillion), is dwarfed by the unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities that may have already reached $100 trillion!
