A few months ago, I linked you to a shorter, free 30 minute version available on YouTube. If you haven’t taken the time to watch the 30 minute or 80 minute version, then here’s the 2 minute, 24 second version;

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGgjU-h_xQw]

^— The hidden track record of U.S. deficits as told by the U.S. government’s chief accountant!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FSoXKapKQs]

^– If you can watch this video and not feel the need to do something, then something is wrong with you  :-O

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp8ZmQMCtqA]

^– This outlines the PRE-BAILOUT/STIMULUS unfunded government promises.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZlmqx8CNKc]

^– The forecast of future debt-to-GDP ratios

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CNN to Broadcast I.O.U.S.A. | Obama Foresees Trillion-Dollar
Deficits |
A Bipartisan Plea for Fiscal Responsibility | The Government We
Deserve

CNN to Broadcast I.O.U.S.A.

The public has spoken, and we’ve listened. In response to demand
for information about our country’s financial challenges, CNN/U.S.
will air the broadcast premiere of the acclaimed documentary
I.O.U.S.A. on on Saturday, January 10 at 2:00 p.m. EST and on
Sunday, January 11 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Accompanying the documentary
will be an unscripted panel discussion with policy leaders about
various economic solutions currently under consideration.

This exclusive televised event will air only on CNN, and will be
hosted by Ali Velshi and Christine Romans, co-anchors of CNN’s
Your $$$$$, the network’s weekend business roundtable program.
Throughout I.O.U.S.A.’s broadcast premiere, Velshi and Romans will
engage a distinguished group of panelists, including Pete
Peterson, Chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former
U.S. Commerce Secretary; Dave Walker, President and CEO of the
Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former U.S. Comptroller General;
Alice Rivlin, noted economist and former Director of the Office of
Management and Budget; and Bill Bradley, a Managing Director of
Allen & Company and former U.S. Senator and Democratic
presidential candidate, in discussions about issues raised in the
film and their ties to current economic events.

Learn more about the film at www.IOUSAtheMovie.com. And be sure to
spread the word about the U.S. broadcast premiere!

Obama Foresees Trillion-Dollar Deficits

CNNMoney.com reported on Tuesday that when President-elect Barack
Obama takes office on January 20, he’ll inherit an economy deeper
in debt than ever.

Obama commented on the unprecedented deficit, saying, “At the
current course and speed, a trillion-dollar deficit will be here
before we even start the next budget.” In reference to his planned
economic recovery plan with an $800 billion price tag, Obama
added, “And potentially we’ve got trillion-dollar deficits for
years to come, even with the economic recovery that we are working
on at this point.”

Even with Obama’s promised budget reform, our economy will still
remain in the red — at least for the next few years. However,
incurring a trillion-dollar deficit in the short-term in order to
stimulate the economy is, according to organizations like the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, essential in order to
prevent “a deep and prolonged recession.”

Dave Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson
Foundation, was also asked to comment on the deficit and Obama’s
proposed stimulus. A “timely, targeted and temporary” stimulus is,
according to Dave, the best way to shore up the economy while our
deficit continues to deepen.

To read the original article, visit CNNMoney.com.

A Bipartisan Plea for Fiscal Responsibility

On Monday, January 5, the two most prominent members of the Senate
Budget Committee – Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. Judd Gregg
(R-NH) spoke out about the need for fiscal responsibility,
especially in the face of our current economic crisis.

In an impassioned editorial for the Washington Post, Conrad and
Gregg called for Democrats and Republicans to unite in support for
an economic recovery package, even with the short-term addition it
will make to our larger deficit. The senators also called for a
“bipartisan fiscal task force” to help create concrete solutions
for America’s long-term fiscal woes.

To read the full text of the editorial, visit the Washington
Post.

The Government We Deserve by Gene Steuerle

“Investment” and Obama’s First Budget

President-elect Obama’s chief in-house economic advisor Larry
Summers suggests in a recent Washington Post piece that the new
Administration will put a lot of effort into addressing long-term
growth challenges, not just short-term policies that generate
consumer spending. How? Through “investments.” To make sure we get
the point, Summers uses that word or some variation 12 times.

But the first Obama budget will not be oriented toward investment.
Just as with recent administrations, the words will stress
“investment” but the numbers will emphasize “consumption” – not
only in the short-term but, more dangerously, in the long-term. In
fairness, this is the budget the new administration inherits. They
gain control of the wheel of a battleship sailing full-steam ahead
toward the icebergs. But by using terms like “down payment” to
describe new proposals, Summers hints that no major course
correction will be sought.

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Insider Trading… This is when a person has non-public information on which he bases a trade in a public securities market. It is illegal. Insider trading in public securities can lead to imprisonment. Insider trading in real estate and private investments can lead to extraordinary profits.

Arbitrage… This is the act of profiting from the mispricing of assets. When an ounce of gold costs $900 in New York and $895 in Japan, “arb” traders will buy lots of gold in Japan and immediately sell it in New York… theoretically risk free. When dealing with transaction costs, arb trading typically requires very large amounts of money to be carried out feasibly. For the Joe who has $150,000 in an IRA, arb trading probably isn’t feasible.

Big Fish… Investing in the stock market is a different story when you can afford to buy HUGE pieces of companies. Warren Buffett, often called the World’s Greatest Investor, invests on such a large scale that he recently commented that the Korean stock market is a great buy, but he won’t be investing in it… because most Korean stocks aren’t large enough to have a significant impact on his portfolio! You can’t follow Warren’s strategy because he reads all day in order to make trades in the several hundred million dollar range. What he does won’t exactly work when making $10,000 trades.

Geniuses… This may be you; it’s not me.

What I’m not saying

I don’t avoid the stock market like the plague. I do generally avoid mutual funds like the plague because it is surrendering – you don’t know where your money went. Picking stocks for your portfolio can make sense when you are honest with yourself in that it is speculative and high risk in nature. Accordingly, it should only be done with a small portion of an overall portfolio. What do you do with rest of your portfolio?