Comptroller General, GAO head David Walker quits; dire warnings about deficit spending; "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour"

Posted Sat, Feb 16, 2008 at 9:58 am
David Walker - until Friday the U.S. Comptroller General and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) - has quit apparently in order to continue warning about overspending and the general dire condition he perceives we're in without being hampered in what he can say. He'll be joining the new Peter G. Peterson Foundation, founded by a billionaire buyout specialist who's endorsed John McCain (link, called "less a Wall Street titan than a persistent Jeremiah who for 26 years now has prophesied that fiscal and trade deficits will lead to a financial Armageddon" here).

Walker has taken part in a series of public forums called the "Fiscal Wake-Up Tour" (link), and from this:
Walker last year issued an unusually downbeat assessment of his country's future in a report that drew parallels with the end of the Roman empire.

He had warned that the US government was on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action was not taken soon.

There were "striking similarities" between America's current situation and the factors that brought down Rome, he had said.

These included "declining moral values and political civility at home, an over-confident and over-extended military in foreign lands and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government."
Tags: 
government accountability office
peter peterson
david walker

Comments

JSBolton (not verified)

Sat, 02/16/2008 - 20:15

If he's so responsible and aware of history, what about the responsibility to inquire into McCain's history? We don't want to have to try to resist the barbarian onslaught by making one of them into the emperor, if Roman analogies are to be strained into a match.

Fred Dawes (not verified)

Sun, 02/17/2008 - 14:18

JSBOLTON All you see had happened before the system is coming down for a reason the money people who want a mass third world population here inside the west, need it for control reasons the 3 percent contorlly class need us all inside a camp system for mass Holocaust and the population of the third worlds people are being used for just that inside the nations of the west, within 2 years you and most people on this earth will be living from day to day inside a evil system that wants billions dead and millions in total enslavement, its all about evil and the plan of mass murder, that is why the power people want Barack Obama as president, last word get out of the cities within 2 years, fine a place to hide deep real deep.

Smitty (not verified)

Mon, 02/18/2008 - 22:11

in 2006 Mr Walker pegged our unfunded liabilities at 50 trillion ($50,000,000,000,000.00) they jumped to 83.5 trillion in 2007 and has probably jumped a few trillion since then. Thats 280,000.00 in debt for every man woman & child in the country, can you afford the interest on 280,000.00 for one year, what about your wife & kids?

Jack (not verified)

Fri, 02/22/2008 - 14:46

Hey, there is more on Walker's resignation and how he feels about the fiscal issues in America at the link below. I found it all very interesting. He contributed to a documentary called I.O.U.S.A. that premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January. It talks all about the fiscal troubles ahead. http://www.agorafinancial.com/5min/david-walker-resigns/