Sunday, October 06, 2013

FRED THOMPSON ON THE NATIONAL DEBT: WE DON’T WANT TO BE DETROIT

‘10,000 people a day are retiring and the young people whose wages are being used to support them can't find work’

Here are some excerpts from the October 4 issue of Newsmax in which actor and former U.S. senator Fred Thompson weighs in on the impasse between the Republicans and Democrats that has resulted in the government shutdown:

While more people know Thompson as an actor than a lawmaker, he isn't afraid to talk about politics, and weighed in on the infighting between Republicans and Democrats that launched the government shutdown.

"Well, I'm not concerned about it in the short run. Everybody's concerned about the tactics now and who's winning, who's losing and all of that," Thompson said.

"What I'm concerned about is the underlying forces that are causing the turmoil and will continue on through the debt limits debate, I'm sure … " he said.

"We're on the road toward being a more debt-ridden and dependent nation. People see that, it concerns them, it comes out in different ways, and it's one of the main reasons for the creation and the activity of the tea party and what you're seeing now."

In the past few weeks, he said, there has been a lot of "foolish" talk and posturing.

"People make mistakes on tactics, people say foolish things and all of that, but that's not the real issue here," Thompson said.

"The real issue is, are we ever going to be able to convince the American people that we have an unsustainable problem on our hands and that we don't want to be Europe, we don't want to be Detroit, and we've got to do some things different … Shutting down the government's parks for a few days is the least of our worries."

"Are we going to do anything to address the fact that 10,000 people a day are retiring and the young people whose wages are being used to support them can't find work? That's the question."

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