Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWire) --05/25/2011 --Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen spends a lot of time with his own clients, serving as a financial advisor to other financial advisors, and hosting his talk show The Everything Financial Radio Show. But lately you could also catch Tubbergen writing his latest book.
“I’ve been working on a book about where we are economically and what possible courses of action folks should consider taking with their finances,” explains Tubbergen.
Tubbergen is happy to share more excerpts from his soon-to-be-released book titled Economic Consequences: Can You Survive Even Prosper From 100 Years of Bad Money Decisions?
Tubbergen begins this excerpt with a quote from The Book of Proverbs in the Bible, which he claims offers some timeless wisdom about the dangers of debt. “Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.”
“The warning is clear,” cites Tubbergen. “Spend beyond your means and live on credit and you may be reduced to poverty.”
According to Tubbergen, the United States has not done well heeding this wise advice.
“In the introduction of my book, I discussed the fact that the total level of debt, public and private, in the United States, is $57 trillion,” notes Tubbergen. “That doesn’t count the unfunded liabilities of such ‘mandatory spending’ programs as Social Security and Medicare. When those outstanding liabilities are added to the total level of debt, this total debt number escalates – by a lot.”
Tubbergen starts with the official level of federal debt. As of April 2011, the total official federal debt is $14.23 trillion. This debt level is growing rapidly. The federal deficit was recently estimated to expand to $1.65 trillion for the current fiscal year and expand the national debt to $15.5 trillion by September 30, the end of the nation’s fiscal year.
According to Tubbergen, if you add the unfunded Medicare liabilities to the national debt and the unfunded Social Security liabilities you have a total debt of $117.3 trillion. And if you are among the 90,000,000 who file a tax return and pay taxes, your share of this mess is about $1.3 million.
“That’s why I believe the damage has been done and it may be too late to do anything but take our lumps and be slaves to the debt,” warns Tubbergen. “It will be a painful process.”
Tubbergen adds that while there have been voices in Washington who speak up for fiscal sanity, the most recent political debates about financial responsibility by many in the political crowd have been laughable.
“And incredibly, given the current state of our national finances, stories of waste and corruption abound,” states Tubbergen. “Bloomberg reported that the luxury Blackstone Hotel in downtown Chicago, which has hosted U.S. Presidents and has guests spending $699 per night for luxury hotel rooms with views of Lake Michigan, recently finished (in 2008) a two-year, $116 million renovation project.”
Tubbergen notes that the fact that a luxury hotel did an opulent makeover is not surprising.
“What may be surprising is that the project was subsidized by a federal development program intended to help poor communities and the biggest beneficiary of taxpayer help was Prudential Financial, Inc., the second largest U.S. life insurer,” claims Tubbergen. “The company got $15.6 million in tax credits from the U.S. Department of Treasury for helping to fund the project, according to Chicago City records.”
Tubbergen states there are many stories like the one above.
“The watchdog group, Citizens Against Government Waste, diligently looks for and reports on government waste,” lauds Tubbergen. “Over the years the organization has reported on wasteful, pork barrel spending such as an indoor rain forest in Iowa and a teapot museum in North Carolina. They continue their excellent work in this area.”
What is Tubbergen’s bottom line here?
“The reality is that while wasteful, special-interest spending may have contributed to the debt problems that we’re facing today, eliminating only those wasteful spending projects won’t solve the problem,” concludes Tubbergen. “We’re too far gone.”
Dennis Tubbergen has been in the financial industry for over 25 years and has his corporate offices in the USA Wealth Management Building in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tubbergen is CEO of USA Wealth Management, LLC and has an online blog that can be viewed at http://www.dennistubbergen.com. His weekly talk show The Everything Financial Radio Show is simulcast on two Michigan metro stations and also airs to over 600,000 financial advisors, with recent podcasts available at http://www.everythingfinancialradio.com.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee. Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Financial Advisor Gives Us More Excerpts From His New Book
Financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen warns living beyond our means can be our downfall - for individuals as well as countries.