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Dire debt warning from Capitol Hill

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    Sen. Coburn paints harsh picture of economic future

  • Duration 5:07
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The dire warning this morning from one of capitol hill's leading budget hawks.

As our nation's debt climbs Erica has taken by folks over fifteen trillion dollars right now.

Republican senator Tom Coburn has always.

Been an outspoken voice on all of this and he paints a harsh picture.

The economic future for the United States on a number of crimes he's on the Senate Finance Committee.

And we are very pleased to have him with us this morning senator Coburn walked -- good to see this morning Martha how are you I'm doing just fine I have a couple of different areas that I wanna hit you with this morning and we'll start with the piece that you are coming out today it has to do with Medicare.

And you feel that people need to -- -- that Medicare will be coming in solving -- say much sooner than anybody thinks.

By 2016 what do you revealing that we don't already know here.

Well we haven't trustees report last year that said in -- worst case scenario that the trust mark Medicare part a trust fund part -- pays.

The hospital bills for seniors -- -- will be bankrupt in 2016.

And what that means is is there will be a limitation on the amount of payments that go out to pay for -- And they and I deficiency act which is -- -- in congress doesn't allow congress to borrow money other than what it has on the trust fund to pay those bills so.

All the all the point -- about it is as we've got of reform Medicare.

We've got to make the changes in it to secure health care for seniors and also to make it financially viable and nobody working on.

We have fifteen trillion dollars -- -- we're gonna run -- one point three trillion dollar deficit this year and nothing's on the senate floor to address that issue to assure seniors.

That -- Medicare it's going to be okay.

You make some very strong comments about your colleagues in congress who say the -- in favor of the Jack -- principle in reverse.

That 90%.

Of the people who work with you on Capitol Hill should be fired.

That may be the 10% more protective should remain and that -- and it is happily -- dated.

Support that -- it.

Well that that was kind of a tough have this new book out called the net long -- And I outline what the problems are facing our country and why it's more urgent aunt -- and more real than the politicians.

The career politicians would suggest.

And I just did a tongue in cheek and GE's Jack Welch had a program where the bottom 10% got terminated every year and -- replaced them.

And I think if you did have measurable assessment of the US senate today the fact that we're not addressing.

Social Security which is gonna run out of money we're not addressing the -- we're not addressing entitlements were not reforming the tax code.

We're not doing the things to stimulate the economy were not raining and the regulations that in fact maybe they ought to be changing -- up here.

Rather than to continue to send the same people back.

I read -- the beginning of your book over the weekend idea I recommend is very interesting I and you start out with a -- his -- fictitious us scenario.

Where there's a huge financial disaster that's looming and a lot of it comes from the fact that so much of our debt.

Is owed by China and by Japan and that basically they're gonna be able to hold the strings of us like a -- as a result.

Well think about what -- degrees.

What what is going on right now.

The rest of the Europe and the international financial community is now telling Greece what they will and won't do.

And for Greece to be able to get more money to borrow more money what will happen is is they're gonna do whatever their creditors that.

She should we allow that to happen in our country or should we be acting now to fix these problems so that we don't but -- in a position -- creditors -- tell us what we did.

I'd much rather negotiate with Dick Durbin and my friends across the -- Then to have to negotiate with the Chinese and Japanese.

-- financial dealers.

In terms of how we fix our country and we don't have one problem Martha that we can't solve.

But we're not -- -- all going to be much more difficult to solve that we wait until the quote time is right in other words politically safe to do it.

Well apparently according to your colleague Kent Conrad -- athletes left to the election at the very least before we see any kind of budget out of the senate body and what it thinks it.

-- on -- asked the question.

It first of all it's a law that the senate -- vote on the budget.

So we have Harry Reid not allowing that to come up he's not a -- that come up for purely partisan political reasons.

Whereas in fact the country needs -- to have a budget we need to decrease or spending we need to reform the tax code we ought to be voting on.

I don't think we should be being paid right now because we're doing absolutely nothing of import in the US -- You know what can you make great points is breaking the law to not comport with the with the budget which they haven't done for three years and you're right maybe they shouldn't be paid because and secondary to -- legal aspect of it.

They're just not doing their job Senator Clinton is a compelling argument that you make in the debt -- and that with the -- is talking about -- about it -- -- -- -- -- thank -- -- -- -- Thank you.

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