Fiddling while Rome burns

Is anyone in Washington listening? Or are they so concerned with relection and the 2008 Presidential election!

FIDDLING WHILE ROME BURNS - According to the "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" refers to "heedless and irresponsible behavior in the midst of a crisis. Legend has it that in A.D. 64 the emperor Nero (A.D. 37 - A.D. 68), last of the Caesars, set fire to Rome to see 'how Troy would look when it was in flames' and to serve as a suitable background for a recitation of his poetry while accompanying himself on the lyre."


Fed Chief Sends Warning on Budget

Excerpts:

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, warned today that looming deficits in the Social Security and Medicare programs posed long-term threats to the nation’s economy.

The Federal Reserve chairman came to a hearing of the Senate Budget Committee citing recent projections by the Congressional Budget Office that Social Security and Medicare outlays will rise from 8.5 percent of the economy to 10.5 percent in 2015 and to 15 percent in 2030.

These costs, in turn, would force the United States to keep borrowing, pushing the ratio of publicly held federal debt from its current level of 37 percent of the economy to roughly 100 percent in 2030, a level reached in the past only during World War II.