Credit Report Agency

Yesterday I noted Robert Samuelson laying out some harsh but needed truths: entitlement programs, especially Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, are growing at an alarming rate and will soon come to push aside other necessary spending. These programs represent an tremendous wealth transfer from young people to senior citizens which in the not to distant future will necessitate massive taxation on young workers to keep benefits at their projected levels.

The US is at risk of losing its top-notch triple-A credit rating within a decade unless it takes radical action to curb soaring healthcare and social security spending, Moody’s, the credit rating agency, said on Thursday.

Racial Issues Boil Over In Democratic Campaign

Over the weekend, the issue of race surged to the forefront of the Democratic primary race. The New York Times reports Clinton and Obama "engaged in a war of words on Sunday over Mrs. Clinton's recent remark about the role that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played in securing civil rights laws in the 1960s." The Time adds that in a conference call with supporters on Sunday, Obama "refuted the charge that his campaign had been trying to fan the flames of black voters and party leaders about Mrs. Clinton's comments involving Dr. King." Obama said, "Senator Clinton made an unfortunate remark, an ill-advised remark, about King and Lyndon Johnson. I didn't make the statement. I haven't remarked on it, and she, I think, offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King's role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act." The Washington Post adds Obama had "previously tried to sidestep direct engagement in the debate over race.

Short session, basic issues

OLYMPIA � After a banner year in which they broke deadlocks on long-stalled bills, launched new programs and enjoyed a treasury flush with cash, Statehouse Democrats are looking at a more modest 2008 legislative session when it opens Monday.