mr. walker. >> well, a few numbers.federalñr taxation has been about 18.3% g.d.p. the highest it's been in history in recent times, at least, is about 20.6% of g.d.p. if we don't do anything, it's going to go up to 40%-plus of g.d.p. by 2040 if we all of aÑi sudden continue to doñr what we're doing now and then try to balance the budget in 2040. if we don't extend the bush tax cuts -- in other words, if they all expire, taxes will be 24% of g.d.p. within the next 10 years or so and moving up. my view is you can solve the problem for less than 24% of g.d.p. that everything has to be on the table. that the problem is primarily a spending problem but that you are going to have to have more revenues because there's a new four-letter word that people have to deal with. it's called math. the math doesn't come close to working. you can't grow your way out. you can't tax your way out. you can't just cut your way out. you can't inflate your way out. you have to do a number of things. we want to keep taxes as low as we can. the s

mr. walker said it's possible. he made that comment in may of this year. and, of course, if you don't have the highest credit rating, you have to pay higher interest rates to get people to buy your debt, to loan you money. so if you want to loan two people money and one is rock solid, you might loan it to them for 4%, but if another person is risky, you may want 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9% from them. so moody's rates people to see how reliable they are in paying their debt back with dollars worth the same as you loaned them. and mr. walker warned that our reckless spending was putting us in a path so we would no longer have our aaa credit rating. well, sure enough, in a report just this week, the big rating service moody's state -- stated that the u.s. is in danger of losing its aaa credit rating. pierre calito, chief international economist at moody's stated that, unlike several years ago, -- "now the question of a potential downgrade of the u.s. is not inconceivable. "well, that would make the interest rate of $799 billion for one year, the interest payment in 20

mr. walker. >> well, a few numbers.axation has been about 18.3% g.d.p. the highest it's been in history in recent times, at least, is about 20.6% of g.d.p. if we don't do anything, it's going to go up to 40%-plus of g.d.p. by 2040 if we all of aÑi sudden continue to doñr what we're doing now and then try to balance the budget in 2040. if we don't extend the bush tax cuts -- in other words, if they all expire, taxes will be 24% of g.d.p. within the next 10 years or so and moving up. my view is you can solve the problem for less than 24% of g.d.p. that everything has to be on the table. that the problem is primarily a spending problem but that you are going to have to have more revenues because there's a new four-letter word that people have to deal with. it's called math. the math doesn't come close to working. you can't grow your way out. you can't tax your way out. you can't just cut your way out. you can't inflate your way out. you have to do a number of things. we want to keep taxes as low as we can. the sooner we ac

mr. walker. >> well, a few numbers.lñr taxation has been about 18.3% g.d.p. the highest it's been in history in recent times, at least, is about 20.6% of g.d.p. if we don't do anything, it's going to go up to 40%-plus of g.d.p. by 2040 if we all of aÑi sudden continue to doñr what we're doing now and then try to balance the budget in 2040. if we don't extend the bush tax cuts -- in other words, if they all expire, taxes will be 24% of g.d.p. within the next 10 years or so and moving up. my view is you can solve the problem for less than 24% of g.d.p. that everything has to be on the table. that the problem is primarily a spending problem but that you are going to have to have more revenues because there's a new four-letter word that people have to deal with. it's called math. the math doesn't come close to working. you can't grow your way out. you can't tax your way out. you can't just cut your way out. you can't inflate your way out. you have to do a number of things. we want to keep taxes as low as we can. the sooner

her name was mrs. walker, she was married to john walker, i believe his name. they were friends and neighbors. later on in life thomas jefferson wrote an apology and admitted that his condors was completely inappropriate and that's the letter that he wrote to his secretary of the navy, robert smith, where he denied all the other allegations including the sally rumors but admitted in that letter to the walker affair that he behavior badly. so that was known as the walker a fair and he ended that. he was young, he was rejected in he knew that he acted inappropriately. yes, ma'am. >> at the end of the day, how much do you think these rumors have actually hurts good jefferson legacy, both release certainly but also how much was he really hurt when he was alive? >> well, obviously he wasn't hurt when he was alive because he was reelected after the 1802 calendar -- callender article. >> so he was elected twice. and i often get asked that question, what does it really matter to his legacy. and i think the loan was the best line about that -- you cannot -- you can neve

mr. walker for their service to our country, for their leadership and for their participation today.ar, mr. walker brought the concord coalition fiscal wake-up tour to the state of maine, and i will tell you the numbers are a clairian call to action. to paraphrase the senator for whom this building is named, a trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon you're talking about a real fiscal catastrophe. nothing underscores the scope of the crisis we face more than the fact that the billions of taxpayer money that so concerns senator dierkson just a few decades ago paled by comparison to the prospect of annual deficits exceeding $1 trillion that we confront today. the dire consequences are found in new mexico rabble charts, graphs and spreadsheet -- in numerable graphs, charts and spreadsheets. spreadsheets. the basic problem is that >> the basic problem is iran has promised more than it can pay. one columnist has described it one coluhe collision between the high and rising demand for government services and for the capacity of the economy to produce the tax revenues to pay for those d

mr. chairman. >> thank you, former gao director walker and now head of the piers and foundation. really powerful testimony. i really do hope people are listening, paying close attention because the stakes are very high here. we are also joined this morning by the former head of cbo, somebody that developed real respect from colleagues on this committee and throughout congress for the way he conducted himself in that important position. welcome. good to have you back before the committee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is a privilege to be back at this table again. i have had the opportunity in the past to discuss at length the dismal fiscal future, which has been outlined by many of the proceedings, so i will not deliver that, but i do have a statement i would like to submit. >> without objection. >> i will make a couple of points that i think our most important about the current budget outlook. number one i think is simply the time scale and how rapidly it has shifted. what used to be a three-decade problem, which was well understood but not addressed, is now something that look

>n for me it was mrs. walker. the last person i would ever want to debate was mrs. walker.well, indeed that was the last person my candidate ever wanted to debate. we had -- he refused to debate the incumbent. the incumbent was willing. my candidate refused to debate him. i debate him. i'm 23 years old. i was taller. i had more hair. i debated the incumbent congressman three times. the first time was like before a joint conference and i thought ultimately pretty good. i went in my regular spiel and i did pretty well. the next time was before bergenfield junior high schools. it's one of the junior high schools that had a lower balcony and a higher balcony. and my opponent is sitting back there and there's a woman college -- a photographer over here and the next day in the newspaper i'm standing here and the congressman looking at me like he could just killed me because i had gone in my regular spiel it's time we had a congressman to be proud of. he missed 169 straight votes in the house and i went on and on. the crowd went back and forth and, you know, i'm thinking this is g

>n for me it was mrs. walker. the last person i would ever want to debate was mrs. walker.last person my candidate ever wanted to debate. we had -- he refused to debate the incumbent. the incumbent was willing. my candidate refused to debate him. i debate him. i'm 23 years old. i was taller. i had more hair. i debated the incumbent congressman three times. the first time was like before a joint conference and i thought ultimately pretty good. i went in my regular spiel and i did pretty well. the next time was before bergenfield junior high schools. it's one of the junior high schools that had a lower balcony and a higher balcony. and my opponent is sitting back there and there's a woman college -- a photographer over here and the next day in the newspaper i'm standing here and the congressman looking at me like he could just killed me because i had gone in my regular spiel it's time we had a congressman to be proud of. he missed 169 straight votes in the house and i went on and on. the crowd went back and forth and, you know, i'm thinking this is great stuff. i should run f