A 'Burning Platform'

The U.S. government is standing on a "burning platform" of unsustainable fiscal policies, warns U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, the head of the Government Accountability Office. In an interview with Financial Times, Walker said: "With the looming retirement of baby boomers, spiralling health care costs, plummeting savings rates, and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks." If the problems are not addressed, possible consequences reportedly include dramatic tax increases, slashed government services, and the large-scale dumping of U.S. debt held by foreign countries.