no nit wit, everything does not depend on entitlement reform Everything depends on making our country business friendly.
In the long run, we have to hold the growth of entitlement spending below the rate of growth of the economy. I expect we agree about that.
The problem is, entitlement spending is indexed and is on autopilot to increase more rapidly than any sober person believes the economy can grow, even on a best case scenario. "Rosey Scenario" doesn't do the trick; nor do "tax the rich," or "cut defense," or "eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse."
If we don't fix entitlements, runaway spending will drive ever higher taxes, and we will tax ourselves into permanent no/slow growth and permanent high unemployment, which compounds the problem.
So yes, by all means, let's make the country more business friendly. But we still have to fix entitlements. Someone has to tell the great American public, which doesn't want to hear it, that the tooth fairy is broke. There is no way out of that box. That is the political problem.
I do believe we can fix Social Security on a win-win basis. Health care is harder. We simply cannot give everyone a blank check. Either government will ration, or markets will ration. I prefer market rationing with a decent safety net for low income folks. I am not sure a majority of the public can be persuaded to agree, but that's the fight we have to win.