Social Security and Medicare both need to die.
Social Security can probably be gradually (over a period of 40 or 50 years) phased out.
Medicare needs to die much sooner. It’s been doubling in annual cost every 8 years since 1980. At that rate, in another 16 years, it will consume the entirety of today’s annual budget, and in another 16 years will consume the entire GDP.
I’m sure you realize that’s impossible.
Medicare must be cut drastically. Promises will be broken. There will be much screaming and gnashing of teeth. But, a person cannot expect to pay a few tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare taxes over the course of their working life and then expect to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical coverage for joint replacements, heart-bypass operations and cancer treatments when they retire.
Can’t be done.
The sooner we admit that, the better.
The sooner we admit that, the better
We will never admit it. Listen to what I'm saying and write it down: NO politician of either party or any future party will deny so much as $1 in entitlement benefits to any except the very wealthiest constituent. NO one.
All that is going to happen is that we will monetize that debt away, "slowly" at first, and faster and faster as we roll down the crumbling pyramid. The resulting inflation will be a crushing tax on everyone and will grind the poor into dust faster than anyone else.
But politicians will be able to pretend they've "kept their promise to the American people."
The merciless mathematics of Social Security have been obvious since the beginning.
Death panels?