[Skywalk]

That wouldn't be an issue if the government weren't so damn wasteful. And if we didn't have loads of entitlement programs. Cut THOSE out, leave the Constitutional functions of the federal government in and the US would never find worry over fiscal difficulties with the military.

[plusone]

Yes, I've just read that medicare/soc.sec liabilites are projected to top 44 Trillion $ as the boomers start to retire. For a comparison, the total US Fed debt is about 7 Trillion $. Just how the Feds expect to get the money to pay for this, I don't know. My guess is they will try to float more bonds to cover this, but where will the money come from to buy all these bonds? It will take very high interest rates to coax enough money into such a large offering. A better guess is that they will do a combination move: cut entitlements/raise taxes/print money. Either way, we will end up like the 16th century Spanish. Bankruptred into poverty. And all the hand wringing by the Fed Reserve about Deflation...