Remember this: half of every dollar spent in this country goes to an entitlement, be it Socialist Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare or unemployment. That’s $1.5 TRILLION right there, more than double what we spend on defense. Stop those payments and we’re out of debt in 7 years with change to spare.
Are we better off for any of it?? Nope.
re welfare or unemployment, Drug test those who get it. I get drug tested so they can take 1/2 my check to give it away. You would be surprised at how many getting handouts are on drugs.
There’s a reason they’re called entitlements. They are far and away the most difficult part of the budget to cut.
BTW, here’s some interesting charts about GDP, debt, deficit and so forth.
http://www.skymachines.com/US_National_Debt_Per_Capita_Percent_of_GDP_and_by_President_1976-2005.htm
Medicaid/Medicare? Those programs is completely, irreversibly and catastrophically bankrupt. Those programs alone are the millstone that is sinking us. So much ink spilled over the subprime mortgage issue, but Medicare/Medicaid will make all that look like a tea party.
Yes. The real problem is the baby boomers. This generation funds that supported entitlements was repeatedly raided by Washington incurring debt to this generation. Now this generation is top-heavy of retirees demanding the same entitlements they paid for. There will be be little choice but for future US politicians to raise taxes and cut defense spending. A good economic team could come up with a way to create a market such the hydrogen economy as a massive export product and cheaper domestic consumption to solve a lot of these problems and eliminate the debt over a 20 year period but I see too little movement from either party on gaining any real progress of how to deal with this massive issue.