Medicare and Medicaid account for 80% of the entitlement problem
By
Ezra Klein
|
November 13, 2009; 11:45 AM ET
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Budget
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Posted by: HalHorvath | November 13, 2009 12:44 PM | Report abuse
These are great! Thanks for posting them.
Posted by: ideallydc | November 13, 2009 1:55 PM | Report abuse
So, we just have figure out how to stop aging to solve our fiscal problems ;)
These are some pretty scary projections, and just include our current medical "entitlement" commitments.It also doesn't include an analysis of the states' budget problems going forward.
Posted by: Beagle1 | November 13, 2009 2:20 PM | Report abuse
Ezra, can you explain your confidence in a new healthcare entitlement?
Posted by: kingstu01 | November 13, 2009 2:27 PM | Report abuse
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This is the first important basic fact to know about future budgeting.
The second is that debt owed to non-citizens is qualitatively different than debts owed to citizens, which in turn are qualitatively different than future obligations to ourselves. The first is quite significant, the last not so much (Rogoff for instance).
If in fact SS isn't far enough out, then it will inevitably be adjusted, probably in the most rational way -- as life expectancy goes up, the retirement age points should rise. In fact, most people in their 50s and 60s now will decide to work past 65 or even past 68 from simple desire to have more later.