Social Security, Medicare, Lack Funds
The Washington Post, April 25th, 2007
The results of the annual Social Security and Medicare Trustees report released this week are not good.
The government's will is once again bigger than its wallet.
The report shows an unfunded liability in Social Security and Medicare over the next 75 years at $51.7 trillion.
"In just five years, these two programs will require 10 percent
of other federal revenues. That means in five years the federal
government will have to stop doing about one in every 10
non-entitlement things it has been doing in order to balance the budget
and keep its promises to the elderly," said John Goodman, president of
the National Center for Policy Analysis.
Because of the Bush administration's emphasis on reforming
Social Security, people are not as aware about Medicare's fiscal
problems. The truth, as reflected in the report, is that Medicare is in
worse shape.
Medicare expenditures are expected to reach $483 billion this
year, making it the second-largest government expense behind the
Defenses Department.
Medicare costs are at the mercy of a two-headed monster. A
ballooning price tag for medical care will be coupled with an explosion
in the number of retirees with 76 million members of the baby boom
generation moving closer to becoming eligible for benefits. Combined,
those forces will overwhelm Medicare hospitalization program by 2019,
while Social Security is slated to run out of money by 2041.
Read more of this article.