Sunday, December 26, 2010

Samuelson: Entitlements Under Fire

Robert Samuelson, writing for RealClearPolitics, tells us we need to cut entitlements: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Tellingly, he self-identifies as part of the problem, as he is 65 and now has a Medicare card.

As he notes, politicians are notoriously unwilling to tackle these issues because retirees are serious voters who are particularly serious about protecting their "entitlements." Failing cuts in these programs results in some combination of much higher taxes and higher government debt as the boomer bulge retires.