Fiscal conservatives have been sounding the alarm for years about the unsustainable level of entitlement spending in this country. But those arguments have been met with attacks. We have now kicked the can down the road so many times — and demonized those who seek to address the problem — that we’re now just 10 years away from this, as columnist Philip Klein explains.
In 2024, spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Obamacare health insurance exchange subsidies will absorb two-thirds of the $4.9 trillion in revenue the CBO expects the federal government to collect. Add in the rest of mandatory spending and interest payments on the debt, and 96 percent of tax revenues will already be spoken for before Congress allocates money to pay for defense, veteran’s benefits, education, transportation, the court system, international affairs and other budget items.
After 2024, the CBO warned, “the fiscal outlook is even more worrisome.”
In short, the CBO is portraying a future in which a smaller proportion of workers in a relatively weaker economy will be expected to subsidize an increasing number of government beneficiaries. And Obamacare is making matters even worse.
Yes, the ObamaCare debacle is making things worse, but there is an alternative. We must change course now.
