Bequeathed, Bothered, and Bewildered
We usually talk about the stuff we inherit from old people. But given President Obama’s penchant for talking about problems and crises he “inherited”, it’s old people themselves he inherited:
The big story for the day will probably be the new report that Social Security will start running in the red in 2016. The stories will include talk of a “trust fund” as well, as does the Washington Post:
Specifically, the trustees’ report predicts that the trust fund from which Social Security payments are made will be unable to pay retirees full benefits by 2037, four years earlier than forecast a year ago. In particular, the trustees single out the financial weakness of the part of the program that subsidizes disabled Americans, saying that fund will run out of money in 2020.
Didn’t someone bring up SS a few years ago—say there was a big problem? Whatever happened to that guy?
Anyhow, I fear that the engine of the American airship of state is coughing and about to stall, leading to a spectacular crash:
Long before the current financial crisis, nearly two years ago, a little-noticed cloud darkened the horizon for the US government. It was ignored. But now that shadow, in the form of a warning from a top credit rating agency that the nation risked losing its triple A rating if it did not start putting its finances in order, is coming back to haunt us.
That warning from Moody’s focused on the exploding healthcare and Social Security costs that threaten to engulf the federal government in debt over coming decades. The facts show we’re in even worse shape now, and there are signs that confidence in America’s ability to control its finances is eroding.
President Obama is big on sacrifices—just ask business executives in the banking, automotive, credit card, and health care industries.
But old people need to sacrifice, too. I’ve read that some people can’t tell the difference between foie gras and dog food. Let them eat Alpo. And we should use what few ice floes remain at the north pole to ship off the ones who won’t “spread the wealth.”