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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
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To: Peter Dierks who wrote (682221)5/13/2005 6:51:42 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof  Read Replies (1) of 769670
 
"There are essentially two ways to address this inevitable financial crisis. First, government could increase payroll taxes.... Second, the government could simply reduce the benefits...."

Of course, there are MANY MANY MORE ways then just 'two' to address the imbalance.

MANY MANY combinations of various policies are possible.

(Not endorsing any particular methods, but: the inheritance tax alone would fund most of the imbalance... particularly if modest, phased-in retirement age changes are made. The amount of Bush's tax cuts going to those with incomes over $200,000 would fund about 75% of the projected 75 year gap, I believe, as would various schemes to raise the ceiling on FICA incomes. ELIMINATING THE ANNUAL DEFICIT and or REFORMING THE CORPORATE AND PERSONAL TAX CODES to slash loopholes --- and even lower nominal rates, or move to ONE RATE FOR ALL INCOME SOURCES --- would likely increase the growth rates in our nation FAR MORE then would be required to totally eliminate the entire projected shortfall and much much more....)

After all... just a modest fractional increase in the growth rate would wipe out the entire projected shortfall.

(There is only a projected shortfall if one assumes growth at far below the average for the past 50 years. Move that growth rate up by .1 or .2% and --- no funding gap for SS.)

Of course: that might not be sufficient to handle projected shortfalls in Medicare/Medicaid (which are projected as 4 or 5 times LARGER then the entire projected SS shortfall over the same period.

And, since health care costs are rising EVEN FASTER in private health care plans then they are in these government programs... clearly there is a lot more going on that needs to be addressed!

But please... don't say that there are 'just two choices'. That's just silly.
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