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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wayners who wrote (711031)	11/4/2005 12:53:24 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I think you might have misread the GAO's report: 1) The "tax cuts", if made permanent, are about three times the SS shortfall (not sure where you got your comment on the National Debt). From the GAO report: "the estimated Social Security shortfall is about one-third the estimated cost of recent tax cuts if made permanent." 2) Medicare dwarfs SS. Future Social Security benefit payments ($3,699 Billion) Future Medicare Part A benefit payments ($8,236 Billion) Future Medicare Part B benefit payments ($11,416 Billion) Future Medicare Part D benefit payments ($8,119 Billion) In fact, Medicare Part D (Bush's prescription drug plan) has over TWICE the shortfall of social security according to the GAO. Two more quotes from the report: "the general public impression is that solving Social Security would solve most of the longterm fiscal challenge, and this is not correct." "Participants observed that the public was largely unaware that health spending accounted for a much larger share of the long-term fiscal problem than did Social Security."