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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rich evans who wrote (252788)	6/2/2008 7:11:38 PM
From: carranza2	Respond to of 793905

Only by growing the economy can we hope to meet these expenses Agree, but the rate of growth has to be huge in order to accomplish this. Given the constricted demographics coming after the boomers, the kind of growth we need is definitely not a given, especially at a time when energy will be very expensive. I am not confident it can be done, primarily because the debt levels have gone parabolic in the last few years. The rate of growth would have to be simply too high to offset this kind of debt. Inflation eliminates some of the debt burden but what kind of cure is that? Medicine would be worse than the disease, esp. since a lot of these unfunded liabilities are COLA-pegged. We must save, fund these unfunded liabilities or unilaterally lower them now. That is a huge political problem. No one wants to take this kind of fiscal medicine at a time when the wolf is only a speck in the horizon and is not yet knocking down the door. Solution, leave it to congress to eventually change the system. You forgot the 'vbg' behind that statement. Congress has known of these enormous unfunded liabilities and has actually increased them by incredible amounts, e.g., the Rx drug benefit. Congress will do something only if an immediate crisis is upon it. By that time, it will be too late. The time to act to (maybe) avoid a serious problemn the next 15-20 years is now. It is not even discussing the issue. Most politically aware folks at SI, a generally well informed group, are clueless because the media is not touching the issue with a ten foot pole. The Presidential candidates are not talking about it. I am absolutely sure all of them are aware of the fiscal and debt crisis we face. The first pol who makes it his issue gets my money and my vote as I believe it is an issue which will determine the future of our country. Will we be propsperous or broke? What kind of legacy in terms of debt, public works, infrastructure, educations, health care, etc., are we going to leave the coming generations? Are we going to leave them something we can be proud of or are we going to sink them with debt, higher taxes, and a mediocre future? No one in the political class - except for types such as David Walker, the ex-Comptroller General who describes this fiscal crisis in unvarnished terms - has the integrity to deal honestly and forthrightly with this issue. It is not on the public's radar screen and it is too easily spun into oblivion. Like David Walker, I see it as a moral not a political problem, something that transcends just about everything.

To: rich evans who wrote (252788)	6/3/2008 8:14:23 AM
From: skinowski	Respond to of 793905

If we can't afford medicare for over 65 , how can we afford universal health coverage? Good question. The only way this can happen is through raising taxes and limiting utilization - in other words, creating more barriers to access. Canada and Britain accomplish this by limiting resources - they make people wait long periods of time for consultations, MRI's, procedures, etc. It hurts, but somehow seems to work (for most - especially for those who are not very sick). Good news - literally armies of medical billers of all stripes, lawyers and insurance company bureaucrats would need to go out and find other jobs - hopefully, something more productive than their current careers. Bad news - too much new money and power would come under government's control. Power corrupts - especially power to spend other people's money.