Monday, March 24, 2008
Get ready to pay, and pay, and pay
There's no doubt about it. Tax hikes are coming...
At HumanEvents.com, Brian Riedl summarizes:
"Worst of all, Congress’ budget ignores the greatest economic challenge of our era: the costs of providing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits to 77 million retiring baby boomers. In the absence of reform, paying all the currently-promised benefits would eventually require either permanently raising taxes by the current equivalent of $12,072 per household [my bold] or eliminating all other government programs.
The problem is well-known. Medicare’s public trustees recently issued a financial warning, and Moody’s has threatened to downgrade Washington’s bond rating until entitlements are reformed. Yet Congress steadfastly refuses to make the tough decisions necessary to save the next generations from crippling debt. And every year of delay raises the eventual cost of reform.
Congress has voted to raise taxes for every American taxpayer, while offering no spending sacrifices themselves. President Bush should keep his veto pen handy."
