Video: Fix Our $43 Trillion Entitlement Problem First
Posted September 25th, 2009 at 11.55am in Entitlements, Health Care.
Although the United States does have a huge deficit problem we can’t afford not to fix, the Obama administration is focusing on the wrong aspect in trying to create a new federal health program. Congress needs to address spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — all programs that have existed for decades — that is primed to explode.
Long-term excess costs for Social Security and Medicare alone: $43 trillion. When added to the national debt, that is about $184,000 for every man, woman and child in America. We should focus on reforming existing federal health programs so they’ll be sustainable for generations to come. Here’s what Heritage’s Alison Fraser has to say.
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September 25, 2009 Ted Forrand; Houston, Texas writes:
Ms. Fraser;
I cannot get over the fact that someone like Jared Bernstein who has what seems to have lived a charmed life; has to meddle with my life. How on earth does this guy think he should have any say so in my life or any other American’s life? He has the ear of the president and is a significant influence on this destructive and racist medical/health care policy. After all, the majority of the taxpayers that will foot the bill are white so isn’t it reasonable to deduce that since some of us are making a whopping $80,000 a year and are so affluent that we be forced to give up a greater portion of our pay to prop up those that don’t want to pay for medical insurance or who are too lazy to get a job that provides insurance.
I have yet to hear anyone on the so-called right establish the fact that when a company provides medical and or dental benefits it does so as a means in which to compete with other employers to attract favorable or even the best talent. Why, because it is a form of compensation!Compensation is about competition and competition is at the very root of capitalism which is the life blood of a true democracy. It was no accident that I landed a pretty good job and have been with the same company for 23 years. It was no accident that I graduated from high school, received two Honorable discharges from the United States Air Force after eight years of service. It was no accident that I pursued and received an Airframe and Powerplant License from the FAA. It was no accident that I received AS and BS degrees along with graduate credits. And it is no accident that I have showed up for work every day for 23 years with the same company without calling in sick for work!
But Mr. Bernstein, Rep. Pelosi, Senator Reid, and President Obama seem to think I have unfairly achieved too much and should give up some of my spoils. I can only imagine that they collectively feel that I am not worthy of what I have worked for; what I have achieved although raised by parents that did not as much as finish high school. It isn’t enough that through perseverance I was able to change my proverbial family tree despite my parents’ numerous divorces. No, these maniacal and diabolical soles figure that since I was born white I was born with an unfair advantage and that I deserve to pay for the advantage that I worked diligently and purposefully to attain.
I can only hope that this direction is stopped before it pummels opportunity for the future of my three daughters. You see, at 49 years old I come from the same generation as President Obama. I have daughters that are younger than his daughters. That being considered, I do not have the income to afford propping others up, I do not have the time to find a better paying job, it is a bit late in the game to become a politician, a trial lawyer, doctor, news anchor, movie star, professional athlete or talk radio host. Landing a government job is unlikely due to my lack of minority status, becoming a police officer or a fireman at my age is doubtful; I’m even too old to go back into the military. Gambling my children’s future away at this point is not an advisable option; because there are few options available.
Perhaps our nation has undergone some errors but it took years for these errors to manifest. As such, it seems logical that correcting these errors in as much time or perhaps half as much be a reasonable approach. After all, getting into this mess created just as many jobs as it will take to get out of this mess over time. The all or nothing approach by those mentioned above will amount to too many being financially crippled without the opportunity to recover. Mr. Bernstein’s book, “Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?” is a metaphor for what the Obama administration and the democrats are doing to those of us that just cannot afford to start over.