>>>SS, Medicare & Medicaid obligations > $200 Trillion.
>
>Depends whether you believe the ss fund is real. ;-) If it's real then there's enough $ for ss payments until at least 2037. Healthcare is the one that will hurt.

There are IOUs, without any security, interest or authority. SS is an act of Congress and can be legislated away. There is no fund, no lockbox, nothing but a promise and I think we can all agree about what politicians' promises are worth.

>Here's an interesting article about the deficit: A few lessons can be drawn from the numbers.
>First, the Bush tax cuts have had a huge damaging effect. If all of them expired as scheduled at the end of 2012, future deficits would be cut by about half, to sustainable levels.

I put no stock in future accounting when it comes to the government accounting. Too many gimmicks, one-offs, deferrals, etc. Besides, they never get the accounting correct because they're based on static present rules. That's not how an economy as complex and varied as the US works. People and companies adjust around tax policy, they do not simply do the same thing.


>Second, a healthy budget requires a healthy economy; recessions wreak havoc by reducing tax revenue. Government has to spur demand and create jobs in a deep downturn, even though doing so worsens the deficit in the short run.

We've watched this record skip repeatedly throughout history, but whatever, lets keep listening to the insane.

Officially we've "stimulated" $1.6Trillion as legislated by Congress.
Unofficially, read "off-the-books" we've pump primed by $11.6Trillion.

...and just look at the awesomeness of the recovery!


>Third, spending cuts alone will not close the gap. The chronic revenue shortfalls from serial tax cuts are simply too deep to fill with spending cuts alone. Taxes have to go up.
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/24sun4.html?_r=1

Actually, spending cuts will close the gap, if you cut the big items. SS, Medicare & Medicaid are unsustainable. Cradle-to-grave centralized infantalization of the nation is unsustainable. Eventually you stop. One way or another.

Suddenly I'm hungry for a gyro.