Benefit blowout
You are constantly berated for not saving money, folks. You overspend. You should put the money in bank accounts and let the government do all the borrowing to pay for the promises it makes to you. From John Goodman (and health blog HERE) is a neat packaging of Social Security and Medicare liabilities we are racking up… As John suggested in his email, read and weep.
On Good Friday (when most people were off, including most reporters) the Administration announced that the following Tuesday during Spring Break (when Congress was in recess and everyone’s attention was focused elsewhere) the Social Security/Medicare Trustees annual report would be released.
Apparently someone isn’t anxious for you to pay close attention to this year’s report. The table below may explain why. The federal government has promised more that $100 trillion in benefits over and above expected taxes and premium payments!
| PRESENT VALUE OF UNFUNDED LIABILITIES | ||
| Program | 75-Year | Infinite Horizon |
| Social Security | $6.6 trillion | $15.8 trillion |
| Medicare Part A | $12.7 trillion | $34.7 trillion |
| Medicare Part B | $15.7 trillion | $34.0 trillion |
| Medicare Part D | $7.9 trillion | $17.2 trillion |
| Total Medicare | $36.3 trillion | $85.9 trillion |
| Total Medicare & Social Security | $42.9 trillion | $101.7 trillion |
*These calculations ignore the existence of the trust fund, estimated at a little more than $2 trillion.
Source: Social Security/Medicare Trustees Reports 2008