Medicare and Entitlements... Where do we go from here?
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- Category: Bryan Vinson
- Published on Thursday, 16 June 2011 10:25
- Written by Bryan Vinson
Republicans are finding themselves in the same situation that Democrats found themselves during the two years that they controlled all aspects of Washington DC. They are in the middle of controversial governing choices to take on tough problems that the country is facing. For Democrats it was a healthcare bill that faced an unpopular journey through congress. Ironically, the people of this country elected a President whose major campaign cornerstone was a healthcare bill. As a group we love to hear leaders talk about change, and have a visionary agenda that will add to the greatness of our country. Later, when we hear the details on how this will change the status quo, and what it will demand of us, we begin to get uneasy.
Government is supposed to be an unlimited resource for funding in our eyes. In introducing the budget plan to cut spending in Washington DC, which in large part was a reason the republicans gained a historic election midterm result, they have stumbled upon a similar skeptical public with the glow of November fading in the rearview mirror. The Rep. Paul Ryan budget, which takes a lot of spending cuts out of Medicare by changing the nature of the program (but doesn't end it, which is how Democrats spin it...) has stirred up the emotions of older Americans who are used to having a practically no questions asked system of government paid for healthcare. Saving Medicare has become the rallying cry of Republican political opponents and the vilification of Rep. Ryan as a typical Republican who wants to enrich the rich and kill your grandparents has started. Though it was an easily foreseeable Democrat reaction it’s always difficult to defend. The reality is that Medicare in its current form, like other aspects of our mandatory spending budget, is heading toward insolvency all by itself. Defending it as it is puts our country at risk for not being able to afford healthcare coverage for anyone, and contributes to a greater overall debt crisis risk. President Obama admitted in his speech reacting to the Rep. Ryan's plan that the government mandatory spending budget was forecasted to consume all tax revenue some time in the twenty twenties. That means that we would have to borrow money just to pay for the traditional roles of the government's executive, legislative and judicial branches operating costs. The Rep. Ryan plan is the first real attempt to tackle these problems in real legislative form, since these issues are usually considered politically toxic. We're seeing why that is now. It certainly wouldn’t be the final answer, but we must have some answer. As healthcare costs rise, and new life saving technologies are discovered, we will see more strain on the government to offer nearly unlimited healthcare to a growing elderly population. This doesn’t account for Social Security and other mandatory spending benefits. There was a recent article that showed a poll in which most Americans were against making changes to Medicare, and the same article went on to say how much trouble Medicare is in. Which leaves the question as to which America do Americans want to embrace. Do we keep doing what we’re doing while Medicare is exhausted (currently slated to happen in 2024) or do we start to make some meaningful changes to the system? The backlash to the Rep. Ryan plan, which Democrats are happily pushing, could result in the issue being considered untouchable for another long period of time.
Much criticisms of the plan are that it includes no tax increases and even calls for more tax cuts. Perhaps tax increases in conjunction with spending cuts may have a better chance of appealing to both parties. However the GOP may be a bit shy about making this trade. Both Reagan and H.W. Bush made exchanges of tax increases for spending cuts. Unfortunately, our overspending continued while the taxes were raised. Bush lost his reelection bid over the tax increases, after he had promised not to raise taxes (So the American people elected Bill Clinton… who raised taxes…). A cut in spending and reform of these programs would have to be iron clad for Republicans to venture into such a deal again. These programs were created in a different time under different circumstances. Population demographics and healthcare technologies have changed and have therefore changed the playing field. As recently as 1999, a Democrat President and Republican congress carved out a government surplus, though the cost of healthcare (which is far out pacing tax revenue growth) wasn’t the issue it is today. We can do it again, and we’ll have to since credit rating agencies are now eyeing our $14 trillion debt and our trillion dollar deficits with a critical eye, and our interest payments on our debt continue to soak up more and more of our budget. Admit or not, Medicare remains a huge piece of that budget puzzle, yet the call on this issue is to do nothing.
Welcome back to Washington DC as usual.
