Category Archives: Debt and deficits

Column: Need to invest in Alzheimer’s research

Debt and deficits

There are few people who are bigger deficit hawks than I am. I’m convinced the national debt is the greatest threat facing our country right now and would support any policy that would reduce it long-term.

Which is why I call for INCREASED spending in my Arkansas News Bureau column this week – on Alzheimer’s research. That’s because we have no idea how to stop, cure or prevent the disease, and as the baby boomers age, costs will be enormous and the burden on families unbearable. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, annual costs of the disease will rise from $172 billion today to more than $1 trillion by 2050. And if you have ever had a relative with Alzheimer’s – and I do – you know the toll it takes on them and their loved ones.

Here’s the column.

Sunday column praises Pryor for Social Security/Medicare comments

Debt and deficits, U.S. Congress

I wrote an extra column for Arkansas News Bureau Sunday. Jason Tolbert, who usually has that space, is busy with his day job as a CPA and needed a break. My column praised Mark Pryor for telling the Little Rock Rotary Club that something has to be done about Social Security and Medicare. Here it is.

It takes political courage to mention Social Security and Medicare because the issue is so easily demagogued and misunderstood. Two readers emailed me: one accusing me of wanting to “get rid” of Social Security, the other from a senior citizen who (correctly) pointed out that he has paid payroll taxes all of his life and (incorrectly) that other areas, such as congressional salaries, are where the real cuts need to be made. That’s pennies. You have to cut Social Security and Medicare – not for current recipients, but for future ones like me – because that is where the money is. According to the Debt Commission, ALL projected tax revenues will cover only Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest on the national debt by 2025.

That means you have to cut everything else completely, including national defense and highway construction, in order to balance the budget. Or we could raise taxes far higher than they are now. Or we could just keep borrowing from China until it takes us over.

The other choice is to have a mature conversation about Social Security and Medicare and then come up with a responsible plan.

Brummett takes on “American exceptionalism”

Debt and deficits

John Brummett has an interesting take on “American exceptionalism” is in his Arkansas News Bureau column today. He rightly points out that Republicans are using it as a wedge issue to question Democrats’ and Obama’s patriotism and also makes the point that in some ways, the country is no longer that exceptional. However, he does include this high note near the end:

“Yet we must not despair. There remains something exceptionally rare, indeed great, about America.

“It is that we could blow up the world, but we don’t. It is that we possess the muscle to conquer and make territories of these places that we, frequently in futility, invade with our young people and military resources. But we don’t. We seek to help the people of these distant lands. We let them have their oil. We may be arrogant, but we are not cruel.”

Amen to that. Here’s what I would add: I think this attitude is a major contributor to some of our most vexing issues. “You mean, we can’t cut taxes and increase spending and still balance the budget? Why not? We’re Americans!” Also, “Of course we can transform Iraq and Afghanistan into democracies at little cost.”

Time to be more realistic about our country’s situation and make some hard choices.

What exactly does the tax cut bill compromise?

Debt and deficits, U.S. Congress

President Obama and the Republicans have agreed to a tax cut bill because they had to, and now we’ll see if congressional Democrats agree to the deal. Media reports indicate that, in all likelihood, opponents of the plan simply don’t have the votes.

But this was no mere extension of the Bush tax credits. The deal includes a 2 percent reduction in the payroll tax that workers pay to finance Social Security. General revenues – which were $1.4 trillion in the hole this year – will supposedly make up the balance.

So we’ve exchanged using Social Security surpluses to plug part of the holes in the budget for using the budget to plug holes in Social Security. Once again, we’re compromising our future.

It never ends, does it? Until, as Greece and Ireland have found it, it has to.