The New Big Three: Entitlements -- MrSwing

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The New Big Three: Entitlements
Jul 25, 2008

Dr. Mark J. Perry

CARPE DIEM
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According to the Heritage Foundation, Entitlements are the greatest domestic challenge the nation faces.

These middle class retirement programs, Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, cost more than $1 trillion annually (about the same as the entire economic output of Canada, the 13th largest ecoomy in the world, see chart above), and will cause federal spending to jump by half, from 20% of the economy to 35% by 2035. This tsunami of spending is a major threat to limited government because it runs on auto-pilot with automatic increases locked in by each program’s governing laws. While other programs are constrained through annual budgets, entitlements get first call on resources. Other goals such as defense or national security must compete for an increasingly smaller share of what’s left.

This "locked in" spending is steadily undermining the economic future of younger generations who face a debt burden of $175,000 per person. The moral and ethical challenge from the entitlement tsunami is undermining our democratic system as more Americans become dependent on the government and other priorities are automatically preempted.