September 27, 2010
That’s right NYT columnist Ross Douthat told readers today that: “And as everybody knows, the only way to really bring the budget into balance is to reform (i.e., cut) Medicare and Social Security.”
Of course everybody who knows anything about the budget knows full well that this is not true. The budget problem is almost entirely a story of a broken health care system. If the United States had the same per person health care costs as any of the countries which enjoy longer life expectancies than the United States, then it would be facing long-term budget surpluses, not deficits.
Everybody also knows that Social Security does not contribute to the deficit. It is financed by a separate designated tax. The most recent projections from the Congressional Budget Office show that this tax will be sufficient to fully fund benefits through the year 2039 with no changes whatsoever.
Given the health of the program, it is not clear why anyone would want to cut Social Security except to take money from ordinary workers — a major sport in Washington. It would make more sense to default on the national debt.
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