Solutions for the Future
Even a quick look at budget documents for the next few decades indicate a system burdened with exploding costs of Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare; the latter the powder keg of the debt explosion. A reform of Medicare in which there is "only $1 in Medicare taxes for every $3 in benefits likely to be received in retirement" (Appelbaum & Gebeloff 6) must be a Congressional and Presidential priority. Returning the program to a role of insurance rather than a direct coverage program would be a start; Paul Ryan's proposal of premium support is a working model. Social Security must also be strengthened with common sense adjustments in payroll tax collection and age eligibility.
Those are the entitlement reforms however; these changes also forego the numerous tax expenditures which increase the government tab. The earned income tax credit, home mortgage deduction, and education credits are tax code distortions which increase the national debt. It is time to completely rework the tax code and eliminate these carve outs to streamline the system, lower rates, and pave the way for a massive economy will grow its way out of the debt burden and America will continue to lead the world.
References
Appelbaum, B. & Gebeloff, Robert. "Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on it." The New York Times. The New York Times, February 11, 2012. Retrieved February 14, 2012 from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/even-critics-of-safety-net-increasingly-depend-on-it.html
