Peter1469
05-06-2017, 07:35 AM
A budget primer (http://www.investors.com/politics/columnists/robert-samuelson-a-budget-primer-for-trump-and-everyone-else/)
Here are some interesting facts about our budget. The author laments that the US has turned its federal government into an old-age and health care agency.
I have been writing for some time — not years, but decades — that we are slowly turning the federal government into an old-age and health care agency. The relentless rise in the costs of Social Security, Medicare and other health programs is slowly draining funds from other areas, from defense to education. Still, it's hard for many people to grasp what's occurring, because the year-to-year changes seem small and inconsequential.
So let me try a different instructional tool: a table. Consider it a budget primer, good for President Trump and everyone else.
The table below shows the major categories of government spending as a share of our national income — the economy or gross domestic product (GDP). The figure for the year 2000 is an actual amount; the numbers for 2017 and 2037 are projections by the Congressional Budget Office under existing government policies and plausible economic assumptions.
What is obvious is that government spending is dominated by Social Security, Medicare and other health programs. Indeed, their share of spending has grown over time. In 2000, these programs represented roughly 7% of GDP (4% for Social Security, 3.1% for health care). That was nearly half of all government spending, excluding interest on the federal debt. By 2017, their share was more than half of non-interest spending at more than 10% of GDP (4.9% Social Security, 5.5% health care).
Looking ahead and considering the floodtide of baby-boom retirees and the high cost of health care, the CBO sees more of the same. By 2037, Social Security and federal health programs would absorb nearly 14% of GDP, or about one- seventh of national income.
See the chart at the link.
Here are some interesting facts about our budget. The author laments that the US has turned its federal government into an old-age and health care agency.
I have been writing for some time — not years, but decades — that we are slowly turning the federal government into an old-age and health care agency. The relentless rise in the costs of Social Security, Medicare and other health programs is slowly draining funds from other areas, from defense to education. Still, it's hard for many people to grasp what's occurring, because the year-to-year changes seem small and inconsequential.
So let me try a different instructional tool: a table. Consider it a budget primer, good for President Trump and everyone else.
The table below shows the major categories of government spending as a share of our national income — the economy or gross domestic product (GDP). The figure for the year 2000 is an actual amount; the numbers for 2017 and 2037 are projections by the Congressional Budget Office under existing government policies and plausible economic assumptions.
What is obvious is that government spending is dominated by Social Security, Medicare and other health programs. Indeed, their share of spending has grown over time. In 2000, these programs represented roughly 7% of GDP (4% for Social Security, 3.1% for health care). That was nearly half of all government spending, excluding interest on the federal debt. By 2017, their share was more than half of non-interest spending at more than 10% of GDP (4.9% Social Security, 5.5% health care).
Looking ahead and considering the floodtide of baby-boom retirees and the high cost of health care, the CBO sees more of the same. By 2037, Social Security and federal health programs would absorb nearly 14% of GDP, or about one- seventh of national income.
See the chart at the link.