In a just-released interview with John Stossel, I discuss how the United States faces an entitlement crisis that will result in massive tax increases on poor and middle-class households. Or worse.
As explained in the video, there are some unavoidable facts that need to be faced.
The most unavoidable reality is demographic change. Simply stated, we are living longer and having fewer children.
But this clashes with another unavoidable reality, which is that we have pay-as-you-go entitlement programs.
And the combination of these two realities means a ticking fiscal time bomb. Or, to use Stossel’s analogy, the fuse is burning.
Sadly, there is one additional reality, which is that we have irresponsible politicians (both Democrats and Republicans) who lie to voters.
Those politicians claim there is no problem, but what they are really saying is that their short-run political self-interest is more important than the long-run best interests of the nation.
For all intents and purposes, they are setting the stage for massive tax increases on lower-income and middle-class households. Indeed, the honest folks on the left openly admit this is their goal.
Needless to say, I prefer genuine entitlement reform. Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to copy Europe’s anemic welfare states.
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Image credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simões | CC BY 2.0.
