The Washington Monthly

February 12, 2005

Just a thought... Maybe a lot of people have made this point and I just missed it. Or maybe it's so obvious it doesn't need to be made. But...

In 2018, Social Security will begin paying out more money than it takes in. This is what Dennis Hastert calls the "crisis point." But the entire federal government is paying out more money than it takes in right now. Indeed this has been the case for four years, thanks in no small measure to GOP tax-and-spending policies. And it will continue to be the case indefinitely under the president's own supposedly-tough budget. Why is it that a modest deficit in Social Security that won't begin for almost a decade and a half requires immediate radical action, while a vastly greater overall federal deficit occurring right now doesn't?

—Paul Glastris 10:41 AM Permalink | Trackbacks

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