Opinion Columnists report on the long term state of the US economy
The panelists, in the order they spoke, were David Walker, comptroller general of the United States, Government Accountability Office; Stuart Butler, vice president for domestic and policy studies, The Heritage Foundation; and Isabel V. Sawhill, director of economic studies, The Brookings Institution.
How fast are things getting worse? In 2000, the value of investments the U.S. would need to cover its explicit future liabilities plus the implicit promises for Social Security and Medicare was $20.4 trillion. In 2005, it was $46.4 trillion. The entire household net worth of the US is $51.1 trillion.
What is the outlook for 30 or 40 years from now? In a word: grim. By then, entitlements will be eating the US economy alive ..and the children's and grandchildren's futures along with it.
Sawhill, from Brookings, remarked that the first time the three speakers were on a panel together, they didn't know that their presentations would be so similar.
No comments:
Post a Comment