We Can't Keep Spending Like This (On the Out-of-Control Federal Budget)

National Review ^ | July 12, 2006 | Grover Norquist

[curiosity]

In that even, you want to hold gold, real estate with low debt and perhaps Japanese or European currency.

Actually, if you think there is going to be lots of inflation that the market isn't pricing into interest rates, you should lever up on fixed rate debt.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Perhaps that would work as it did in the 70s, but then the real estate bubble has not completed is bursting (or fizziling).

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

Milton Friedman's ideas on this are interesting. He says that if you changed to a catastrophic plan, individuals could buy health insurance for the fill-in policy at reasonable rates, and all individuals could be covered.
Currently, people with health insurance are financing health care for people on Medicare, Medicaid and no insurance. Just ask you local Blue Cross rep how much they pay for a procedure and how much Medicare reimbursement is for the same procedure.

[LibertarianInExile]

But Friedman's not considering that within the next fifty years will come the grand die-off, or worse, the eternal hook-up, of the Boomers. When they're all seniors, if it's still in place at all, government health care will be fiddled with interminably, and pulling the plug will be unimaginable. It has to be done now, and they have to get a pile of cash and a wave goodbye from Uncle Sam, or we'll never see it done and Uncle Sam will get the bill--which means, of course, the bill will pass to their kids and their kids' kids, without any bite passing to the generations with the most assets.

[curiosity]

Perhaps that would work as it did in the 70s, but then the real estate bubble has not completed is bursting (or fizziling).

Well, if you think there's a real estate bubble, then obviously that's a bad move, inflation or no inflation.

The best bet would then be to lever up on fixed-rate debt and buy commodities (not just Gold).

[sauropod]

In order to truly control spending, we need to privatize Social Security and reform Medicare. These expenses will dwarf the rest of the budget in twenty years with no changes, and the problem will start to become acute in about ten-twelve years.

They already do.