Posted on 10/25/2013 5:31:09 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
How do you solve a problem if you refuse to admit you have one — or if you delude yourself into thinking it's not as bad as it actually is? The answer: You don't.
You might minimize symptoms and make some progress. But unless you address the root cause, you will not find a real long-term solution.
Unfortunately, far too many politicians in Washington refuse to acknowledge — and as a result, never accurately describe — the challenges currently facing America. I'm not sure why so many choose to keep their heads in the sand, but their state of denial is proving to be a significant impediment to developing solutions.
In his first dinner with Senate Republicans, President Obama accurately identified our top fiscal problem — health care spending and, in particular, Medicare.
In private, he was willing to admit that Americans will pay $1 into Medicare for every $3 they receive in benefits — and, further, that most Americans don't understand this. In public, however, all I've ever heard the president say is that Medicare needs only "modest reforms." Well, which is it?
The weekend after, I was on a talk show with liberal Keynesian economist Paul Krugman. I mentioned Obama's comments on Medicare and also talked about the pending insolvency of Social Security. Mr. Krugman claimed what I said was false. He was wrong. What I said is entirely true.
Over the next 20 years, Social Security will pay out $4.7 trillion more in benefits than it will bring in through the payroll tax. Americans have been misled into believing this system is solvent because of the fiction of the Social Security Trust Fund — the "lockbox."
Now, to be truthful, the lockbox does exist — a four-drawer filing cabinet located in West Virginia that holds $2.8 trillion...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...
Sen. Ron Johnson explains Social Security problem...
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