Uncle Sam Continues to Stick His Head in the Sand on Entitlements: New at Reason

Social Security and Medicare are the two biggest programs driving the growth of our debt. What’s more, they provide benefits for senior Americans generally, without regard to need. It’s time to change the way we think about these programs.

It’s difficult to overstate how much of our budget goes toward these programs. Numbers from the Congressional Budget Office show that in the past 10 years, 70 percent of real spending increases have gone to Social Security and Medicare. In fiscal 2017, the federal government spent $4 trillion. Of that, 40 percent—$1.5 trillion, or 8 percent of our gross domestic product—went to Social Security and Medicare. These two programs will consume $3 trillion in the next decade, and that doesn’t include the interest charged on Uncle Sam’s credit card, writes Veronique de Rugy.

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