Quote Originally Posted by LDAHL View Post
It’s not a matter of preference. It’s a matter of necessity. If the big three entitlement programs already account for 43% of spending, and the growth keeps accelerating, nothing else we can do will much matter. We could de-fang the Pentagon, plunder the plutocrats and privatize the parks, but it still wouldn’t be enough to appease the beast.

I agree. When most people think of entitlement cuts I think they view at as across the board and picture poor old people unable to retire or afford health care. I would think there would be smart ways to have better control over program costs without big benefit reductions. Means testing for SS. Health care system revisions to control costs, which are going to eventually eat the working man as well as the retiree alive if something isn't done. Ii saw an interview with Warren Buffet yesterday. He has his $32k as a direct deposit into his account. It is so small to him that he said he doesn't even notice it. That's not right.

And we underestimate the power of small tax changes. Here's a quote from The Center on Budget and Policy concerning the Bush tax cuts. In this context, the sky isn't falling.

"The revenue loss over the next 75 years just from extending the tax cuts for people making over $250,000 — the top 2 percent of Americans — would be about as large as the entire Social Security shortfall over this period. Members of Congress cannot simultaneously claim that the tax cuts for people at the top are affordable while the Social Security shortfall constitutes a dire fiscal threat."