An Overextended Government

“Of the two factors, aging is the more important,” the CBO said in a June report. With 10,000 Americans turning 62 every day, the ranks of Social Security recipients are projected to almost double to 97 million by 2035'.

Is the problem with the Debt/deficit one of too many people in the US? Too many of us living too long?

'A record 49 percent of Americans live in a household where someone receives at least one type of government benefit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And 63 percent of all federal spending this year will consist of checks written to individuals for which the government receives currently no services, the White House budget office estimates. That’s up from 46 percent in 1975 and 18 percent in 1940'.
'With the unemployment rate stuck at about 9 percent for 30 consecutive months, demand for unemployment benefits, food stamps and Medicaid has soared'.

'The number of Americans receiving food stamps alone is up 72 percent over the past five years, to a record 45.3 million. Their annual cost, projected this year to reach $80 billion, tops the yearly budgets of most federal agencies'.

'More than 2 million Americans who have served in one of the theaters have begun claiming promised health-care and education benefits'.

'“None of this adds up,” said Conrad (D- ND). “One of the biggest obstacles to doing what has to be done is public opinion.”
From : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-28/americans-hooked-on-government-as-record-number-get-benefits.html

Yeah. If all those pesky people weren't alive.

This is the 'ten foot poll' question.

If the resources to help people are running out or overextended, do we expand the revenues into these programs?

Maybe cut back on the programs and rely on charity. But with 49% receiving some type of Government check, can the other 51% be THAT charitable?

Does compassion enter into an economic equation on balancing the budget?

Privatize Social Security and the quality of life/standard of living drops like a rock. Seniors eating Top Ramen and crackers, afraid to spend money because they don't know how long tghey will live so need to keep all the money they have.

Or maybe senoirs working until they are 70, 75, 80, 85. Would you want your parents working that long?

Do you want to work that long?

The 'golden years' of keep on punching a time clock.

Ditto Medicare. Do away with it and have only a for profit medical system and if some gets sick and especially with a major illness or accident, they will have to start weighing if they should die or hold on.

Especially if they have a spouse. A prolonged illness could drain the savings and leave the surviving spouse destitute.

We either pay a system forward, medical, financial security to assure a quality of life, a standard of living or we shift the duty/burden to charity or we say 'it sucks to get old in America'.

And the same is true with our Country's physical infrastructure. We either pay it forward, maintaining and building more roads, airports, bridges, schools so that our children have the opportunity or we watch our children watch most of the rest of the World as they are passed by because other Countries DID invest in their infrastructure.

Just putting America back to work. Taking a trillion dollars and creating jobs building/repairing schools, roads, bridges and waterways, putting/hiring teachers, police and firemen/women. People witgh paychecks spending money they earned instead of taking money from the Government. And by spending money, creating demand for productsd and services and thus creating jobs in the private sector. Soon, instead of the Government having to pay unemployment, medicaid, they are getting revenue in the form of income and other taxes.

But that isn't going to happen in an election year.

Instead we just get to watch the Country fall apart. 

An overextended Government or too many people?