Public Finance International – by Simone Rensch
The US political system is “too broken” to address the “demographic bomb” it faces – with older people expected to outnumber the number of children under the age of 18 in the country in 20 years.
This is according to Marc Goldwein, a policy director at a top think tank, who told PF International an ageing population was one of the US’s most “significant economic challenges.
Goldwein, vice president and senior policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan think-tank in the US, told PF International in Washington DC on Wednesday the US was facing a “demographic bomb”.
The think-tank director, who has served on national commissions and select committees, said: “People used to say we have to [fix the system] for our grandkids. But we actually have to do this for our grandparents – it’s a now problem.
He added: “But the system is just too broken to fix it.”
The US Social Security, the programme which provides pensions and disability benefits, could run out of money by 2035, according to an annual report by the trustees of the fund, to which employers and workers pay into for retirement.
If this happened, it would put additional pressure on public coffers to support the baby-boomers who are now retiring – and future pensioners.
Goldwein said to address the challenge, the government should reform the social security system, undertake healthcare reforms to get better value for money – and make care cheaper, which is a big issue in the country – and raise “significantly” more tax revenue.
Currently, the government has a “mentality to be looking for a free lunch” by spending more while cutting taxes.
An ageing population is a challenge to countries all over the world, as less children are born while people are living longer, and rely on services for longer.
In the US it is estimated, in a 2018 US Census Bureau report, that there will be 78.0 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.4 million under the age of 18 in 2035.
This means the elderly population will outnumber children for the first time in the country’s history.
President Donald Trump sent his budget proposals to Congress over the weekend, which included extending some of the tax cuts, introduced in 2017 and increased spending on defence.
In the 1990s countries around the world, including the US, acknowledged that an ageing population would become a global issue.
Many countries, including Canada, Australia and the Nordic countries, undertook pension reforms to address this. The US did “absolutely nothing about it”, Goldwein said.
“We’ve spent the last 20 years talking about it – but we’ve spent the last 20 years doing absolutely nothing. It’s tragically hilarious.”
Goldwein said there were few seniors living in poverty, which remains an issue for other groups. “The political priorities are all backwards – the government spends more paying interest rates than it does on children,” he said.
Hey try not letting the fence jumpers on ssi plus stop the wars then there will be a lot of funds open up for stuff
Seems like more enslavement BS. They move funds here, they move funds there. He mentions “pension reforms,” but doesn’t elaborate on what that means. Sounds like THEFT to me. Then he, “Goldwein,” says there are “few seniors living in poverty.” Not in my reality. I see many who struggle to make ends meet. I guess he needs to define “poverty” for himself. For him it may just mean on the street and starving. He puts forth some concern for the elderly and then in true system-serving terminology states that it’s “just too broken to fix it.” So what then? Will we be driven from our homes and into nursing homes? Will we be euthanized when deemed no longer useful?
The money game is so self-serving to those that wield it. I wonder what it feels like to purchase an aquifer.
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“pension reforms” my ass…… i want my damn money
So is his solution just kills us all off or what? Georgia Guidestones and all that.
Warehousing Mom and Dad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_lgGTTHpQo
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