The Congressional Budget Office released its annual report on how Congress can reduce the budget deficit. Given the blistering pace of federal spending, this report, like others before it, will get put on a shelf and forgotten.
But that doesn't mean we should forget it. Eventually, the electorate will demand Congress cut the red ink, and when that happens, ideas like those the CBO issues will be a major part of the discussion.
What are some of the suggestions this year? Among the biggest are ways to reduce spending on what has long been the largest part of the federal budget: entitlement spending. As Cato's Romina Boccia writes, the CBO says there's money to be saved in Medicaid, Social Security, and other benefits:
One of CBO's options would cap federal Medicaid spending, saving $836 billion over the next decade, assuming the federal contribution were to grow no faster than inflation, as measured by the chained CPI (C‑CPI‑U).
There's the possibility of raising the retirement age, too:
One of CBO's options would gradually increase the full Social Security retirement age from 67 to 70, over a period of 16 years. The benefit eligibility age would increase by two months every year, beginning with workers born in 1962, until it reached 70, affecting workers born in 1978 and after.
And the most politically charged idea of them all – recalculate inflation adjustments for benefits like Social Security:
Some federal benefits are indexed for inflation to protect beneficiaries from a decline in purchasing power when the prices of goods and services rise. However, the index used to calculate benefit increases, such as Social Security's cost‐of‐living adjustment, is outdated. Congress recently adopted the more accurate chained CPI (C‑CPI‑U) to adjust tax brackets in the U.S. income tax code. Congress should also ensure that inflation adjustments for federal benefit programs use the most accurate index.
One of CBO's options would adopt the chained CPI for Social Security benefits and other federal benefit programs.
Every single one of these ideas would affect a large, politically engaged segment of the population. That makes the suggestions problematic to impossible for honest discussion, never mind serious action.
But no one can say we weren't warned that federal spending was unsustainable, and every program – even the most sacred and sensitive – needed careful, thorough review.
We may get reminded of that when those government IOUs come due.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Why not a balance budget while paying down the national debt and reining in the out of control spending government spending.
The Congress is addicted to spending more money than tax revenues produce. There will come a day when taxpayers receive more entitlement money than they pay taxes.
Eventually the government will be bankrupt and congress critters will be hiding from the angry crowds.
The gov library has all kinds of publications/pamphlets for citizens to read and find out how to make a budget and monitor your expenses to better control your finances. Maybe this should be required reading for all politicians and congress. IMO
It is abundantly clear that the vast majority of Congress is on the gravy train, have been for a long time. They care not for the Republic, for its people; they care about re-electability and feathering their own nests.