Medicare Insurance and Social Security Income
Medicare insurance and Social Security income are viewed as reliable insurance plans by millions of Americans. If they fall on hard times, they believe that Medicare insurance will ensure basic medical treatment and Social Security income will enable them to survive retirement. Medicare and Social Security however, are not necessarily the stable pillars of their society that the average American wants them to be.
Medicare Insurance and Social Security Income: Unfunded Liabilities
Medicare insurance and Social Security are in trouble. When anyone who really thinks about the implications reads about the massive debt problems of the United States, they get very concerned. Those who think a little deeper are also concerned about what might happen to social programs like medicare and social security.
Those who study the financial data even deeper realize that the debt figures on the news only cover part of the problem. They rarely include any mention of the unfunded liabilities associated with Medicare insurance and Social Security income. As millions of baby boomers are hitting retirement years, it will put enormous stress on all social programs. Medicare and Social Security are unfunded promises by government to take care of its people…are they promises government can keep?
Medicare insurance and Social Security income are just as much a part of the United States government liabilities as their huge indebtedness to other nations around the world.
Social Security and Medicare: The Numbers Don’t Lie
David Walker, who spent 10 years as the top dog in the US government accountability office as the controller general, resigned from that post in 2008. He now speaks out on the hidden debt issues associated with Medicare insurance and Social Security income. Recently in an interview in Arizona, he said that even if the U.S. could manage to balance the budget, unfunded liabilities like medicare and social security would keep growing…by $2 to $3 TRILLION per year.
A balanced budget wouldn’t do the trick. To maintain the promised Medicare insurance and Social Security income, they would need to find an extra $2 to $3 trillion dollars in that budget.
Richard Fisher from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas offers some numbers for how much the government has to come up with to fund Social Security and Medicare programs:
Medicare Insurance for Hospital Stays: $34.4 trillion
Medicare Insurance for doctor visits: $34.0 trillion
Medicare Insurance for prescription drugs: $17.2 trillion
Social Security:
Social Security Income For Citizens: $13.6 trillion
This is a total of $99.2 trillion and only includes two unfunded liabilities, Medicare Insurance and Social Security income. Other liabilities: stimulus packages, bailouts, etc, etc. have already incurred trillions in debt…not including potential trillions yet to come.
Medicare and Social Security: One Piece of the Puzzle
Medicare insurance and Social Security income are just one part of the problem. We see indications of issues all over the globe with debt problems in PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain) and financial system bailouts around the world. Other countries are starting to notice the Social Security, Medicare, and other debt issues in the U.S.
Rod Mackenzie RoundThe usual countries are no longer buying U.S. treasuries. This is just one of many indications of further financial meltdown in the U.S…and it’s not just going to affect Medicare insurance and Social Security income. Economies of all countries around the world are closely tied to the American economy and the U.S. dollar.
Make sure you learn as much as possible about your own finances and investments and prepare for the worst. Who knows, maybe the world will weather this storm better than expected. One thing’s for certain…there has never in history been a more precarious worldwide economic situation. Being financially prepared for life without Medicare Insurance and Social Security income is the best way to ensure your Medicare and Social Security needs will be met in the future.