No Presidential Candidate is Addressing U.S. Domestic Obligations
No presidential candidate is addressing U.S. domestic obligations. The nation’s debt is almost $20 trillion and growing. Government programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are currently unsustainable. Military and government workers’ pension programs are underfunded. Soon, the interest alone will be the country’s number-one expenditure.
The election from an economy view doesn’t appear to offer any solutions for the financial dilemma America faces and of which both parties are absolutely culpable. From a money point of view, all three candidates are spenders. Bernie’s social revolution, while perhaps benevolent, is handing a blank check for unrestraint spending at a level that could bankrupt the country. Hillary has some serious social spending as well, but the results are not as catastrophic in the immediate future. Nevertheless, it will only compound the present dire straits of the economy. Donald wants to strengthen the military, renegotiate the nation’s trade deals and rebuild infrastructure. All that costs money. Every candidate has spending ideas, but no cost-containment strategies. Tom Hegna, best-selling author and economist, says no one seems to be addressing the national debt and government pension obligations. Watch the interview with Tom Hegna.
The U.S. government is overburdened with costly redundancies and expensive services that are inefficient and fraught with fraud. If you could eliminate redundancies, inefficiencies and fraud, the savings could pay down the U.S. debt over the next decade and shrink government enough to bankroll its pensions.
Delaying Social Security and Medicare until age 70 for everyone under age 55 could undergird those programs for the rest of the 21st century. Allowing interstate commerce for medical insurance carriers and the consolidation of Obamacare, the VA and Medicaid could slow down the overall cost of the system while Congress reconfigures the price tag and the services it offers.
So here we are again looking at the lesser of three evils in the current group of presidential candidates. It doesn’t matter who is elected: taxes will go up, the debt will increase, pensions will be underwater and we, as a country, will continue to spend more on policing the world through our military.
If half of the country continues not paying federal taxes, the burden will be unbearable for those who do. The top 1 percent of U.S. income earners could be taxed up to half their income, but it won’t fix our economic problem if spending isn’t reduced dramatically. That means all the promises to help the middle class will be as empty as the government coffers, and once again Middle America will be taxed to finance the interest payment on our ever-increasing obligations.
Nationally syndicated financial columnist Steve Savant interviews Tom Hegna, popular platform speaker, retirement expert and best selling author. The show features the Mid Year economic Update for 2016. Tom has two retirement books entitled Don’t Worry Retire Happy and Paychecks and Playchecks. Tom has also hosted the PBS Special, Don’t Worry Retire Happy.
