WE HAVE MUCH WORK TO DO

Most conservatives desire to reduce the size of the annual federal deficit and--maybe someday--even the size of the national debt (although if you look at the numbers that I have posted in this blog you will see that the national debt will surely continue to grow and so burden future generations).
I have repeatedly tried to demonstrate the economic reality that any meaningful progress toward reducing the annual deficit must include a reduction in Social Security benefits--at least for future generations if not for boomers.
Eliminating all foreign aid, plus drastically reducing welfare payments, plus slashing Congressional salaries and benefits would do very little--still leaving a massive annual deficit (don't even think about "eliminating government waste"). It is simple arithmatic. No real progress can be made until we reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits (even if we're willing to reduce Defense expenditures somewhat, which we also resist).
To date, the common response from my conservative friends has amounted to one of the following:

1. "Retirees deserve to be paid back for their Social Security and Medicare tax payments," or
2. "I don't agree with what you're telling me."

One way or the other, our children's Social Security and Medicare benefits will be less than what the government now "promises." Even our liberal government's own Social Security Administration has concluded that future generations won't be--can't be--fully repaid for what they are now contributing in Social Security taxes, and it gets worse every year. It is simple arithmatic. The longer a reduction in benefit payouts is delayed and our government's debt expands, the fewer benefits our children will recieve. There simply won't be any money (already there is only massive bebt). In the mean time the federal debt continues to pile up and so its deficiency to pay promised future benefits grows.
Maybe it is counterintuitive--reducing Social Security and Medicare benefits to future generations now will ultimately enable them to enjoy greater such benefits in the future. But adults should understand that when one is amassing debt, eventually one will have to pay the piper--with interest. The longer it goes on the more will have to be repaid.
So why haven't we heard more about this? Because, like me, when one tries to explain....

Have a nice day.

DWD