THE NEW HOLISTIC RETIREMENT • 11 America can reduce our deficit in several ways, so let’s l t o h o e k at the options and their likelihood of addressing recent spending increases. • Reduce Government Spending — The government can reduce the debt by reducing the amount of money it spends each year. While this sounds appealing in theory, in practice it is difficult for even the most fiscally committed President to achieve. That’s because the majority of U.S. spending is not dependent on new laws or bills Congress and the President can control. Mandatory government spending—which includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on government debt—is usually more than 60 percent of total government spending each year. ⁹ What’s more, the national appetite for spending is strong: Today’s voters are asking for more programs and services , not less. In summary, Congress likes to spend money. Americans, by and large, like benefits paid for by government spending. So, a dramatic reduction in government spending seems, to me, like an unlikely solution to our debt problem. • Taxes from Economic Growth —
Nc aenwutsaext roepv ae yn udeo wg enn tehr ea tdees f mi c iot .nAe ys ot huer ge oc ov ne ronmmye n t eo xc pc ua rn, dasn, dn enwe wj osbesr va irceecs raeraet epdu, rncehwa sterda—n saalcl t i o n s pg oovt eenr nt ima l el yn ct .rUe antfionrgt unneawt etlayx, irte’ sv ue nnuc lee faorrhtohwe s o o n sustained, robust economic growth will return.
9 F w T a w s
a c w x i n P
.t a o a t x
l i i n p cy
C ( ic T e
y h n
c o t e
e u n
r g t
. h e M r O . a
o f y
2 n / 0 b
2 C r
2 o ie
. m f “ i
B p n l r
g e i -
e x b
f ) o
i n E o
g l
k e B / m h
o e o
o n w
k t : s - A
C f u t i c
t h h i e z -s
e U p
n S e ’s
n T G
d a u i x n
i d S g y - e
u s t
n t o e
c m t o h
n . e ” t rhot tl lpasb: /l e/
r t e g
o g l
m o
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator