You are correct to address the issue of the huge U.S. debt pile in this thoughtful commentary. You are also correct that nothing will be done about this situation in the short term by either main political party. Releasing the IMF report during the summer when few will read it and without challenging either party to address the needed fixes is totally gutless on the part of the IMF.
Nothing will be done until there is a full blown fiscal crisis caused again by greed and speculation or another black swan financial or geopolitical event.
As long a the U.S. enjoys the privilege of the dollar serving as the world’s currency, we will probably not need to address “Treffin’s Dilemma” and the massive debt pile. We are once again leaving the problems to our children and grandchildren to solve, which is equally gutless and craven.
Again bravo for bringing this up. Nice to read such a wonderfully well written account of the problem as well as a well reasoned review of some of the potential solutions.
It would be of some interest if this article explored what might be the effects on the economy and anticipated tax revenues of raising all these taxes. But...crickets.
If you think a privatized Social Security could stay solvent while offering an inflation-adjusted annuity, try getting one from the private sector. (My alma mater, which has about the best investment performance in the world, keeps nagging me to donate assets and get an annuity. I finally scheduled a talk with the nagger-in-chief: all they can offer is an annuity in nominal dollars.) As for privatized Medicare, compare and contrast private insurance costs for 64-year-olds. Be sure to include the employer subsidy, which I suspect you don’t see.
You are correct to address the issue of the huge U.S. debt pile in this thoughtful commentary. You are also correct that nothing will be done about this situation in the short term by either main political party. Releasing the IMF report during the summer when few will read it and without challenging either party to address the needed fixes is totally gutless on the part of the IMF.
Nothing will be done until there is a full blown fiscal crisis caused again by greed and speculation or another black swan financial or geopolitical event.
As long a the U.S. enjoys the privilege of the dollar serving as the world’s currency, we will probably not need to address “Treffin’s Dilemma” and the massive debt pile. We are once again leaving the problems to our children and grandchildren to solve, which is equally gutless and craven.
Again bravo for bringing this up. Nice to read such a wonderfully well written account of the problem as well as a well reasoned review of some of the potential solutions.
Keep up the great work!
It would be of some interest if this article explored what might be the effects on the economy and anticipated tax revenues of raising all these taxes. But...crickets.
If you think a privatized Social Security could stay solvent while offering an inflation-adjusted annuity, try getting one from the private sector. (My alma mater, which has about the best investment performance in the world, keeps nagging me to donate assets and get an annuity. I finally scheduled a talk with the nagger-in-chief: all they can offer is an annuity in nominal dollars.) As for privatized Medicare, compare and contrast private insurance costs for 64-year-olds. Be sure to include the employer subsidy, which I suspect you don’t see.