Despite all the talk of “austerity,” little has been done to stem the tide of the United States’ ever growing debt. The little that has been cut is in area that needs it most: defense. The Budget Control Act’s sequestration hits defense disproportionately and essentially ignores entitlement spending, the leading driver of U.S. debt. President Obama has warned that he would “veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts.” This stance is irresponsible and unwise for several reasons. First, in an increasingly dangerous world with a rising … More
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Consumer-directed health plans have become increasing popular because of their ability to save consumers money. Breaking research published by Health Affairs shows that if consumer-directed health plans increased as a share of employer-sponsored plans from 12.4 percent to 50 percent, it could save $57.1 billion annually in national health expenditures. The report states, “Savings of this magnitude would account for 7 percent of all health care spending for the population with employer-sponsored insurance and 4 percent for the nonelderly population as a whole.” The study uses two types of consumer-directed … More
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“Provide for common defense” is a core constitutional obligation of the federal government. Yet entitlement spending is putting unsustainable pressure on the defense budget. In 1965, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security constituted 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) while defense made up 7.4 percent. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that entitlement spending will reach 9.7 percent of GDP in 2012 while defense will shrink to 4.5 percent—even after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are included. (article continued below chart) The defense budget is further threatened from … More
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By Michael F. Cannon
Investment giant J.P. Morgan made a bad trade that cost its owners $2 billion. The responsible parties are losing their jobs. Yahoo’s CEO evidently misled people about his qualifications. As a result, he lost his job. If you want to know why these are market successes, consider: Medicare and Medicaid lose at least 35 times [...]
J.P. Morgan and Yahoo: Market Successes is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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By Michael F. Cannon
What the media blare: Levinson Snags $515 Million in Health Care Fraud More than 100 Charged in Massive Medicare Fraud Busts in 7 Cities in Scams Totaling $452 Mil What I hear: Drip . . . . . . . . . . drip . . . . . . . . . . . . [...]
Medicare Fraud Posse Cackles as If They Laid an Asteroid is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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The House Ways and Means Committee just released a report that shows that the most successful companies would save billions of dollars if they stopped offering coverage to their employees and dumped them into the taxpayer-funded Obamacare exchanges. On a confidential basis, 71 Fortune 100 companies supplied information to the committee regarding the cost and coverage of their health insurance plans. The committee used the data to calculate the potential savings of dumping employees into the exchanges and paying the employer mandate penalty. The report’s findings will likely scare the … More
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President Obama has called Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget “an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country,” but as this week’s chart illustrates, if something radical doesn’t happen, entitlement spending will nearly double by 2050. The amount of spending on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and Obamacare subsidies will soar over the next 38 years, leaving future generations with an alarming debt burden. Congressional Budget Office predictions show that in 2010 entitlement spending attributes 10.3 percent of GDP, then jumps to 19 percent of GDP by 2050. David John, Heritage’s … More
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Over the past week, President Obama has been on the road making an appeal to young Americans, offering a sales pitch on lower interest rates for their burdensome student loans. What he didn’t mention, though, is the even bigger nightmare they’ll face down the road. The president’s meme is one that USAToday picked up on this morning, describing the plight of Millennials, their piles of debt, and their high rate of unemployment: Today’s twentysomethings hold an average debt of about $45,000, which includes everything from cars to credit cards to … More
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A new poll by Reason-Rupe shows that Americans support the structural reform of a premium support model for Medicare. The current Medicare program has made $38 trillion of unfunded promises to seniors over the next 75 years, and the Part A trust fund is predicted to be bankrupt as soon as 2024. The gravity of Medicare’s fiscal mess makes reform inevitable. With premium support, the government provides a contribution toward the cost of a health plan of the beneficiary’s choosing. Reason states, “For people not yet in the program and … More
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Americans who are scrambling to pay their taxes by Tuesday’s deadline are in store for more depressing news: The tax burden on American families has risen dramatically and will continue to climb into the future without action from Congress. This week’s chart outlines the growth of taxes over the past 45 years. Large tax increases are just months away. Jan. 1, 2013, is already being dubbed Taxmaggedon. Seven existing tax policies will end and 18 new taxes from Obamacare will begin, leading to a $494 billion tax increase at the … More
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