We Need To Talk About Entitlements

If the United States cut all domestic discretionary spending ($611 billion) and a third of its defense spending ($218 billion out of $652 billion), the federal government would still

have a budget deficit of over $90 billion.

Even if there were no National Parks, Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, Securities and Exchanges Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Coast Guard, Veteran’s benefits, highway funds, student loans, food stamps, and Congress, U.S. debt would continue to grow.

The United States spends 90 percent of its $2.7 trillion in tax revenue on entitlements, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and interest payments on its debt—this percentage is rising.

These numbers show that any serious budget conversations must address the unsustainable expansion of entitlement programs. They, along with interest payment on the debt, cost over $2.4 trillion in 2013. That number is projected to rise to $3.4 trillion over the next decade.