Feature Story

March 25, 2008

Statement on the Report of the Trustees of Social Security and Medicare

From Ascribe Newsfeed:

For journalists covering today's release of the report of the trustees of Social Security and Medicare assessing the fiscal health of the government's two biggest benefit programs (combined approximately one third of the federal budget), the authors of a popular book on the federal budget say asking the "right" questions is key.

One key question: Are America's leaders so immersed in short term political positioning that we have lost the ability to chart our nation's long-term fiscal future?

The trustees' report is likely to give a new date by which the programs are likely to run into trouble, but Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson, authors of "Where Does the Money Go? Your Guided Tour to the Federal Budget Crisis" published by HarperCollins, say there are even bigger questions we should be focused on. In the book, the authors lay out six reality check points to keep in mind when thinking about how to address the larger federal budget crisis.

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