By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:11:00 +0000

If both cuts to medicare or social security as well as tax increases, even closing tax loopholes, are off the table, then talk about cutting the budget deficit is both cheap (and expensive). As long as the public debate is informed as much by ideology as by actuarial projections (lets just call them “facts” in this case) the problem will not be solved. I would like to think that once the s#&t hits the fan, politicians will start to become more realistic, but I think it is just as likely that they will play the blame game and resort to opportunism. How bad do things need to get before it truly is “all about the math”?

By: Michael Corey

Michael Corey — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:35:00 +0000

Soon or later the politics of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will have to catch up with the actuarial calculations. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, policy makers will have to address the imbalances between cash out for these programs and sources of cash for them. The actuaries have been aware of the problems for a long time, but for the most part, elected politicians have ignored them. Perhaps this is what is being played out now. If the Sarbanes-Oxley Act applied to public officials perhaps, the public statements by our elected politicians about these programs might be more in line with the actuarial projections and trustee reports which continue to point to the financial problems with these programs. “Everyone” may be aware of the problems pointed out by the actuaries and trustees, and we may have a modern policy case of the “emperor’s new clothes.” Perhaps we could learn something by re-reading the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. For decades, I’ve worked with and relied on the analyses provided by actuaries. It is all about the math. If we focused on the math and the new demographics, then perhaps progress could be made on policies to address Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Comments on: Medicare: Redux or Redo?

By: Scott

By: Michael Corey