I'm sure we all aware of the downgrade of the US credit rating. This is just a step along the way. I don't claim to have answers for how to deal with all of these issues. Medicaid is a needed program, but I agree there is abuse and able bodied people are on it that should be told to get a job if they want to keep it. I think the proposal is able bodied adults would need to work 80 hours a month to maintain benefits. That's not much.
We need Medicare and SS to be solvent. People have paid into this for years, and they deserve the benefit.
We need the DoD to function and have a top flight military. The enemies we have are real.
We need all kinds of government agencies that we can all name, but it's all going to come to a grinding halt. Have you seen the yield on a 30 year US bond. The market is saying they don't think it will be repaid without inflating the currency and the market doesn't trust the US government.
We are heading over a cliff like we are Thelma and Louise. When we hit the bottom it's going to be terrible for us and the entire world economy. Hard choices need to be made now or in a few years everyone will be running around with their hair on fire screaming. It's coming at us and it's a simple math problem. It's just facts. Math has no feelings and doesn't care about needy people, the elderly, or anything else.
The truth is you can't tax your way out of it. You can't cut spending around the edges and get out of it, and you can't grow your way out of it. The hole is too deep. It's going to have to be all of the above on some level. Medicaid, Medicare, and SS will fail as structured now and you can't raise taxes alone enough to stop it because we are too far down the road to insolvency in those programs and the government as a whole.
Drastic steps will have to be taken at some point with all government spending and tax policy. This will include everything. The question is will it be when we have some semblance of control or will it be when our hair is on fire and everyone is screaming? My bet is when hair is on fire. Because all our leaders are spineless. One side wants to cut taxes but not really cut spending, thinking that will bring in more money, and one side wants to raise taxes and not even pretend to cut spending. Neither will work. It's simply not enough.