Debt Ideas?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Paring down our war spending and returning to levels consistent with defense spending are one place to start, but there's not enough there to cut without being excessive.

We need to pare back on the big three of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Implementing a gradual rise in the eligibility age of Social Security and Medicare to age 70 for both would be a start.  (Or if we do keep Medicare eligibility at age 65, increase the premiums for those under age 70.)

As for Medicaid, two big items on the Medicaid budget are long-term care for the indigent elderly and cancer treatment.  In the former, we probably should consider including the income and assets of their kids in determining whether they are actually indigent.  Granted, Medicare currently has rules intended to prevent simply giving the kids their inheritance early and then heading for the nursing home, but still, transferring assets to the kids early remains a popular estate planning mechanism, since Medicaid only considers transfers in past few years.  Second, given the high cost and low chance of success in treating certain cancers, I think we should seriously consider having Medicaid only cover palliative care in such cases.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

If there were easy solutions, anvi, they'd likely have already been tried.  I don't see any pain-free methods of accomplishing what needs to be done.  I picked the specific oxes I'd like to see gored first mainly because they are fairly large oxes.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

We need to pare back on the big three of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.  Implementing a gradual rise in the eligibility age of Social Security and Medicare to age 70 for both would be a start.  (Or if we do keep Medicare eligibility at age 65, increase the premiums for those under age 70.)

That's ridiculous.  If you make old people work another five years, it becomes that much harder for younger people to find jobs.

Then we either have to raise taxes or reduce the monthly and medical benefits as the current system is not sustainable. Which is your preference?