Yesterday the trustees for Social Security and Medicare issued an update as to the health of these two programs. The report clearly shows that the American public have been given a "snow job" by both John Snow, Secretary of Treasury and George W. Bush.
The report shows that the real crisis is not Social Security but Medicare. According to the report, by 2020 the Medicare Trust Fund will be depleted and Medicare will be able to pay only 79% of claims. The Social Security Trust Fund will be depleted in 2041 and Social Security will be able to pay only 73% of Social Security benefits starting in 2041.
Therefore, what we are seeing is that the crisis President Bush and Secretary Snow are telling us about is in the wrong program. It is true that both Medicare and Social Security need long-term funding changes but the real crisis is Medicare. To compound this SNOW JOB take a look at Medicaid which is in crisis NOW. Funding for Medicaid is a joint venture between the Federal and state governments. President Bush and Congress have proposed cutting $40 billion out of the Medicaid appropriations next year and dumping it in the laps of the state governors who told President Bush they are unable to replace this cut in funding from state budgets.
We need a Secretary of the Treasury like Paul O'Neil who advised the President of the facts, not helped the President distort the facts.