DOGE’s Least Bad Solution to Reduce Entitlement Spending

When no good solutions exist, the least bad solution is best.

The Trump Administration realizes that the quickly growing national debt must be reduced. The current public debt exceeds $36 trillion, and the interest expense is approaching $1 trillion annually. Since entitlement programs account for about half of annual government spending, that spending must be reduced. But how?

There are no good solutions to reducing deficit spending for Social Security and Medicare.

One solution is to raise the Social Security (SS) tax. But that tax is already 12.4% of an American’s wages up to $176,000, (the worker pays half, and the employer pays half.) That means about 90% of workers pay the SS tax on all their wages.

Worse, each American pays a 2.9% Medicare tax on all wages with no limit. (Again, the worker directly pays half, and the employer pays half.)

That totals 15.3% of wages. Then, of course, the worker pays federal income tax, state income tax in most states, a sales tax on most consumption in most states and local taxes.

Raising the tax rate on SS or Medicare is not a good solution. How about reducing those payments to retirees and the elderly?