Entitlement Costs Rising, Particularly For Healthcare
The Washington Times reported that a new Congressional Budget Office study details a “still-sluggish” US economy “more than seven years into the Obama recovery.” The Times, citing the study, said the federal government “will be flirting with $30 trillion in debt within a decade,” adding that the CBO attributes its projected “poor economic outlook” to “steadily increasing spending on the elderly, looming tax hikes and particularly the increasing bite of Obamacare.” The CBO also said that “spending on federal healthcare programs outpaced spending on Social Security for the first time in 2015,” The Hill reported. According to the research organization, although Social Security spending last year totaled $882 billion, the government “spent $936 billion … on health programs including Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act, a jump of 13 percent from 2014.” The Hill anticipates that the growing costs of healthcare programs will “ignite an election-year debate on the right over ObamaCare and its impact on the budget.”
What This Means For Small Business
The National Federation of Independent Business reported last year that “small -business owners are also worried about the consequences of ignoring the nation’s fiscal trajectory,” as “future generations will be faced with higher debt and interest payments, increased tax rates and fewer investment opportunities” if the national debt is not addressed. As pointed out in the latest CBO study, a key driver of the debt increase is entitlement spending, particularly healthcare. Addressing this issue could go a long way toward reducing the national debt and promoting small business growth, as rising healthcare expenses have seen a concomitant increase in the regulations and burdens on small businesses.
Additional Reading
In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal examined the CBO’s deficit predictions.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
