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Chapter Three: Entitlement Programs Need To Be Fixed Today

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Published April 9, 2020

To slow the rapid growth of the federal deficit, we must act now to control entitlement programs. Effective reform policies should balance the positive and negative impacts of these programs. Public agreement that reform is needed, strong presidential leadership, and bipartisanship are essential to the successful implementation of restraining the growth in the cost of entitlement programs. 

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Video Recorded: August 26, 2019.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the positive and negative impacts of entitlement programs? How might we balance these impacts to create effective reform?
  2. America has chosen to finance entitlement spending largely through debt rather than by increasing taxes. What are the consequences of continuing to fund these programs through debt?

Additional Resources:

  • Watch “Entitlements and the Budget” with John Cogan on PolicyEd, available here.
  • Watch “John Cogan Tells Us How to Think about Entitlements” on PolicyEd, available here.
  • Watch “Falling Short: Social Security, Medicare, and Payroll Taxes” with John Cogan on PolicyEd, available here.
  • Listen to the Area45 podcast episode “Is Entitlement Reform Possible?” with John Cogan, available here.
  • Listen to the EconTalk podcast episode “John Cogan on Entitlements and the High Cost of Good Intentions,” available here.