Further Explanations with John F. Cogan

Published April 9, 2020

John Cogan answers questions about entitlement programs. If the budget has become politicized, should it be handled by nonpartisan public servants who are not elected? What evidence is there that entitlement programs create incentives not to work and harm self-sufficiency? What policies might we enact in our current political reality?

Interested in attending the Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp? Click here for more information.

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.