Social Security

One of the most daunting things about the long-term federal budget problem is that the programs that are in the most trouble -- Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- are also running on autopilot. Unlike the rest of the budget, Congress doesn't vote on these programs every year. They're driven by formulas, not by conscious decisions by policymakers.

The good news from the Social Security and Medicare trustees is that things haven't gotten any worse. The bad news is that the situation was bad anyway.

The Social Security and Medicare trustees' report is due today, and my first question is: will Medicare be the lead of anyone's news story today?

For this edition of the Facing Up Blog Carnival, we wanted to examine another budgetary issue that is not earning the mainstream media coverage it deserves: Social Security and the financial burden that the U.S. will incur when the Baby Boomers retire. With the first Boomer drawing a Social Security check more than one month ago, we have plenty to be concerned about.

People in Washington who worry about Social Security’s long-term future often complain about mixed messages from the public. But when I talk to them I hear some mixed messages, too.

Just an update on our second blog carnival -- if you're interested, you've got more time. We're pushing the entry deadline back to Feb. 4. We've already got some great entires and we're looking forward to more. Thanks!

Welcome to the first edition of Facing Up’s “Budget Blogwatch!” The blogospere is swarming with information and debate surrounding federal spending and associated budget woes. Check back often for an updated report, featuring some of the web’s most popular and well-informed bloggers!

There are a lot of elements to the nation's fiscal problems -- rising health care costs, the government's willingness to accept deficits as "normal," the fact that the government spends more in interest on the national debt than it does on Iraq. But most of these budget problems are slow-boiling worries.

It's all Iowa, all the time, on cable news today as the first real voting of the presidential primary season begins. Iowans will have survived months of listening to presidential candidates talk about what they'll do if elected.

The problem with having the presidential primaries bearing down on us like this is that lots of people probably aren't going to be prepared to vote.