No Labels' "Nightmare on Main Street"

For many decades, I’ve said that, as an actuary, I have no need for horror movies because reading annual OASDI actuarial reports (Social Security and Medicare financial status) is incredibly scary.

Former Senator Henry Bellmon (R-OK) and former Rep. Robert Giaimo (D-CT) created the Committee for a Responsible Budget in 1981.  It has a Fix the Debt campaign.

Seymour Durst created a US Debt Clock in NYC in 1989.  The wonderful US Debt Clock website (created in 2006) shows much other data including USA total debt ($107 trillion, including personal debt) and state debt.  I’ve always felt it understates the problem because it ignores our underfunded entitlements.  If you assume Social Security and Medicare will continue forever “as is”, we’re $95 trillion in the hole ($886,000 per USA taxpayer), not $39 trillion.

Heroes like Paul Tsongas spotlighted our economic problems (he founded the Concord Coalition in 1992), but most voters and most other politicians have continually ignored the voices of reason.

Bill Clinton gets credit for “balancing the budget”, but if you reflected the increase in underfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities, we were still falling farther behind.

In 2008, Pete Peterson created Peter G. Peterson Foundation which has banged the drum loudly regarding our unsustainable direction.

The same year, we elected a president (Barack Obama) who promised to address the issue.  In 2010, he appointed Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to co-chair the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.  Their WONDERFUL December 2010 report gave me hope.  I loved some of the proposals and hated others, but it was necessary to support the full, well-balanced package to avert catastrophe.  Sadly, President Obama abandoned the effort.

In my 2021 blog (10 Obvious(?) Lessons from the Pandemic), the first point was “To be able to spend lots of money in such emergencies, we need surpluses in other years.”  Alas, our politicians have continued to overspend dramatically.

No Labels just published a description of what could happen: Nightmare on Main Street, which I have attached.  An 884-word synopsis was published here.  Our unsustainable path will lead to disaster.   Your comments are welcome!