“With no changes in federal medical and retirement programs, by 2030 Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will absorb more than three-quarters of total federal revenue. Little room would be left for other federal spending priorities such as national defense, education, and law enforcement. Absent changes in the structure of Social Security and Medicare, some time during the 2040s, government would do nothing but mail checks to the elderly and their healthcare providers.”

David Walker, Comptroller General of the U.S., testimony to Senate Committee on the Budget, Feb. 6, 2001

Above quote courtesy of George Sherman’s LTC News & Comment, 3/1/2001.