According to President Trump, reductions to Medicare, Social Security, and welfare are his next major task after tax reform. His plan is for changes to “take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes.” The aggregate outlay for these programs was in excess of $700 billion in 2016. GOP leaders have pushed the point that cuts to these entitlement programs are needed in order to reduce the deficit and to accommodate upcoming changes to the tax code, which works to reduce government revenue by up to $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) recently discussed the issue at an event sponsored by the Financial Services Foundation: “We don’t need to reduce benefits on current retirees or even near-term retirees, but we can make changes for future generations such as mine, and do so in a way that people can prepare for, so the changes will barely be felt.”
See Tracey Longo, GOP Laying Groundwork to Cut Future Social Security, Medicare, Welfare Outlays, Financial Advisor, December 6, 2017.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.
Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
