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The Fox News Debate Will the Fox News Debate Be a Partisan Affair?
(about 3 hours later)
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A major topic at tonight’s presidential debate — maybe the first topic — will be “debt and entitlements,” according to Chris Wallace, the Fox News host who is moderating the debate.A major topic at tonight’s presidential debate — maybe the first topic — will be “debt and entitlements,” according to Chris Wallace, the Fox News host who is moderating the debate.
I encourage you to watch for whether Wallace bases his questions on budget reality. Much of the public discussion of the national debt isn’t based on reality. It instead relies on facts that are badly outdated.I encourage you to watch for whether Wallace bases his questions on budget reality. Much of the public discussion of the national debt isn’t based on reality. It instead relies on facts that are badly outdated.
The clichéd way to talk about the debt is in alarmist terms — to warn of Social Security going broke or to make references to trillions of dollars of red ink. And this negativity does have some connection to reality. Our current tax system doesn’t seem to be raising enough money to pay for the retirement of the baby boomers, especially their health care. Eventually, taxes will need to rise or benefits will need to be cut.The clichéd way to talk about the debt is in alarmist terms — to warn of Social Security going broke or to make references to trillions of dollars of red ink. And this negativity does have some connection to reality. Our current tax system doesn’t seem to be raising enough money to pay for the retirement of the baby boomers, especially their health care. Eventually, taxes will need to rise or benefits will need to be cut.
But it’s also true that the long-term deficit has fallen substantially. The national debt in 2046, for instance, is now projected to be about half as large as it was projected to be seven years ago, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The plausible solutions, as a result, look quite different from how they looked several years ago — and less scary.But it’s also true that the long-term deficit has fallen substantially. The national debt in 2046, for instance, is now projected to be about half as large as it was projected to be seven years ago, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The plausible solutions, as a result, look quite different from how they looked several years ago — and less scary.
The central reason is the sharp slowdown in the growth of health costs, thanks to a combination of factors: a reform movement within medicine; a set of policies put in place by the Obama administration; and several other forces that no one fully grasps.The central reason is the sharp slowdown in the growth of health costs, thanks to a combination of factors: a reform movement within medicine; a set of policies put in place by the Obama administration; and several other forces that no one fully grasps.
Reasonable people can disagree about how much to emphasize the decline in the projected debt versus how much to emphasize the debt itself. But it’s simply irresponsible to talk about the debt while ignoring the enormous change.Reasonable people can disagree about how much to emphasize the decline in the projected debt versus how much to emphasize the debt itself. But it’s simply irresponsible to talk about the debt while ignoring the enormous change.
Wallace has a reputation as a serious journalist, not a Fox News partisan like Sean Hannity, and I hope Wallace lives up to that reputation.Wallace has a reputation as a serious journalist, not a Fox News partisan like Sean Hannity, and I hope Wallace lives up to that reputation.