Date with accountability near

Thanks to our government’s Medicare/Medicaid entitlements, nation building and tax breaks for the wealthy over the past six years, we have over a $10 trillion debt and face baby boomer meltdown.

Unlike tax breaks or war costs that have an end, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (including Part D prescription drug benefits for seniors) are promises by our government that go on forever. Well, until economic meltdown.

About 40 percent of our annual budget goes out to these promises. Health care costs are growing at a rate of 5 percent annually, shortly promising to be 20 percent annually, if unchanged.

We baby boomers (reaching 62 years of age and this year eligible for early Social Security benefits) traditionally have held a lot of political clout with our high voter turnout.

Boomers and older voters like low taxes and high longevity benefits. It is reported that with the reduced funding due to high unemployment the 2017 Social Security break-even point has accelerated to this year.

Future senior entitlements threaten our entire greedy culture. To avoid a bounty being set on our heads by our children, boomers may want to defer taking senior benefits and keep working and paying taxes longer.

Duane Schofield

Cusick, Wash.