Speech #1090166007

Twenty years ago. entitlements accounted for 45 percent of the budget. soon. they will exceed 60 percent. Medicare alone is growing by almost 10 percent a year. In 30 years. the three big entitlement programsMedicare. Medicaid. and Social Securityif left unchanged. will consume the entire Federal budget. leaving no money for border security or education or any other necessary program. Our problem is not that Americans are undertaxed. our problem is that entitlement spending has run amok. In characterizing the tax relief provided in recent years. we do better to call it a "Foundation for Economic Growth." When Congress cuts tax rates. it leaves money in the private economy. where it can be used more efficiently.