President elect Barack Obama, for the second time in a few short weeks, again sounded the alarm on the need for entitlement reform. He did so in an interview at the Washington Post, the audio which is attached to this post. From the Post:

President-elect Barack Obama pledged yesterday to shape a new Social Security and Medicare “bargain” with the American people, saying that the nation’s long-term economic recovery cannot be attained unless the government finally gets control over its most costly entitlement programs.

Obama seems quite concerned with Medicare, and he should be. The program is likely to be insolvent by 2019, and could consume 25% of federal spending in twenty years.

“Social Security, we can solve,” he said, waving his left hand. “The big problem is Medicare, which is unsustainable. . . . We can’t solve Medicare in isolation from the broader problems of the health-care system.”

Medicare, the government health program for retirees and the disabled, is projected to be insolvent by 2019, according to the most recent report by the Social Security and Medicare trustees. Over the next two decades, Medicare spending is expected to double, consuming nearly one-quarter of the federal budget.

A good interview. A long listen, but Obama is on the right track on entitlement reform. Lets see if there is any political will in Congress to set those programs straight. Any takers?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/mmedia/player/wpniplayer_viral.swf?thisObj=fo417311&vid=011509-10s_title