One chart you need to see as to why Medicare is more of a problem than Social Security. This is a must see!

I am beating this issue to death (as opposed to a death panel doing it for me) BUT this issue is so prominent in the Presidential race, I am going to flog it some more.

This chart shows, ON AVERAGE, the taxes someone retiring in 2010 paid over their lifetime into Medicare and Social Security, and what ON AVERAGE they will receive in lifetime benefits from these two programs.

Social Security DOES show some income redistribution effects, as higher income people tend to pay more than they will receive in benefits.  It is the reverse for lower income people.

Medicare is not even close.  Tax revenues fall significantly below benefits received for both classes of income earners. 

Solution(s): Increase Medicare taxes (now 1.45% of your gross earnings) or slow medicare spending (i.e. decrease payments to doctors/hospitals) or cut medicare benefits to the "olds" or continue to do little or nothing or reduce "waste, fraud and abuse"(or as I call them, The 3 Stooges). 


Source: Coyoteblog