s, the government will have to raise that cash. It can do so in only three ways: by increasing taxes, cutting other spending or running a deficit. ConclusionSocial Security has been one of America’s most successful antipoverty programs, saving millions of elderly from living out their lives in poverty. Likewise, the program has provided important protection for families after the death or disability of the family’s breadwinner.It is clear that the system will require some modifications in order to accommodate the retirement of the exceptionally large baby-boom generation. However, the debate over and implementation of policy changes must be carried out in a deliberate and responsible fashion. The financial security of America’s elderly is too significant for "bumper sticker politics" or ninety-second campaign commercials. Corporate WelfareCorporate welfare should be carefully defined as any government-spending program that provides unique benefits or advantages to specific companies or industries. That includes programs that provide direct grants to businesses, programs that provide research and other services for industries, and programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to companies. There are more than 100 such corporate subsidy programs in the federal budget today, with annual expenditures of roughly $75 billion. Terminating those programs could save taxpayers more than $400 billion over the next five years. Some analysts employ a broader definition of corporate welfare that includes targeted corporate tax loopholes. But allowing corporations to keep more of their own earnings is not a form of welfare. It is their money, after all. To label such loopholes as welfare, one essentially must maintain that all money belongs to the government, and thus any portion that government allows you to keep is a gift. Furthermore, simply closing tax loopholes without simultaneously reducing tax rates would put billions o...
