Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform

In the following viewpoint, Congress’s Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform questions the long-term viability of the federal government’s entitlement programs—including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—and warns of a catastrophe in the making. It predicts that by the year 2030, entitlement spending will consume all federal tax revenues unless appropriate policy changes are made. The commission members believe that unless the federal government acts soon, America’s future generations will face the brunt of an entitlement crisis. The ad hoc commission, which was headed by U.S. senators Robert Kerrey of Nebraska and John Danforth of Missouri, issued its final report in December 1994.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How much have private savings fallen since the 1960s, according...