I’ve had a lot of criticisms of the fiscally reckless Republicans who have decided to bend the knee to President Biden and rule out touching Social Security and Medicare. So it’s only fair to give credit where due. Former vice president Mike Pence was right to be candid about the fact that the programs are unsustainable.
On CNBC’s Squawk Box, Pence had the following to say:
“I’m glad to see the Republican majority saying we need to use this debt ceiling to start us back in the direction of fiscal discipline, but look, we all know where the real issue is in terms of long-term debt for the United States,” Pence said.
“[While] I respect the speaker’s commitment to take Social Security and Medicare off the table for the debt ceiling negotiations, we’ve got to put them on the table in the long term and right now President Biden’s policy is insolvency,” Pence said.
“We’re looking at a debt crisis in this country over the next 25 years that is driven by entitlements, and nobody in Washington, D.C., wants to talk about it,” he said.
Pence went on to note that national debt has reached the size of the U.S. economy for the first time since World War II, and is unsustainable. He spoke about the need for presidential leadership on the issue, and to educate the public on the fact that, absent changes, the debt will only get substantially worse.
In any prospective presidential campaign, I’d want to see Pence flesh out some details. Some of his comments in the interview about how changes could be made that wouldn’t affect anybody for the next 25 years was an exaggeration. He would have to own up to the need to reduce promised benefits to protect future generations from the punishing consequences of the mounting debt.
But it’s rare for a prominent Republican to be honest about the unsustainability of Medicare and Social Security these days, so kudos to Mike Pence.