An aging society and the federal deficit

Programs of health care and economic assistance to the elderly already account for nearly half of all the federal government's domestic spending, and this proportion will rise rapidly over the next few decades. While conditions have improved for many persons, major subgroups--blacks, widowed women, and those aged 85 and over--are increasingly vulnerable. The political-economic agenda of the post-election period will have to reconsider: guns vs. canes; means testing vs. entitlement; and public insurance vs. private savings and pensions.