Let me give you three numbers that will put this economic asteroid into perspective: $200 billion, $14.1 trillion, and $53 trillion.# $200 billion is the approximate total amount of write-downs announced so far as a result of the current credit crisis.
# $14.1 trillion is the size of the entire U.S. economy
# And $53 trillion is (drum roll please) the approximate size of this country’s bill for the Social Security and Medicare promises we’ve made.
While no one will ever mistake me for Alan Greenspan, it seems to me that the third number is quite a bit larger than the other two. It also seems very few people care.
When does the asteroid land? 2019, when the Medicaid trust fund becomes insolvent.
Matt notes the irony (and urgency) contrasting the timing of 2020 Vision for Schools.
