|
 Cost of
benefits for Seniors limits ability of Federal
government to provide health insurance for
children, report claims
Mar 15, 2007-- The federal government's
spending on children's programs, including health care and
education, is limited by the growing proportion of the budget spent
on older U.S. residents, according to a study released Thursday by
the
Urban Institute,
USA Today
reports.
The report examined federal spending since 1960
and found that among more than 100 federal programs for children,
the share of domestic spending and tax breaks they received declined
from 20.1% in 1960 to 15.4% in 2007.
Without a shift in policy, that share will drop
to 13.1% by 2017, while the spending percentage of the gross
domestic product for children's programs will drop from 2.6% in 2007
to 2.1% in 2017, the report projected.
The percentage of the GDP spent on adults
receiving Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
will grow from 7.6% in 2007 to 9.5% in 2017. A
majority of spending on adults comes in the form of
entitlement programs, whose costs automatically rise
because of population increases and inflation, while
children's programs "must battle others for a share
of the budget,"
USA Today
reports.
Spending from federal, state and local
governments on seniors is three times greater than spending on
children. At the federal level, spending on adults is eight times
greater than spending on children.
The report states, "Despite frequent rhetoric
from policymakers on the priority given to children, the federal
budget makes fairly clear that children are less of a priority and
more of an afterthought." According to
USA Today, the
disparity can be attributed in part to the political power of
seniors, "while children are relatively powerless."
Close to 70% of seniors voted in 2004, compared
with 58% of the overall population. In the 2006 federal elections,
retirees contributed $129 million to political parties and
candidates -- more than any other category of contributors,
according to the
Center for Responsive Politics.
Comments
Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund,
said, "Children are a voiceless, voteless constituency. They don't
lobby, and they don't make campaign contributions." Bill Hoagland, a
former budget advisor to Senate Republicans, said, "I know for a
fact, firsthand, that ballots are distributed at nursing homes on
Election Day, and they're not distributed at the kindergarten
level."
Brian Riedl of the
Heritage Foundation disagreed that children's programs are
underfunded. Riedl said that education and other children's programs
have "received healthy increases," adding that "progress is not
determined by how much Washington throws at a problem" (Wolf,
USA Today, 3/15).
 The
report is available
online. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the
report.
Broadcast Coverage
 NPR's
"Morning
Edition" on Thursday reported on the report, including its
health-related findings. The segment includes comments from
co-author Adam Carasso of the Urban Institute and Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine) (Jones, "Morning Edition," NPR, 3/15). Audio of the
segment is available
online. |
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