Remember how we solved our healthcare problems with the reform measures promoted by Barack Obama? Not true. Our politicians aren’t being honest about the extent of the problem we face, and it threatens our entire economy, according to this detailed and thoughtful article from Wilson Quarterly. Here’s an excerpt:

Last year, Medicare and Medicaid made up almost 22 percent of the federal budget, about $500 billion and $250 billion, respectively. By 2050, together with the additional costs of the new health care law, they will expand to 48 percent of the budget (excluding interest payments on the national debt). At about $4.8 trillion (in today’s dollars), that sum will dwarf that year’s projected spending on Social Security by a factor of more than two, even though the retirement program, at $680 billion, is currently much larger.