During congressional testimony today, Obama administration Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner touted the alleged deficit savings in President Obama's new budget proposal. But under questioning, he admitted that even if that budget were to pass, the country would still be left with a totally unsustainable fiscal burden thanks to the two big health entitlements, Medicare and Medicaid: "Even if Congress were to enact this budget, we would still be left with—in the outer decades as millions of Americans retire—what are still unsustainable commitments in Medicare and Medicaid," he said.
Given continued warnings from the Congressional Budget Office about the nation's treacherous long horizon fiscal path, this is not exactly a surprise. Indeed, it's not even a new admission from the administration: As the Free Beacon's Andrew Stiles, who flagged the exchange, notes, Geithner admitted the same thing to Congress last year. Essentially, the administration's position seems to be: Sure, we know these programs are huge long-term budget busters—but don't expect us to do anything about it.
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