Drug benefit burdens younger workers.

• Position: Medicare

The Medicare prescription drug benefit is yet another blow to young taxpayers as the Federal government once again is making young America pay for graying America, according to a study by the Cato Institute, Washington, D.C. Cato Director of Fiscal Policy Chris Edwards and researchers Tad DeHaven argue that Congress should reduce spending rather than expand elderly entitlements.

In "War Between the Generations: Federal Spending on the Elderly Set to Explode," they explain that, with the huge numbers of Americans nearing retirement age, Medicare and Social Security already are insolvent, and adding pricey new benefits to the program will prove costly and unfair to young workers.

In the 1960s, the total consumption of an average 70-year-old was about one-third less than that of an average 30-year-old. By the late 1980s, an average 70-year-old consumed about one-fifth more than an average 30-year-old. The problem is that most of that elderly consumption is being fueled by transfers from the young. By 2040, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will account for nearly 80% of the Federal budget.

Moreover, since today's seniors are much better off...