Tough choices on the economic practicality of entitlement programs are on the horizon in America, Iowa State Economics Chair John Miranowski said in a lecture at the Maintenance Shop Wednesday.

The federal government’s debt has reached nearly $3.5 trillion. The annual deficit is around $235 billion, Miranowski said. The major issue is deciding what to cut and what not to cut.

“I think basically we are facing some extremely difficult personal and political choices in the years ahead,” Miranowski said.

He said we are in an era of “entitlements” or “I deserve mine.” Between 1951 and 1976, entitlements such as social security and unemployment increased 18 fold. During the Reagan and Bush administrations, defense spending increased 15 percent, but entitlement spending increased 50 percent.

Institutions such as social security discourage people from saving money, Miranowski said. To get through any future budget reductions and keep the American Dream of a growing economy, there needs to be a change that is going to have an increase in savings.

Miranowski said the load of paying off the debt and paying for an ever-growing entitlement population as the baby boomers get older will fall on the baby bust generation.

“Those costs that we’re passing on to future generations are going to get larger and larger and eventually, if we don’t do something about it in the near future, stand to bankrupt future generations,” Miranowski said.

“The baby bust generation that follows is going to have to pick up the tab unless we change something with respect to entitlements,” Miranowski said, “particularly as they pertain to Social Security, and I don’t see any other way around the situation at this point.”

He concluded by saying, “We are arguing about whether we can do it by 2020 or 2002. I don’t think that is really an issue.”

Miranowski recommended the book Facing Up by Peter Peterson, former secretary of commerce under President Nixon, for further information on deficit reduction.