Is the US headline for another government shutdown?

Policymakers have known for a long time that the ageing US population would raise the cost of financing major entitlement programmes, such as social security, and could lead to funding shortfalls. The 1994-1996 Advisory Council on Social Security Report stated: “Because of the ageing US population… the simple passage of time will put the [social security] system into deficit.” The problem has been growing inexorably to the point that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that, if there are no changes in current law, by 2038, spending on social security and major healthcare prog...