The government may not be able to keep its promise of providing health care and pension benefits to retirees in coming decades. The oldest of the 78 million baby boomers, those born between 1946-64, will be qualifying for Social Security benefits in 2008 and Medicare in 2011. Analysts predict severe financial problems await them.

If problems are already peaking for the oldest of the boomers, what will funds be like for those born between 1960-64?

The primary factor concerning Social Security and Medicare is, of course, the large population of people retiring and the depleting source of funds available to cover this group. Also, factors such as longer life expectancies, soaring medical costs, and slow growth in the number of young workers to help finance the programs, pose a problem.

According to a report, government obligations such as Social Security, Medicare and federal debt have left taxpayers with a hidden debt of at least $53 TRILLION. That is approximately $473,456 per household, which overshadows the estimated $84,454 in personal debt. With statistics like these, Congress and recent presidents have attempted to address the problem of Social Security and Medicare by hiring a small industry of experts, both inside and outside the government, to analyze what it might take to form a solution.

The plaguing question -- "What can be done?" -- has prompted some suggestions:

• Doubling taxation
• Cutting benefits in half

Presidential candidates and their respective political parties have avoided speaking on the Social Security problem in fear of angering voters. But both Republican and Democrat experts generally agree that:

• The qualifying age for those receiving Social Security benefits, and possibly Medicare, needs to be raised
• Benefits should be reduced for the affluent
• People need to stop treating Medicare as if it were free, meaning they should pay higher Medicare co-payments and deductibles

Experts agree that the changes made may reshape the social contract between the government and its citizens.

USA Today October 6, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If things keep progressing the way they have thus far, it is possible that Social Security, Medicare or both will one day be tapped out. The question you must ask yourself now is: "What am I going to do?" My best prescription for beating these alarming numbers is to get healthy as soon as you can. There are a number of basic strategies you can take and you can best remember them by my name. Following these guidelines will be a powerful way to avoid premature aging and improve your health. Metabolic Type Exercise and lower insulin Replace trans fat with fish oil Clean water One hour of daily sunshine Learn to sleep well Artificial sweeteners Please notice that the first item listed is nutritional type. Just as you are unique in all other respects to anyone else, your body has a unique biochemistry requiring both certain proportions and types of healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins that differs from other peoples' requirements. The most important thing to remember is that what may be very healthy for others is not necessarily healthy for you, and vice-versa. And eating according to your nutritional type is really the only way to ascertain what is good for YOU. If you are interested in learning more about my dietary program including nutritional typing, read my book, Total Health Program, which contains over 150 Delicious Grain-Free Recipes & Proven nutritional type Plan to prevent disease, optimize weight and live Longer. You can obtain a basic understanding of your nutritional type right now by taking the free online test that will give you an idea of the foods you should be eating to maintain optimal health. Related Articles: Insider Reveals Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Scam Medicare Costs Exploding Medicare Expansion: A Prescription for Disaster $100 Billion for Medicare Prescriptions Will Further Devastate US Medicine Medicare Reform: What to Expect From the Expansion