so 30 million more people going under a program we already cannot pay for. and medicare and other entitlements are beginning to overwhelm the rest of government. president obama, who has obviously been thinking about it, pointed to that very dilemma, explaining the nation can t get close to balancing the budget if entitlements are off the table. you would have to cut non-discretionary defense spending by 60%. that s everything. student loans, nasa, veterans programs; you name it. the president also said one of the problems with trimming entitlement programs is that people like them. that s why lawmakers keep man dating cuts in medicare like reducing fees for doctors who treat medicare patients then backing down the moment seniors complain. the house killed those cuts in doctor fees last fall but simply added the 220 billion in costs to the deficit. the recent health care reform bills call for spending in medicare by some 500 billion but that money wasn t dedicated to
more people going into a program we already cannot pay for. medicare and other entitlements are beginning to overwhelm the rest of government. president obama who has obviously been thinking about it pointed to that very dilemma explaining the nation can t get close to balancing the budget if entitlements are off the table. you d have to cut non-discretionary defense spending by 60%. that s everything. student loans, nasa, veterans programs. you name it. we d have to cut by 60%. 6-0. reporter: the president also said one of the problems with trimming entitlement programs is that people like them. that s why lawmakers keep mandating cuts in medicare like reducing fees for doctors who treat medicare patients than backing down the moment seniors complain. the house killed those cuts in doctor fees last fall but simply added the $220 billion cost to the deficit. the recent healthcare reform bill also call for cutting spending in medicare by some $500 billion. but that money wasn t dedi
million. reporter: so 30 million more people going into a program we already cannot pay for. medicare and other entitlements are beginning to overwhelm the rest of government. president obama who has obviously been thinking about it pointed to that very dilemma explaining the nation can t get close to balancing the budget if entitlements are off the table. you d have to cut non-discretionary defense spending by 60%. that s everything. student loans, nasa, veterans programs. you name it. we d have to cut by 60%. 6-0. reporter: the president also said one of the problems with trimming entitlement programs is that people like them. that s why lawmakers keep mandating cuts in medicare like reducing fees for doctors who treat medicare patients than backing down the moment seniors complain. the house killed those cuts in doctor fees last fall but simply added the $220 billion cost to the deficit. the recent healthcare reform bill also call for cutting spending in medicare by some $500