MOBILIZING THE MARKETPLACE TO RENEW AMERICAN PRODUCTIVITY - A PROGRAMFOR THE 21ST CENTURY

In this Essay, Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and his policy director Cha rles Blahous, argue that the current level of government spending on f ederal entitlement programs will cripple the ability of future generat ions to achieve security and prosperity unless something is done to re verse the trend. They examine the philosophical assumptions underlying entitlement programs as they have been constructed to date, and analy ze the specific problems facing Social Security, Medicare, and the cur rent tar code. Gregg and Blahous suggest that the solution to these po licy challenges lies in restoring the primacy of the marketplace. Spec ifically, they propose that the federal government let private investm ent play a greater role in providing retirement income security, allow greater market competition in the federal health care system, and lib erate the market by a radical simplification of the tar code.