While Washington debates the debt ceiling, the entitlements time bomb is ticking. The trust fund that pays for much of Medicare, the health-insurance scheme for the elderly, will run out of money by 2031. The fund that pays old-age benefits for Social Security, the state pension scheme, will be exhausted by 2033. Politicians need to agree to a fix, but it’s not clear that they will. What would happen if these funds reach insolvency? And how could that be avoided?  John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. You can now find every episode of Checks and Balance in one place and sign up to our weekly newsletter. For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.