Inconsistent answers from Google AI on an important economic issue
Example pertains to question about Social Security and Medicare Trust funds
Am writing a paper on the tax bill and one of my comments referred to lack of progress on Trust funds Current law mandates future benefit cuts and I wanted to know if CBO incorporated either current law or current benefits in its projection of long term debt to GDP ration for country
Google AI gave me inconsistent gibberish as an answer.
The Question:
These are results for are current cbo projections of the debt to gdp ratio based on the assumption that automatic cuts to trust funds occur
The Answer:
No, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) does not assume that automatic cuts to trust funds occur when creating its projections of the debt-to-GDP ratio. CBO's baseline projections are based on the assumption that current laws generally stay the same, which includes the ongoing operation of trust funds like Social Security and Medicare.
Here's why:
·
CBO's baseline projections are a benchmark for policymakers to understand the potential effects of future policy decisions. They are not intended to be a forecast of future outcomes.
·
CBO's baselines assume that current laws regarding spending and taxes generally remain unchanged. This includes the ongoing operation of trust funds.
·
Trust funds are funded by specific taxes and are used for specific purposes, like paying Social Security and Medicare benefits. CBO's projections do not incorporate automatic cuts to these funds.
In essence, CBO's projections reflect the potential path of debt-to-GDP if the current legislative framework, including trust fund operation, continues. They do not include any assumptions about cuts to trust funds.
The Inconsistency:
The current legislative framework MANDATES cuts to benefits once assets in the trust fund are depleted and the only available resources is current tax receipts. If the CBO projections reflect current the current legislative framework, then the CBO is assuming cuts do occur because the current legislative mandates the cuts. The final sentence “they do not include any assumptions about cuts to trust funds is then false.
Is AI gibberish?