Prepare yourself for these two budget related possibilities

Congress hasn’t passed a budget since 2009. As the House and the Senate prepare to dig us out of debt crevasse, we should prepare ourselves for two possibilities.

CBS MoneyWatch Editor Jill Schlesinger told Seattle’s Morning News that after expanding the clock, it will soon be time for the government to pay up. If the government isn’t taking in enough money to pay its bills, it has two choices: raise taxes or spend less money.

As a taxpayer, what does that mean for you?

“Either my taxes are going to go up or I’m going to lose some benefits,” says Schlesinger.

She says it’s all on the table right now and while some may be worried about big things, like social security getting the ax, that’s not the big issue. According to Schlesinger, the problem is the continued rising health care costs.

“If you want to get to the root issue, that’s it.”

Before someone tries to tell you we should start by getting rid of “pork projects,” Schlesinger said, not so fast, and equates it to some money-saving behavior we might relate to.

“You could save money by watching how many lattes you buy, but if you buy too big a house – that’s the bigger problem.”