dramatic demographic change is certain to place enormous demands on our nation ’ s resources - demands we almost surely will be unable to meet unless action is taken. for a variety of reasons, that action is better taken as soon as possible. the budget scenarios considered by the cbo in its december assessment of the long - term budget outlook offer a vivid - and sobering - illustration of the challenges we face as we prepare for the retirement of the baby - boom generation. these scenarios suggest that, under a range of reasonably plausible assumptions about spending and taxes, we could be in a situation in the decades ahead in which rapid increases in the unified budget deficit set in motion a dynamic in which large deficits result in ever - growing interest payments that augment deficits in future years. the resulting rise in the federal debt could drain funds away from private capital formation and thus over time slow the growth of living standards. favorable productivity developments, of course, can help to alleviate the impending budgetary strains, but no one should expect productivity growth to be sufficient to bail us out. indeed, productivity would have to grow at a rate far above its historical average to fully resolve the long - term financing problems of social security and medicare. higher productivity, of course, buoys expected revenues to the system, but it also raises social security obligations. 1 moreover, although productivity has no direct link to medicare spending, historical experience suggests that the demand for medical services increases with real income, which over time rises in line with productivity. today, federal outlays under social security and medicare amount to less than 7 percent of gdp. in december, the cbo projected that these outlays would increase to 12 percent of gdp by 2030 under current law, using assumptions about the growth of health - care costs similar to the intermediate assumptions of the medicare trustees ; when spending on medicaid is added in, the rise in the ratio is even steeper. to be sure, the rise in these outlays relative to gdp could be financed by tax increases, but the cbo results suggest that, even if other non - interest spending is constrained fairly tightly, ensuring fiscal stability would require an overall federal tax burden well above its long - term average. most experts believe that the best baseline for planning purposes is to assume that the demographic shift associated with the retirement of the baby - boom generation will be permanent - that is, it will not reverse when that cohort passes away. indeed, so long as longevity continues to increase -

dear minister bytyqi, dear mr. marco mantovanelli, director of the world bank for kosovo and north macedonia, dear mr. patrick etienne a€ “ country director, swiss state secretariat for economic affairs ( seco ) dear ms. lori michealson, representative of the us embassy dear president of the board mr. mrasori, dear representatives of financial institutions, dear students and teachers, dear representatives of media ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this event marking the global money week in the function of financial education, with our main affiliates, the ministry of education, the world bank, the swiss state secretariat for economic affairs ( seco ) and the european fund for south east europe, who i would like to take this opportunity to thank for the unreserved support to advance developments in the financial sector in kosovo in general and financial education in particular. this year, global money week is especially important for two reasons : firstly, for the fact that with the activities that we will organize this week, we have brought the republic of kosovo to the attention of the international arena, where the activities that we will organize this week can be followed internationally through " live streams " from central banks, regulators and international organizations dealing with financial education issues ; secondly, for the fact already announced by the cbk that 2019 will be the year of consumer protection and the activities that we will organize in the field of financial education will be in the function of consumer protection. in the present environment, where we are all witnessing the financial stability that kosovo enjoys, placing kosovo's financial system at a level that is comparable not only with the countries of the region but also those of the european union, the financial education has occupied a specific place on our development agenda. moreover, the financial services sector has a strong share in economic growth, job creation, building of vital infrastructure and sustainable development for kosovo. services and products of the financial sector affect the life of every citizen of kosovo. therefore, we are grateful, to all our associates, some of whom are here with us today, for the support they have provided to the central bank and other relevant institutions in building a financial market that treats consumers fairly, encourages financial involvement and helps citizens to make effective use of financial services. one of cbk's strategic goals is to encourage the development of a sound financial system in the republic of kosovo and to further develop the financial education function with a view to creating a sound financial culture that helps all stakeholders