Social Security Bankrupt by 2040... Chewing into the fund at 2017... What should be done???

[politicallore]

http://www.politicallore.com/election-2008/social-security-problem-perplexes-candidates/193
An article on my website, goes into great detail... There is also a poll.
Vote if you would like... But I think you will like the article, as it presents new information on the battle.

What needs to be done, to fix this problem????

I say lets stop Borrowing from it.

[Skink]

1. Make Bill Gates pay in on his entire earnings.

[SoCalDem]

2. Boomers will probably not live as long as the WWII generation did

They got to live out their "golden years" healthier , wealthier & probably happier than the Boomer generation will..

Once our generation has passed, things should be OK..

We'll "take one for the team", and die younger... m'kay?

so have patience grasshoppers....

[jwirr]

19. In line with your idea - many boomers are already disabled and on

social security. Also that generation tended to burn the candle at both ends - chemical based lifestyles both in foods and leisure drugs, smoking and other life shortening behaviors.

I also agree with you that we just need to get through the 4 to 1 years and then the program can level out. I for one would rather take a cut in resources than die young. I live on $600 combined Social Security and Supplemental Income but I know people who are collecting over $2000 a month. Somewhere between that is a survival level. Also I think we should raise the cap as to who pays in until the program is okay. At all costs we should not privatize it and we should not end it because there is a great deal of our economy that is dependent on the money the recipients spend each month.

[SoCalDem]

24. Some may have lived dangerously, but probably not the majority

We have the dubious distinction of being the first LARGE generation who are sandwiched..At the time of our lives when we should be amassing wealth for our old age, many are care-taking for 80-90 yr old parents who are still alive..and being a safety net for our own children who entered their adulthood with diminished opportunities..

I know people who have children with their entire families moving back "home"..and they are also caring for old parents..

[jwirr]

28. Yes, that pretty much defines my family. This is not a bad way to

face a number if the crisis that are facing us in the coming years. However, one of the things that social programs need to change is their opposition to extended families. Today if more than one generation lives together you can be sure that there is a social program that will cut them back because one is dependent on the other (ei. grandma is dependent on her daughter) which means they block the benefits this arrangement provides.

[HereSince1628]

3. P.U.T. I.T. I.N. A. L.O.C.K.E.D. B.O.X.

or if you want invest it in bad mortgages to save the buccaneers over on Wall St.

[Peace Patriot]

4. What should be done...?

Throw Diebold, ES&S and Sequoia election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

[politicallore]

7. Agreed

[papau]

26. Better - do nothing as there is no problem as shown by 3rd official projection in Report

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Stop. Borrowing. From. It.

That's all we need to do.

[politicallore]

9. Its almost too far gone for that... With the boomers already starting it...

[MidwestTransplant]

18. Does this take into account all the money that has been borrowed from it?

If it were to be paid back, what is the projection?

[politicallore]

25. That IS the projection... If all were paid back!!!! IF it is NOT paid back 2017 IS THE END!!!!

[endarkenment]

34. It is a constitutional obligation. The federal government is obliged to

honor its debts, including all the money they have borrowed from the SS trust fund. Stop with the panic all caps nonsense.

[Igel]

39. Is it?

It's money borrowed from the government by the government. The money doesn't have to be used for that purpose: It may be taken as FICA funds, but since Congress set that system up, Congress can change it--they could repay $2.7 billion on paper and then retake it for general obligations, thus extinguishing the debt. I don't think they will, at least not immediately.

It's not a constitutional requirement, it's a political one. At some point the burden on the general fund may be so great that in the balance of raising taxes or reducing the benefits, they'll choose reducing the benefits; this will, IMHO, be late in the game, when the numbers of baby-boomers are attrited and the political risk is less.

[endarkenment]

40. The trust fund is held in treasury bonds.

While they are special t-bills, they carry the same 'full faith and credit' obligation as any other t-bill: we are obliged to make good on every cent that has been borrowed.

[papau]

27. There is no problem - check 3rd projection in report and conservative Econ projection

[jwirr]

20. Unfortunately, the earnings on the tax you pay in each month come

from borrowing it out. All savings makes money in the same way.

[dchill]

38. "Borrowing."

What a mellow euphemism for raiding and stealing.
;)

[BigDaddy44]

6. There are only 3 options

1) Raise the contribution level
2) Cut benefits
3) Raise the retirement age

[Skink]

10. 1 and 3 would work

[Johnny__Motown]

29. 4) include a different source to finance it

I suggest a small tariff on all imports


Yes it is still a tax increase but an indirect one, and it would help domestic manufacturers compete (if only slightly)

I am sorry if Walmart will need to increase prices on most of their stuff 1/2% or so to cover the tariff but something needs to be done.

[SammyWinstonJack]

54. Yeah, just work until you drop dead. That should solve the problem.

:eyes: Or pay more get less. WTG!

1 and 3 were done in the 80's under raygun, iirc.

Something about the Boomers paying forward for their retirement, I believe.

LOCKBOX!

[jwirr]

8. I got an email today from someone who says the House is voting

on a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to get Social Security. I think this is right wing propaganda so did anyone else get this email and what is it about if not propaganda.

[politicallore]

11. WOW... I will research this!!!!!!! If i find something, i will let you know!!!

THAT WOULD BE HUGE!

AND BAD

[GOTV]

12. Remove the cap, or flip it, or the Franken doughnut hole....

[WinkyDink]

13. Stop spending a trillion in Iraq?

[politicallore]

15. Agreed

[politicallore]

14. PLEASE PUT SOME OF THESE COMMENTS HERE!!!

http://www.politicallore.com/election-2008/social-security-problem-perplexes-candidates/193

thanks guys

[Capn Sunshine]

22. OR TRY HERE

http://www.peopleforchange.net

because I guess we can advertise our websites in DU now

[Kool Kitty]

53. Great site!

[anigbrowl]

31. .

[Johnny__Motown]

16. small tariff on all imports written into all trade agreements (yes, I said a tax increase sorry)

[AngryAmish]

17. Nothing

If we stop borrowing from it the money will just sit there, keeping a percentage of our wealth from circulating. We are doing fine on SS.

on edit: We are supposed to take some out in 2017. That is why rates were raised in the 80s to take care of the Boomers. Boomers are the healthiest generation in the history of mankind. Most will find they can't retire on SS, so they are going to be working much past 67 or so.

And for whoever upthread said they will die eqrly: It is always an option for you personally. But there is no need, really. Get over yourself.

[Capn Sunshine]

21. IF we have 3 trillion to spend on Iraq, and Wall Street Bailouts, don't tell me we can't fix this

Bush has proven we can fix anything in this country if we are determined to.
Don't tell me we are out of money. We'll print more.

[theboss]

23. I'm in favor of raising retirement but that rarely gets anywhere.

And raise the cap.

[endarkenment]

33. Yeah there are just tons of jobs for people in their late 60s

That is such bullshit.

[politicallore]

45. lol it is...

[Hannah Bell]

30. You can't stop borrowing from it.

By the terms of 1936 law, all SS collections not disbursed to retirees must be invested in US Treasuries, i.e. must be "borrowed" into the general fund.
Rather they shouldn't collect excess taxes in the first place, which they have been for 24 years, which is why there's now 2 trillion in the Trust Fund.

However, the numbers the gov uses to hype the crisis are fraudulent.

The SS Trustees make 3 forecasts: optimistic, intermediate, & pessimistic. The intermediate forecast is supposed to be the most realistic. It's the one that predicts shortfall, & it's the one used in the media discussions.

But over the last ten years the real numbers have come in better than the so-called "optimistic" forecast - & the optimistic forecast predicts surplus forever. SS continues to pay out scheduled benefits, & the trust fund keeps accumulating $.

If a business forecast is wrong to this degree, the forecasters would check their assumptions & adjust it, but the Trustees don't, apparently. That suggests they're cooking the numbers to get the result they want - an optimistic forecast that more or less predicts reality, & an intermediate one that predicts crisis.

examples of the dubious assumptions in the intermediate forecast: 75 years of dramatically reduced immigration & 75 years of depression-era growth.

SS just takes a percent of current income & passes it on to retirees, with the promise the same deal will hold when current earners retire. There's no way it can "go broke" unless our leaders succeed in taking down the entire economy, or in driving wages down to subsistence levels.

Which may happen, but in that case, everyone will be screwed.

[endarkenment]

32. Nothing SS is fine.

"Chewing into the fund" - that would be SS payouts using SS money to meet SS obligations. Using your own money for your own obligations is not 'chewing into' anything.

I guess the rich shits who have been getting all their tax cuts bankrolled by the SS pension surplus will have to start paying more to fund the bloated federal government. I suggest we start cutting back on our kleptocratic world empire military garrison strategy as we cannot afford that shit. Defend the borders. Work with other responsible nations to defend global trade routes. 100B/year ought to be more than enough.

[OmahaBlueDog]

35. The borrowing is not the problem, it's to whom they loan the money

Social Security is an insurance policy; the way it makes money is by being loaned out at interest. Right now, it's sole customer is the Treasury Department. I certainly DO NOT advocate anything like what the GOP advocated in terms of individual accounts. I do believe that they could, safely, take advantage of some higher yielding investments -- much as a well managed pension fund or conservatively managed anuity would. I'm not talking equities; I'm talking about investments in state and local muni bonds, and possibly some high grade financial sector bonds.

Another simple solution is a gradual, phased increase of the age of retirement to 72. I know I've had this argument here before; the system wasn't designed to pay out to people regularly living into their 90s and 100s.

If you combine the above two approaches with a very modest SS tax increase, we should be able to weather the baby boom years and get back to solvency.

[Romulox]

36. In fact, one cannot "loan" money to one's self

The payor and the payee on the SS "bonds" are the same people--the US tax payer. Talk about a circular economy! :rofl:

[politicallore]

49. Lol

[Recursion]

37. Lockbox

Stop giving away FICA levies as "tax cuts" to the ultra-rich.

Also, as Obama suggests, undo the FICA cap.

[bridgit]

41. Dissolve the G.O.P.

[suston96]

42. People know so little about the Social Security "trust fund". Google it and learn. Meanwhile.....

Income into the Social Security Trust Fund is mostly from workers and employers. That means that the economy is heavily involved. (There is some interest income).

If by 2040, or even 2017 the work force is underemployed and the SS taxes fail to keep up with pay outs, then there may be a problem. 300 million people now. Maybe 450 million in 2017 and more in 2040.

The question should be: What will the economy be doing? What percentage of that future population will be working? Social Security and Medicare may be the least of our worries - not me but my grandchildren and their children.

The real solution? Grow the economy and the jobs to keep up with the population. That will resolve the Trust Fund boogey man bullshit.

[CK_John]

43. Problem for the POTUS of 2036. n/t

[SoonerPride]

44. Soylent Green

Make the old people into tasty food treats.

Solves two problems at once: hunger and what to do with old people.

I'm only slightly kidding.

[Orsino]

46. Tax the rich again.

Simple.

[ORDem]

47. Simmer down. It's another scare tactic from the politicians. Have seen

predictions of SS's demise over and over again through the decades.

:dem:

[politicallore]

52. I really do not think it is

[rocktivity]

48. Remove the salary cap, roll back the tax cuts

Crisis solved.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Strelnikov_]

50. Let people divert their contributions to investments with companies like Bear Stearns . .

Yea, that would work.

[workinclasszero]

51. Kill Bush's tax cuts for the rich and

Make the rich pay SS taxes on all of their income and get the F**K out of Iraq NOW!:mad:

[loveangelc]

55. Another reason I cannot vote for Hillary.. She doesn't think anything is wrong.

I'm payng for HER SS.