The Washington Post, Which Is Projected to Go Bankrupt In Coming Years, Misreports Social Security

[Hannah Bell]

The Washington Post, which is losing subscribers at the rate of 10 percent a year, felt the need to tell readers in a front page story that many people at a congressional campaign event: "recognized the need to fix Social Security, which is on track to go bankrupt in the coming decades without changes." Actually, the projections show that if no changes are ever made to the program it will only be able to pay 78 percent of scheduled benefits 27 years from now. The program would not go bankrupt.

As a political reality, it is close to absurd to imagine that at a time when beneficiaries are almost 50 percent larger as a share of the voting population that Social Security would be allowed to substantially reduce benefits. Congress has in the past responded quickly to shortfalls in the program and it would almost certainly take steps to ensure that close to full benefits are paid, even if nothing is done over the next 27 years and the projections prove accurate.

It also would have been useful to point out that the discussion of Social Security privatization is largely a diversion of the real issue concerning Social Security. The co-chairs of President Obama's deficit commission have both publicly suggested that they would support cuts to Social Security, such as an increase in the retirement age. Such cuts are the most immediate issue affecting the program, not privatization.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/the-washington-post-which-is-projected-to-go-bankrupt-in-coming-years-misreports-social-security

[OHdem10]

1. Let the Seniors pay for the Deficit--but God forbid we ask the

top 2-3%(Richest people in America) forfeit a taxcut
that is due to sunset anyway.

[Angry Dragon]

2. I think that there is something that is not being said

My understanding is that Congress has taken money out over the years and replaced it with IOUs.

I do not think this money is being counted as being in SS.

It is time for Congress to repay the money they have taken out.

[Hannah Bell]

3. no, congress has followed the original social security legislation:

any surplus collections are borrowed into the general budget in exchange for us securities, which are redeemed as needed.

the law has always been the same, & the practice has always been the same. there's nothing fraudulent about it.

the only fraud came under reagan, when social security tax rates were raised to deliberately generate an increasing surplus for 30 years -- generating a trust fund containing -- currently --about $2.6 trillion, forecast to rise to about $4 trillion before falling again.

the original social security legislation mandated only a one-year cushion in the trust fund & a pay-go system whereby today's workers' taxes fund today's retirees.

reagan turned it into a phoney "savings" plan, not in the original design, & in fact a scam to fund tax cuts for billionaires -- who now don't want to repay what they "borrowed" in cuts.

[dkf]

4. Maybe by "bankrupt" they mean when the fakey surplus fund gets used up.

[LAGC]

5. Abolish FICA and Pay All S.S. Proceeds Out of the General Fund!

Raise taxes on the rich to cover any short-falls! Problem solved!