Posted on 05/01/2006 12:30:33 PM PDT by Conservative Coulter Fan
WASHINGTON - The trust fund for Social Security will be depleted in 2040, and Medicare will exhaust its trust fund reserves just 12 years from now, trustees for the programs said Monday.
Their annual report showed deterioration in the financial condition of both of the government's two largest benefit programs.
A year ago, the depletion of the Social Security trust fund had been projected to occur in 2041 and the Medicare hospital insurance fund in 2020.
The trustees, who include the head of the Social Security Administration and three members of President Bush's Cabinet, painted a sober assessment of the health of the two programs in advance of the looming retirements of 78 million baby boomers.
"We do not believe the currently projected long-run growth rates of Social Security or Medicare are sustainable under current financing arrangements," the trustees said in this year's report.
Bush's efforts last year to overhaul Social Security went nowhere in Congress. Even members of his own party refused to support the benefit cuts that would have accompanied the establishment of private accounts for younger workers.
...because they have the longest waiting lines in North America, visiting their hospitals is like travelling back forty years, and major surgery requires waiting lists. There are plenty of reasons...even a study commissioned by the Canadian Government recommended that they privatize!
They are doing their best to deplete SS and Medicare by immediately doling out to the invaders, who are taking the day off today. If this isn't planned obsolesence I'll eat my sombrero!
People need to be reminded again-- There is no money in the SS fund, there are only IOU'S due to the fact that our elected officals have stolen the money instead of wisely investing it. Oh wait our elected officals and the word wisely cannot be linked togeather. Enough said, sigh.
The system would have gone broke even if they had invested the money wisely. The system is unsustainable the way it is structured. In 1950, there were 16 workers paying Social Security taxes for every retired person receiving benefits. Today there are 3.3. By 2030, there will be only 2. In 2017 we will be paying out more in SS benefits than the SS taxes coming in, which will require more borrowing to honor the non-market T-Bills (IOUs) in the SSTF.
Today, 48 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, including 33 million retirees, 7 million survivors, and 8 million disabled workers. By 2030, there will be 70 million Americans of retirement age--twice as many as today.
"so in 40 years people are still getting 400 dollars"
$400?
You must not have checked recently.
Seems like the average monthly checks are usually $1,000 - $2,000.
Anyone here on SS who can correct me?
"I fear that Congress will do the same thing it did in 1983 and raise taxes and reduce benefits."
Of course they will. There really isn't much else they can do.
Personal accounts.
Those would be a great idea for the young, and ultimately the solution to the problem.
Unfortunately they won't help the liablitlites the gvt has already incurred for us middle aged folks.
If you can eliminate the future $12 trillion liability using personal accounts, then you can develop interim solutions to cover the transition period. The longer you wait, the more difficult and expensive it becomes. Bush was pushing voluntary PAs for those 55 and under. Anyone above 55 would receive the promised benefits.
The UK, Chile, and a number of other countries have privatized most of their pension systems.
No matter what happens, something will have to be done. The status quo is not an option. Congress knows that. After the 2008 election, you will see SS reform be back on the agenda. Starting in 2008, the SS "surplus" starts declining (meaning less tax revenue) and in 2017 SS will go from being a cash cow to a black hole, i.e., it will be running a deficit. If 1983 is any example, the last time this happened, Congress will increase the FICA tax, increase the retirement age, and do some other things that will reduce benefits like changing the formula for COLA increases. In sum, they will kick the can down the road and really not solve the problem.
The Dems will continue to fight PA and any attempt to privatize the system, because it gives them less control over their base, whom they scare every election by saying that the Reps want to take away their benefits. The more people dependent upon SS, the better for the Dems.
The central point still remains, THERE IS NO MONEY IN TH SS ACCOUNT, IT BEEN STOLEN BY OUR ELECTED OFFICALS. And to add insult, the fund that we paid into this bottomless pit with taxes is then taxed again when you receive your SS check. Why do you think our elected officals in Washington do not belong to this bottomless pit? THEY ARE NO DUMMIES, THERE IS NO MONEY THERE.
You mean that someone broke into the "lockbox" and stole some funds.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.