I have met a former Public Trustee, Tom Savings, who was appointed by Bush. I would also add that the report itself is really non-partisan as far as the data are concerned. You can compare previous reports. The facts don't lie. Both SS and Medicare are essentially bankrupt and something must be done or the country will go further into the hole. The entitlement programs consume almost half the budget now and will be over 70% by 2060 if nothing is done.
In 1950 there were 16 workers for every retiree; today there are 3.3; and by 2030 there will be 2. And in 2030, one in five Americans will be 65 or older or twice what it is now. The entitlement programs as currently structured are unsustainable.
Maybe they can just send a birthday card containing a cyanide pill with instructions to take it on your 65th birthday.
and as sweetcaroline pointed out- SS has been takign in surplus $$ but congress has been spendign that money- it’s NOT SS that needs to be ‘fixed’ it’s congress and their out of control spending that needs to be fixed- people paid into SS al ltheir lives (and it’s a false clai mthat people get more from SS than they put in) and it’s NOT their fault that the money they were FORCED to pay into hte program was mismanaged and spent recklessly- they ARE entitled to that money when they retire as it was taken from them under the FALSE pretense that it was goign into a fund to help support htem when they retired- they had NO choice but to pay into it- so YES- Seniors ARE entitled to that $$
“The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare has been fighting the commission idea recently sent a letter to congress, saying in part:
“We appreciate the concerns of legislators who are looking for a means of reducing the federal deficit and slowing the growth in the debt. However, we have significant concerns about any process – including the Conrad-Gregg Commission – that would disenfranchise American voters and subject Social Security beneficiaries to harmful cuts in benefits. As supporters of Social Security, we are surprised to see the federal deficit and the federal debt cited as the reason a commission needs to be established to make cuts in Social Security. The truth is that neither the $1.4 trillion deficit nor the nearly $12 trillion debt has anything to do with Social Security benefits.
For nearly three decades, Social Security has taken in more revenue each year than it has paid out in benefits. These excess funds have been invested in special issue U.S. government securities. Thus, Social Security has effectively been loaning its excess funds to the federal government to spend on other programs. Rather than increasing the federal deficit, Social Security’s annual surpluses have actually been covering up the true size of the deficit in the general fund.”
http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2010/012010Ridgeway.shtml