Social Security should be in the spotlight: Doing nothing is more destructive to Social Security than the passage of time

American Thinker ^ | 02/22/2023 | Breonton Smith

[SeekAndFind]

In reality, doing nothing is more destructive to Social Security than the passage of time. Over the course of 2021, the program generated about $800 billion in unfunded liabilities solely because the calendar advanced from 2021 to 2022. In fact, the majority of the problem we face today stems from congressional inaction over the past few decades.

[central_va]

As soon as the booby boomer kick it wil be in the black again.

[Carriage Hill]

“...the Republican reaction has been remarkable in its ability to miss the point.”

I have a bad feeling about 2024.

[DesertRhino]

I got it! Let’s tell the government that all Social Security recipients are Ukrainian! Then the government will make it rain!

[central_va]

Fake argument. SS will never "run ot of money" just like the feds will never run out of created fiat money.

All defict spending is inflatioary. SS is not different than any of the other defict spending.

[Vigilanteman]

The solution is actually quite simple if we had the political will.

Follow the University of Chicago plan that Free Market people wrote for Pinochet when Chile had a change in government in the early 1970s:

1. No change for anyone over 60, subsidize the deficit for all shortfalls.
   
2. For anyone 59 or under, reduce benefits by 2.5% per year but require them to invest the difference in one of seven approved savings plans.
   
3. The system is completely privatized in just over a generation.

   The only consequences are that:
   

   1. The government loses a huge source of funds to borrow against.
      
   2. The private sector gains a huge source of capital which turned Chile from a third world to a first world country within a little over a generation.

      It would not work as smoothly for us because the program has festered for far too long, but the general principles do work.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Let’s have another Paul Ryan type agenda for 2024 in which Republicans put reforming Social Security and Medicare on the table. Let’s see if they can lose every single Senate election this time.

I think entitlements should be reformed but putting it on the agenda in this political environment is a death wish.

[Leaning Right]

> Fake argument. SS will never “run out of money” … <

You’re right. Social Security will continue to be funded by the government’s printing press…as long as that’s what Congress wants.

And as you noted, this will be driver of inflation. Of course, it can be mitigated by careful cuts elsewhere. Cuts in foreign aid, elimination of payments to illegal aliens, etc. But pigs will fly to the moon before any of that happens.

[DejaJude]

How about they just pay back what they took from the system to pay for other programs. Call it reparations, the left loves that word. ;)

[faucetman]

I AGREE!

FIX it, don’t CUT it.

You (the government) that has STOLEN our money for so long, wants US to pay it back? F THAT!

Sorry Charlie or Charly or Charline, or Pat, or whatever your name is today.

[ClearCase_guy]

Let Democrats take this issue.
Let Democrats formulate the plan.
Let Democrats sell this to the public.
Let Democrats gather the necessary votes in Congress.

If necessary, at the end, when all the real work has been done — by Democrats — the GOP might contribute to the last 2% of the effort.

This is a tar baby. Smart people don’t touch it.

[cgbg]

I started howling with laughter when the article writer said the magic words “trust fund”.

No such animal.

https://moneymorning.com/2017/03/31/the-social-security-trust-fund-is-just-a-stack-of-ious-in-a-west-virginia-filing-cabinet/

It is like having a public policy discussion on the care and feeding of Unicorns.

[Rdct29]

It is stupid to run on this in 2024. The media will distort anything a republican says about social security. They could work on it after the 2024 election. It is a losing argument in 2024. We can count on Linda Graham to bring up cutting social security a few months before the election.

[Chauncey Gardiner]

The Chile plan was touted by Newt Gingrich when he was running for president. As he said, it would turn all Americans into investors, with an interest in the success of capitalism. Can’t have that with today’s Uniparty class of politicians.

[RFEngineer]

“FIX it, don’t CUT it.”

It can’t be fixed, as the money has been spent.

We can print the money, and we will, but you are likely to be disappointed in what you get in terms of what it will do for you after it’s inflated away.

The political will is not there to actually fix government programs, including SS, so we’re not going to do it.

[uranium penguin]

I fully expect that they will declare SS insolvent.

Then raid/ appropiate all 401k accounts.

They may try to rationalize this by saying the gov is going to take over 401 disbursements. And you 401k is being “rolled into” SS.

No Separate Social Security “lock box” as Gore liked to say. Just funnel it all into the general fund.

[Nifster]

We could hope

[SamAdams76]

If "nothing" is done, Social Security will not run out of money by 2034.

What is projected to happen in 2034 is that Social Security will run out of its excess reserves with the result being that retirees will only get about 77% of their current amount (about a 25% decrease).

The above is worse case scenario.

Of course, no politicians will allow themselves to be holding the bag should that scenario play out so you just know they will come up with something "miraculous" between now and then. Most likely during the 2032 campaign season.

[Nifster]

Cut allotments for congress

[central_va]

Never happen. They will just keep making fiat money.