The USA went bankrupt when the debt hit 5 Trillion. Solution. Disband all Federal agencies such as EPA IRS OSHA HHS etc. Privatize social security and pay off the old folks over time. Cut government to the bone and start over.
Privatizing SS only works for those that haven’t got much contributed already. And the $2.4T in IOUs in the Trust Fund won’t come close to paying off those already retired, much less those Boomers who actually paid extra into it since 1987 which has built it up to this level.
For those not yet retired but who’ve been contributing for decades, we should annuitize their actual contributions to SS at the same interest rate the Treasury promised to pay when it borrowed from the Trust Fund — averaging around 5%.
Then upon retirement, at whatever age the person wants — not forcing them to wait until 62, 65, or 67 — put that amount into an annuity that pays out over the individual’s lifetime. That would result in no overpayment of benefits in comparison to their contributions, more reasonable benefits for those that have over-contributed, while keeping SS solvent without raising taxes.