Free Republic

It has been more than 40 years since Congress found common ground on Social Security and implemented a series of necessary reforms. Over that time, the discussion of Social Security has devolved into a shouting match, an exchange of emotionally charged hyperbole in which sound bites have become more important than stone cold facts.This environment is great for politicians who wish to duck and weave the issue with impunity, less so for the rest of us, because nothing gets done and the problem gets worse. Voters need to think about the role they play in the do-nothing politics of Washington,...

Brenton Smith ([email protected]) is a policy advisor with The Heartland Institute.Social Security reform has been largely dormant for 40 years as politicians from both parties have talked diligently about the program’s long-term outlook while assiduously avoiding taking any action to deal with it.The sad truth is the longer we wait, the harder it gets. Given the passage of time, a person turning 76 years old today expects, on average, to outlive the system’s ability to pay scheduled benefits. It only gets harder from here. That statistic should draw the attention of our elected officials, but it has done little...

Social Security Trust Funds have squandered billions of dollars on an antiquated investment policy. That loss tells us a lot about the financial crisis coming to Social Security. In 2019, Social Security lost roughly $1 billion because the system invests the excess reserves on exactly the wrong minute of the year. Any other day or any minute early in the day, saves the program money. It is 2023, and the beat goes on. Over the course of 2022, Social Security redeemed more than $100 billion in high-yield debt, and lost nearly $5 billion in interest earnings in the process. The...