The Furor About Social Security
Wednesday February 2, 2005
Social Security is expected to be the centerpiece of President Bush's state of the union address. Is it broke or isn't it? Will it, as President Bush has asserted, on the verge of bankrupcy? According to Fact Check,
a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the Univeristy of Pennsylvania, it ain't broke and it won't be bankrupt in 2042.
I'm a boomer, and until recently, I'd swallowed the conventional wisdom that Social Security won't be there for me when I retire. I'm now rethinking that pessimistic view.
Just Facts contains a wealth of "facts" about Social Security; be sure to check the footnotes for the date of the factoid. For example, its 2000 data suggests that in 2037 Social Security would be in the red, all things being equal (rate, retirement age). [That "in the red date" appears to be pushed into the future with each subsequent annual report.]
Will the Federal Government be able to pay back, with interest, the money that Social Security has loaned it since 1984? That's a $64 question. Medicare is yet another.
When in doubt, read primary sources: Congressional Budget Office and Social Security Administration. See also The Hill, The Independent Report, Reason Online, Washington Monthly
I'm a boomer, and until recently, I'd swallowed the conventional wisdom that Social Security won't be there for me when I retire. I'm now rethinking that pessimistic view.
Just Facts contains a wealth of "facts" about Social Security; be sure to check the footnotes for the date of the factoid. For example, its 2000 data suggests that in 2037 Social Security would be in the red, all things being equal (rate, retirement age). [That "in the red date" appears to be pushed into the future with each subsequent annual report.]
Will the Federal Government be able to pay back, with interest, the money that Social Security has loaned it since 1984? That's a $64 question. Medicare is yet another.
When in doubt, read primary sources: Congressional Budget Office and Social Security Administration. See also The Hill, The Independent Report, Reason Online, Washington Monthly