Loading ...Over the years we have heard on the news how the Social Security Administration has been in danger of going bankrupt. The answer has always been some type of “reform” in order to keep it afloat. When I hear this news story I always scream at the politicians on the TV, “Why don’t you just keep your fingers out of the cookie jar?!?!”
The problem has not been with the SSA itself, but the fact that other agencies over the years have used the SSA as a bank, taking money in order to keep other federal programs afloat. Now with all the “baby boomers” coming of age, there is not enough money in the pot and it truly is in danger of “going under”.
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.
I guess what we have always said, “There won’t be no such thing as Social Security by the time I retire” may actually not be as far fetched as some may believe.
Maybe Al Gore wasn’t so paranoid after all with his talk about a lock box for Social Security.
Social Security’s shortfall will not affect current benefits. As long as the IOUs last, benefits will keep flowing. But experts say it is a warning sign that the program’s finances are deteriorating. Social Security is projected to drain its trust funds by 2037 unless Congress acts, and there’s concern that the looming crisis will lead to reduced benefits.
“This is not just a wake-up call, this is it. We’re here,” said Mary Johnson, a policy analyst with The Senior Citizens League, an advocacy group. “We are not going to be able to put it off any more.”
And how is the government going to pay back these IOU’s, yep, you got it. It will have to borrow more money. Hey BCR, I think that ticker up there is fixing to speed up a bit.
Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.
I guess I need to get busy filling up that penny jar.
