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The Policy of Truth

Written January 11th, 2005

Over the next few weeks you will see (and in many cases already have seen) liberals mocking the idea that Social Security is in need of reform.

Before you accept anything they say, be sure to check the real numbers.

For example, liberals have been denying that Social Security will have any problems whatsoever. However, as the Trustees Report clearly indicates, Social Security will start running a deficit in 2018:

It then begins to increase rapidly and first exceeds the income rate in 2018, producing cash-flow deficits thereafter.
Now, since there is nothing in the "trust fund" except IOUs, what that means is that funds from general revenues will be required to pay Social Security benefits.

That means we will either have to spend less on all other programs—military as well as social—or run higher deficits to compensate. Which option are liberals telling you will make funding Social Security at that point "not a problem"?

It only gets worse after 2018. Each year Social Security will consume a larger and larger share of the general budget until 2042, when the entire Social Security program will have to be funded from general revenues.

So, which programs should we cut first to make room for Social Security?

As it exists now, Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme:

The primary reason that the OASDI cost rate will increase rapidly between 2010 and 2030 is that, as the large baby-boom generation born in the years 1946 through 1964 retires, the number of beneficiaries will increase much more rapidly than the number of workers. The estimated number of workers per beneficiary is shown in figure II.D3. In 2003, there were about 3.3 workers for every OASDI beneficiary. The baby-boom generation will have largely retired by 2030, and the projected ratio of workers to beneficiaries will be only 2.2 at that time. Thereafter, the number of workers per beneficiary will slowly decline, and the OASDI cost rate will continue to increase.
Changes have to be made so that real, tangible resources cover future benefits, not just the ability to tax our grandchildren.

They were the party hawking Social Security reform in the 1990s to get votes.



The Democrat Party thrives on dependency.


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What we are seeing is a war over the Baby Boomer generation.


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Pardon me if I am offended on behalf of intelligent Boomers everywhere.


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