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Is Social Security in trouble Right Now?

Jack Hays

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Trouble for Social Security may be closer than you think.

Worried about 2030? Social Security’s in trouble here and now.By Allan Sloan

. . . .The key to understanding why Social Security is in financial trouble today — not when its alleged trust fund runs dry in 2030-something, but today — is that the interest the trust fund collects on its holdings doesn’t help the government cover the cost of the benefits it shells out.
That’s because the trust fund’s only assets are Treasury securities. And the Treasury pays interest on those — $93 billion last year, $294 billion over the past three years — by giving the fund Treasury securities, not cash.If you exclude that interest, as any competent financial analyst would, you see that the system collected $827 billion of cash last year and shelled out $897 billion. That’s a $70 billion shortfall.
How was it met?
Here’s how: Social Security redeemed $70 billion of its Treasury securities and got $70 billion of cash from the Treasury. How did the Treasury get that $70 billion? It borrowed the money in the financial markets. . . .​
 
Trouble for Social Security may be closer than you think.

Worried about 2030? Social Security’s in trouble here and now.By Allan Sloan

. . . .The key to understanding why Social Security is in financial trouble today — not when its alleged trust fund runs dry in 2030-something, but today — is that the interest the trust fund collects on its holdings doesn’t help the government cover the cost of the benefits it shells out.
That’s because the trust fund’s only assets are Treasury securities. And the Treasury pays interest on those — $93 billion last year, $294 billion over the past three years — by giving the fund Treasury securities, not cash.If you exclude that interest, as any competent financial analyst would, you see that the system collected $827 billion of cash last year and shelled out $897 billion. That’s a $70 billion shortfall.
How was it met?
Here’s how: Social Security redeemed $70 billion of its Treasury securities and got $70 billion of cash from the Treasury. How did the Treasury get that $70 billion? It borrowed the money in the financial markets. . . .​

I always thought the surplus should have been invested. First there would actually be something when invested. The IOU or Treasury Securities are just a notation in a book and the people will have to pay it again through federal income tax or debt. I would have liked to see the money invested in a well diversified system between stocks, gold, silver, and bonds the same as all the billionaires do.
 
Greetings, Jack. :2wave:

Uh Oh! Wasn't there anyone, in all the years that the Social Security Trust Fund was being raided by beaurocrats to pay for their spending sprees, who questioned the advisability of doing same? They have known for some time that the largest group of workers this country has even seen - the Baby Boomers - would one day retire with the expectation that all the money that was taken out of their paychecks would be there for them. Well, that day has arrived, and now they're being warned that the fund is in financial trouble? :bs:

I guess my question comes down to this: Since we have a nearly $20 trillion dollar debt, in addition to having the SS trust fund raided for billions and billions of dollars over the years, where has all that money gone? :shock: Judging from our infrastructure that badly needs upgrading since it's been deteriorating for years, and even though we would all benefit, it obviously hasn't been spent there. What happened along the way to where we are today? *rhetorical question* :thumbdown:
 
Greetings, Jack. :2wave:

Uh Oh! Wasn't there anyone, in all the years that the Social Security Trust Fund was being raided by beaurocrats to pay for their spending sprees, who questioned the advisability of doing same? They have known for some time that the largest group of workers this country has even seen - the Baby Boomers - would one day retire with the expectation that all the money that was taken out of their paychecks would be there for them. Well, that day has arrived, and now they're being warned that the fund is in financial trouble? :bs:

I guess my question comes down to this: Since we have a nearly $20 trillion dollar debt, in addition to having the SS trust fund raided for billions and billions of dollars over the years, where has all that money gone? :shock: Judging from our infrastructure that badly needs upgrading since it's been deteriorating for years, and even though we would all benefit, it obviously hasn't been spent there. What happened along the way to where we are today? *rhetorical question* :thumbdown:

The unending wars has gobbled up a lot of it. The platinum health care and retirement funds for all the elected officials has plundered a lot of it. All the lucrative government contracts going to friends and family of elected officials. All the pork attached to every bill to bribe the congress and senate to vote favorably for bills. The list of corruption can fill the Library of Congress. Most of the evidence is probably on the shelves well archived. The problem is the people we elect who can and should do something about it could care less as long as they get their share of the money. As long as they keep us divided and wearing our party blinders it will continue until the bottom falls out.
 
The unending wars has gobbled up a lot of it. The platinum health care and retirement funds for all the elected officials has plundered a lot of it. All the lucrative government contracts going to friends and family of elected officials. All the pork attached to every bill to bribe the congress and senate to vote favorably for bills. The list of corruption can fill the Library of Congress. Most of the evidence is probably on the shelves well archived. The problem is the people we elect who can and should do something about it could care less as long as they get their share of the money. As long as they keep us divided and wearing our party blinders it will continue until the bottom falls out.

The platinum health care and retirement funds for all the elected officials

Less than decimal dust.
 
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