Social Security’s Finances Erode Further and Could Spell Benefit Cuts

[Metric Mouse]

Sure we can

Screw the Boomers. Let them sleep in the bed they made.

The problem is they voted these benefits for themselves, and voted in boomer representatives that agree with them and will protect these benefits even when they harm others. It's why everyone is screaming about how bad it is to cut SS benefits to balance the budget - boomers got theirs, and want to shit on everyone else while they take their last victory lap.

 

[ttwtt78640]

And what do current beneficiaries give up in this scenario?

What should they give up? After all they ‘contributed’ enough (while working) to generate a surplus which was placed into the SS ‘trust me’ fund.

 

[Metric Mouse]

You seem to have an issue with Boomers.

It's only that they wrecked the economy, social benefits and the planet for everyone after them, all so they could die with the most toys parked in their garage.

White men born in the 1940s have been running the United States for over three decades.

We have a lot of mess to clean up.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Unfortunately, no one in congress has the guts to increase taxes on anyone but the rich. So if SS is set to collapse in 8 years, we can expect congress to come up with a fix in 7 years, 11 months and 29 days.

Maybe, but the party not having majority power at that time may prevent such action, preferring to be able to blame the other party to gain majority power in the next federal election cycle.

 

[Greenbeard]

What should they give up?

Well, the opening bid (status quo) is 23% of their benefits. It’s up to them then to make a palatable counter.

 

[Fletch]

Maybe, but the party not having majority power at that time may prevent such action, preferring to be able to blame the other party to gain majority power in the next federal election cycle.

As far as I understand, benefits will have to be cut by law if nothing is done. SO any party that chooses to obstruct and allow a cut in benefits will not escape the wrath of those who rely upon those benefits for their very survival. A solution will be found because it has to be

 

[Fletch]

Well, the opening bid (status quo) is 23% of their benefits. It’s up to them then to make a palatable counter.

So are you on the side of people on SS having their benefits slashed by 23%? How many people are you willing to see 'dying in the streets' to satisfy your desire to not pay your fair share in taxes

 

[BirdinHand]

In 20 years when you retire you'll receive SS benefits that boomers contributed to.

You'll accept the benefit while calling for the boomers who contributed to it be cut off.

SS isn’t solvent enough to last another 20 years at this rate so I’m not banking on it.

The problem is they voted these benefits for themselves, and voted in boomer representatives that agree with them and will protect these benefits even when they harm others. It's why everyone is screaming about how bad it is to cut SS benefits to balance the budget - boomers got theirs, and want to shit on everyone else while they take their last victory lap.

Let the entire thing fail.

These people have been playing the system to benefit just themselves for decades and you can still see it here - they want their benefits to remain untouched and future generations to work longer and get less.



I don’t care anymore if the entire thing goes belly up.

Let it.

 

[BirdinHand]

So are you on the side of people on SS having their benefits slashed by 23%? How many people are you willing to see 'dying in the streets' to satisfy your desire to not pay your fair share in taxes

You folks are willing to kick kids off Medicaid and take away their food stamps so screw the recipients of Social Security - they can take a hit also

 

[Greenbeard]

So are you on the side of people on SS having their benefits slashed by 23%?

I'm open to counters but make it interesting.

How many people are you willing to see 'dying in the streets' to satisfy your desire to not pay your fair share in taxes

If there's one lesson we've learned from Boomers, it's that everything is some other generation's problem. We've finally found one that's theirs.

 

[Jezcoe]

Yes, that is the liberal Rx for everything--tax the rich. Benefits are also capped so SS is not in trouble because the rich arent paying enough. Its in trouble because no one is paying enough

Putting more money into the system is better than cutting benefits.

I was never given an option or an alternative. I was forced into the system as it is. If taxes have to be raised so that the system survives, then the young will have to pay more into it.

boo hoo.

 

[Allan]

SS isn’t solvent enough to last another 20 years at this rate so I’m not banking on it.

Let the entire thing fail.

These people have been playing the system to benefit just themselves for decades and you can still see it here - they want their benefits to remain untouched and future generations to work longer and get less.



I don’t care anymore if the entire thing goes belly up.

Let it.

There are a number of reasonable steps that can be taken to fund the plan into the future.

You've not considered even one of them.

You have a hard on for older people for some reason. Like I said earlier it's simply ageism.

 

[exoplanet]

Not sure how much Trump has a hand in it.

You don't think Trump is having an effect on immigration? Really?

You guys need to seek help for your Trumpmentia

Awww! All you can do is throw insults? You poor thing. It must suck to have no rational arguments to make.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Well, the opening bid (status quo) is 23% of their benefits. It’s up to them then to make a palatable counter.

Hmm… they ‘contributed’ enough (while working) to generate a surplus which was placed into the SS ‘trust me’ fund, why shouldn’t that continue to be the case?

 

[What if...?]

I doubt Trump's tariffs have anything to do with this. The Society Security Administration has been projecting this situation for at least a decade or more. Problem basically is fewer people are working and paying FICA payroll taxes, In good years excess FICA was even loaned to the govenment. Unfortunately the huge baby boomer generation which had been the prime FICA payer is now retired and drawing their payments and the smaller generations coming up aren't able to mining SS payments in the current range.

The problem really stems from politicians that couldn’t resist tapping that big pool of money for something else. Both sides.

 

[ttwtt78640]

As far as I understand, benefits will have to be cut by law if nothing is done. SO any party that chooses to obstruct and allow a cut in benefits will not escape the wrath of those who rely upon those benefits for their very survival. A solution will be found because it has to be

Letting SS benefits automagically be cut is a solution. The (political) question is: would that be more (politically) popular than increasing current workers’ SS FICA ‘payroll’ tax ‘contributions’ (impacting about 181M people) enough to keep current SS benefits intact (impacting about 74M people)?

 

[Integrityrespec]

Why do you keep repeating this canard every time SS's finances come up?

The simple fact is that in a few years, payroll taxes will not generate enough revenue to pay for SS. One of the few options is to increase taxes. That's not "librul math."

By the way, that's what Reagan did in the 1980s. He increased payroll taxes, required self-employed individuals to pay both the individual and employer's share, and cut benefits by taxing SS income. I guess he was another Lying Librul, yeah?

One of the great problems with politics, is too many are just against the other side regardless of the policy. Just be against it. Then they, both parties, stand in the way. Part of that is because the hardliners will not compromise even within their own party and part is certainly because they really are opposed based on what they see as bad policy.j
COMPROMISE, without it we are in a mess and right now that doesn't seem to exist, inside the party or between the parties.

 

[ttwtt78640]

There are a number of reasonable steps that can be taken to fund the plan into the future.

You've not considered even one of them.

You have a hard on for older people for some reason. Like I said earlier it's simply ageism.

She’s got her retirement ‘nest egg’ covered, so it’s OK to screw others who currently depend on their SS benefits.

 

[tharock220]

I doubt Trump's tariffs have anything to do with this. The Society Security Administration has been projecting this situation for at least a decade or more. Problem basically is fewer people are working and paying FICA payroll taxes, In good years excess FICA was even loaned to the govenment. Unfortunately the huge baby boomer generation which had been the prime FICA payer is now retired and drawing their payments and the smaller generations coming up aren't able to mining SS payments in the current range.

More people are working and paying payroll taxes. The ratio of working people to retirees has decreased due to the baby boomers retirings and longer life expectancies.

The best solution is to reduce the monthly payment and implement means testing. The benefit should start at $1500 and drop from there based on your other retirement income. I mean you're retired, what the hell are you paying for anyway?

 

[ColdHardTruth]

A simple ‘fix’, to prevent exhausting the SS ‘trust me’ fund, would be to increase the SS FICA ‘payroll’ tax rate(s) from 6.2% to 7.75%.

Using liberal math, that’s only a 1.55% tax rate increase.

Or the millionaires, billionaires, and big businesses could stop dodging taxes.

 

[Integrityrespec]

The problem really stems from politicians that couldn’t resist tapping that big pool of money for something else. Both sides.

The U.S. federal government borrows from the Social Security trust funds. The process and implications of this borrowing:

• How it works: When Social Security collects more in payroll taxes and other income than it pays out in benefits, the surplus is invested in special U.S. government securities, which are essentially loans to the federal government. This allows the Treasury to use the cash for other government spending.
• The nature of the trust fund: The Social Security trust funds hold accumulated holdings of these special government obligations. These represent the funds designated to pay current and future Social Security benefits.
• Repayment: The federal government is required to pay back the borrowed funds with interest when needed. This process is ongoing, with the Treasury redeeming securities as needed to pay benefits.
• Drawing down reserves: Since 2021, the combined Social Security trust funds have been drawing down their accumulated reserves to help pay benefits, as costs have exceeded income.
• Not "stolen" or "misappropriated": The notion that Congress has "stolen" or "misappropriated" money from Social Security is considered false. The investments held by the trust funds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and are considered safe investments.

In summary: The federal government does borrow from the Social Security trust funds by investing surpluses in U.S. government securities. This is a standard financing mechanism that allows the government to utilize these funds for other purposes, with the understanding that they will be repaid with interest when needed for Social Security benefits.

As far as the notion of stolen or misappropriated to me it seems the idea that the borrowing is standard practice and the investments are held by the trust funds and backed by the same people that are borrowing and spending the money is dangerous. When we don't have the money, Congress open the printing press and that's not repayment, its devaluation.

Can we trust our leaders in Congress to do the right thing? Doesn't seem like they want to risk losing votes to fix SSI.

 

[ttwtt78640]

The problem really stems from politicians that couldn’t resist tapping that big pool of money for something else. Both sides.

Nope, it’s an actuarial problem: the number of current workers (contributors) per current beneficiary is decreasing, while beneficiaries are living longer (thus collecting more in benefits). The fact that the SS ‘trust me’ fund was borrowed and is currently being repaid with interest adds to (current) annual federal “budget” deficits (and national debt), but the SS ‘trust me’ fund would have been depleted (exhausted) even if it hadn’t been borrowed.

 

[trixare4kids]

Not sure how much Trump has a hand in it. You guys need to seek help for your Trumpmentia

He has no hand in it but he gets blamed for everything that ails them.

There is help for "Trumpmentia" though.
Psychiatrists have recently added Trump Derangement Syndrome to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental disorders.

 

[trixare4kids]

The SS FICA ‘payroll’ tax rate(s) were last increased in 1990 and it’s time to do so again.

How the Payroll Tax Base Has Changed Over Time

While difficult choices will have to be made to restore fiscal solvency to Social Security, policymakers searching for ways to boost the trust fund revenues as part of some broader bipartisan reform might want to consider curtailing these various tax exclusions for fringe benefits.

taxfoundation.org

That was a very long time ago. I really can't see any other way around this.

 

[Greenbeard]

He has no hand in it but he gets blamed for everything that ails them.

“Trump has no hand in our immigration policy” is definitely a new one!