Myth #3: Social Security is funded until 2037
As you may know, the trust fund is, for accounting purposes, assumed to be invested in IOUs from the U.S. Treasury. When Social Security needs money beyond what it expects to collect in payroll taxes, it can redeem some of these IOUs. But it's not as if the trust fund is a giant 401(k). It's more like access to a rich but cash-strapped daddy's credit card.
What that means is that Social Security can get what it needs from Treasury without having to ask permission from Congress. But when it redeems one of these IOUs, the Treasury (just like Daddy) has to come up with the money the old-fashioned way, by raising taxes or, more likely, borrowing more.
Dolly Madison at Daily Kos seems to think that Social Security's need for cash can be met from the interest credited to the trust fund-that is, with more IOUs. Allan Sloan disagrees:
You know, of course, why this wouldn't work -- at least, I hope you know. It's because the U.S. government ultimately has to pay its bills with cash, not with its own IOUs. In the long run, you need cash -- real money -- not funny money.
"Fully funded" suggests that the money to maintain today's benefits until 2035 is already locked up. It isn't. Redeeming IOUs from the trust fund (and the income imputed to those IOUs) will only put another burden on taxpayers who are simultaneously paying for Medicare, interest on the debt, and all the other purposes of government. At some point, the total burden will be too much.
approximately $150,000 in Canadian dollars. Interestingly, this phase-out feature of the Canadian Social Security system is apparently one of the reasons Canada does not face the same long-term budgetary problems the U.S. faces.".....but you and others of your kind want to do it on the backs of the poor and middle class.
Social Security collected surpluses these last few decades to prepare for the Baby Boomers retirement, and that money was BORROWED FROM Social Security to pay for other expenses.
SS is not running a deficit but simply expecting repayment on that loan.
If politicians borrow money from other countries, banks, or individual investors, there is ZERO talk of defaulting on those loans, so why are they constantly trying to welch on their deal with American workers and Social Security?
Also, SS is the only "pay as you go" national program I know of. If we didn't allow deficit defense spending, we would have no defense and no wars.
Check your Social Security information or benefits
My monthly deposit is due next week, and I have $19 in my bank account. If my social security income is cut or stopped, what should I do, kill myself?