Next in Line for a Bailout: Social Security

[bijou]

Don't look now. But even as the bank bailout is winding down, another huge bailout is starting, this time for the Social Security system.

A report from the Congressional Budget Office shows that for the first time in 25 years, Social Security is taking in less in taxes than it is spending on benefits.

Instead of helping to finance the rest of the government, as it has done for decades, our nation's biggest social program needs help from the Treasury to keep benefit checks from bouncing -- in other words, a taxpayer bailout.



No one has officially announced that Social Security will be cash-negative this year. But you can figure it out for yourself, as I did, by comparing two numbers in the recent federal budget update that the nonpartisan CBO issued last week.

The first number is $120 billion, the interest that Social Security will earn on its trust fund in fiscal 2010 (see page 74 of the CBO report). The second is $92 billion, the overall Social Security surplus for fiscal 2010 (see page 116). ...

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/108747/next-in-line-for-a-bailout-social-security?mod=fidelity-readytoretire

[Carl]

This is ahead of schedule then as I thought the tip over point was supposed to be towards 2020.

[thundley4]

Instead of helping to finance the rest of the government, as it has done for decades, our nation's biggest social program needs help from the Treasury to keep benefit checks from bouncing -- in other words, a taxpayer bailout.

I think this is misleading at best, and an outright lie at worst.  Yes, the SSA is taking in less than it is paying out, but there is the "so-called trustfund" , that is the surplus money from years past. Social Security doesn't need a "bailout" it needs to be repaid some of the money taken from it to finance the general spending that the government has done.

[Eupher]

I think this is misleading at best, and an outright lie at worst.  Yes, the SSA is taking in less than it is paying out, but there is the "so-called trustfund" , that is the surplus money from years past. Social Security doesn't need a "bailout" it needs to be repaid some of the money taken from it to finance the general spending that the government has done.

Isn't this so-called "trust fund" a myth? That Congress has been stealing appropriating from this fund for some time now?

[thundley4]

Isn't this so-called "trust fund" a myth? That Congress has been stealing appropriating from this fund for some time now?

The trustfund is there, it's the lockbox that is the myth. SS has extra cash on their books, but it's been spent by other agencies within the government.

[Hawkgirl]

All I know is that it better be there when it's my turn to retire...I've been paying into it for the last 20+years.

It will at least cover my gas money...

[JohnnyReb]

Story of my life...I officially retired last month...and now Social Security is broke.

[DefiantSix]

This is ahead of schedule then as I thought the tip over point was supposed to be towards 2020.

That was before the Ø-conomy came under the Great Ø-pression.