Social Security posting $600B deficit over 10years

[steve2470]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110127/ap_on_re_us/us_social_security

Social Security will post nearly $600 billion in deficits over the next decade as the economy struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the brink of retirement, according to new congressional projections.

This year alone, Social Security is projected to collect $45 billion less in payroll taxes than it pays out in retirement, disability and survivor benefits, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. That figure swells to $130 billion when a new one-year cut in payroll taxes is included, though Congress has promised to repay any lost revenue from the tax cut.

Last year, Social Security posted its first deficit since the program was last overhauled in the 1980s. The CBO said at the time that Social Security would post surpluses for a few more years before permanently slipping into deficits in 2016.

But the new projections show nothing but red ink until the Social Security trust funds are exhausted in 2037.

Please critique. Thank you for your time.

[Kaleva]

1. Time to eliminate the cap

[bluerum]

2. Oh good. Now this BS has made it to DU.

If the program was administered properly it would run surpluses.

[Forkboy]

3. We better stop fighting useless wars then.

[leftstreet]

4. Google Search: Social Security Deficit Myth: 946,000 results (0.17 seconds)

yawn

[xchrom]

5. Unrec so this bullshit doesn't get on 2 pages. Nt

[Ghost in the Machine]

6. Where is the 2.2 TRILLION dollars in surplus?

"Current year expenses are paid from current Social Security tax revenues. When revenues exceed expenditures, as they have in most years, the excess is invested in special series, non-marketable U.S. Government bonds, thus the Social Security Trust Fund indirectly finances the federal government's general purpose deficit spending. In 2007, the cumulative excess of Social Security taxes and interest received over benefits paid out stood at $2.2 trillion."

http://www.handsoffsocialsecurity.us/?q=node/35

[tabatha]

7. Unrec - BS crapola

Wall Street wants your dollars.

[arcane1]

8. "The $2.5 trillion surplus, however, has been borrowed over the years by the federal government"

[DJ13]

9. Those scare stories arent including the interest on the existing surplus

Its still generating more in interest than its paying out.

This was pointed out here yesterday by another poster who had gone through the SS reports.

[enid602]

10. should have read

The OP should have read 'Iraq and Afghanistan Wars cost $3 TRILLION over 10 years.'

[steve2470]

12. of course, the subject line is the title of the article nt

[Better Believe It]

11. What is the Obama administration doing to counter this lying propaganda?

The interest collected from treasury securities combined with social security tax revenues will cover ALL social security payments over the next 10 years.

In fact, the 2.5 trillion dollars in the Trust Fund combined with social security tax revenues are expected to pay for ALL Social Security payments until 2037. And that's without a small increase in the CAP!

But the media and deficit hawks are now engaged in a major propaganda offensive to convince people that Social Security is adding to government deficits and can't cover payments because it's "losing" money.

And the Obama administration says in response .....

[Jim__]

13. Paying SS out of the surplus it has built-up is not a deficit. This is just republican horseshit.

[WinkyDink]

14. Cut the payroll tax! Snerk!

[dkofos]

15. We wouldn't have this problem if there was another trillion dollars being paid

to the worker bees in this country.

Pony up cororate-perons. You know you got the money!!

[Hannah Bell]

16. 10-YEAR COST OF BUSH TAX CUTS TO TOP 2% = $700 BILLION

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/let_cuts_expire.html

[peace13]

17. Mission accomplished! n/t