Here’s the headline of the current lead story on the Washington Post website:
“Social Security and Medicare Finances Look Grim as Overall Debt Piles Up”
Here’s the lead paragraph:
Social Security and Medicare will run out of money in just over a decade, a new report warned oday, putting fresh pressure on Congress to address the nation’a financial health as federal debt rises and the population ages.
This is 100% BULLSHIT. Social Security will not “run out of money in just over a decade.” Because of the genius of Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, Social Security is funded by a dedicated payroll tax. Employees and employers contribute a percentage of your wages towards the program. The rate is 6.2% for employees and employers on wages up to $168,600.
Right now payments are made from the Social Security Trust Fund, built up from past surpluses. Yes, IF Congress doesn’t raise the ceiling on contributions so billionaires have to pay their fair share, the Fund may be depleted. BUT — as the cynics and fabricators at the Washington Post well know — SOCIAL SECURITY WILL CONTINUE TO PAY BENEFITS EVEN THEN. Payroll tax will still be collected. This beloved earned benefit may have to be adjusted, but SOCIAL SECURITY WILL NOT “RUN OUT OF MONEY.”
How noxious is this article? The headline you read above is actually from an OPTIMISTIC report sharing GOOD NEWS. Here’s paragraph 2 (with my bolding for emphasis):
The trustees for the massive retirement programs project that Social Security will be insolvent by 2035, and Medicare by 2036, which would force benefit cuts. That’s better than many experts had expected, though — last year, federal actuaries said the programs could go belly-up sooner. The report said the roaring job market and low unemployment rate means more workers are contributing to the programs, shoring up their finances even while record numbers of retirees enroll for benefits.
Sooooooo…..the headline “Social Security Finances Look Grim” came from a report that we’re doing BETTER THAN EXPECTED because of Joe Biden’s ROARING JOB MARKET AND LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. Whew, that liberal media is really something, isn’t it?
TWO NOTES
1) TAKE THIS TO THE BANK — PEOPLE RECEIVING SOCIAL SECURITY WILL NEVER HAVE THEIR BENEFITS CUT. Why? Okay, so it’s now 2036. The Social Security Trust Fund is set to run out of money on June 1. For the previous three months, EVERY Senator and Congressman has been buried under a tsunami of nasty-grams from their constituents. At 11:59 on May 31, our courageous legislators will pass a Frankenstine’s monster of a bill ensuring that Social Security will continue to pay full benefits for another ten years (or something). People, please—this is an issue even DONALD TRUMP is terrified of. Old people vote.
2) Can you name another issue that produces this much journalistic hand-wringing for something that won’t happen FOR ANOTHER 11 YEARS? Does the Washington Post ever lead with this headline: “EXPERTS CONCERNED DEFENSE SPENDING INCREASES UINTENABLE: MUST BE REINED IN.” Every Republican in Washington who decries social safety net programs “going broke” can’t wait to shovel another 20 billion dollars into the Defense budget—money that goes right to the deficit—money the Pentagon didn’t even ask for.
DEPARTMENT OF FULL DISCLOSURE: I began drawing Social Security two years ago. I put money into the Trust Fund for 54 years. My parents were proud New Dealers, and I’ve supported Social Security for my whole life. And I’ve been hearing hysterical bullshit like this my whole life.