The Associated Press reported this week, “This year alone, Social Security will pay out $45 billion more in retirement, disability and survivors’ benefits than it collects in payroll taxes.” Those figures are from the Congressional Budget Office.
How many Americans get Social Security checks? More than 54 million. The monthly checks average $1,076.
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama said he wants “a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations.”
Last year, Obama appointed a special commission to recommend, among other things, a solution to the Social Security red ink. The commission recommended gradually raising the full Social Security retirement age from 67 to 69 over the next six and a half decades. But Obama has not endorsed that idea.
Social Security has been financed by a 6.2 percent tax on employers and employees alike. Last December, Congress cut the tax on employees to 4.2 percent for one year. It will borrow more money to cover the gap.
Social Security supposedly has built up a $2.5 trillion surplus over the years — but the money is not there. It has been “borrowed” to cover other excessive government spending, with IOUs being put in its place. Who’ll pay off the IOUs?
Someday, there must be a “payday” — financed by somebody. But when? And by whom?