In 2004 dollars busted Soc Sec will pay 13.5k to low income in 2080

[papau]

So why does the media let Bush say "Most younger people in America think they'll never see a dime." when the facts are they will see more than a dime and indeed more in 2004 dollars than we do today- would real reporters be worried about truth - or let Bush imply a lie the way our US media is doing?

For low-income Americans, currently scheduled benefits for those who retire in 2080 are $19,906 per year in 2004 dollars. If Social Security can pay only 68 percent of those benefits, that would be $13,536 per year, compared with benefits of $8,804 for low-income retirees who retired LAST year.

For the highest earners, Social Security is currently promising $53,411 per year for those who retire in 2080 (or $36,319 per year if Social Security can pay only 68 percent). Current maximum benefits are $21,891 per year for those who retired LAST year

Social Security Administration says need is about 0.7 percent of gross domestic product over the next 75 years, or $3.7 trillion.
The SSA says the system's trust fund, financed by payroll taxes and interest payments, will probably be exhausted in 2042, requiring the government to reduce benefits to 73% to 80% of promise (68% in 2078). The CBO says the fund will be exhausted by 2052.

The Social Security system cannot go "bankrupt," for it has no creditors. By law, when the trust fund is exhausted, benefitswill continue to be paid via Payroll taxes that will continue to come

Future presidents and Congresses could also choose to fully fund scheduled retirement benefits from general tax revenue.

According to the SSA, costs are projected to exceed income, including tax revenues and interest income from the trust funds' bonds, starting in 2028, not 2018. The 2018 date is when tax revenues alone no longer meet costs; workers have been paying extra taxes since 1983 to build up the trust funds' assets for just this eventuality.

According to the SSA, the life expectancy for a 65-year-old man in 1940 was 76.9 years. Today, a man aged 65 can be expected to live to 81. Most of the increase in life expectancy in the past half century has been for infants, not for the elderly. And the increase in the percentage of women working outside the home has BOOSTED Social Security's resources, rather than depleted them. Before, many women who worked receive a widow's pension rather than their own earned benefits. All the payroll taxes they paid are funding someone else's retirement.


http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B6D56656B%2DD357%2D4082%2DBD70%2D35F6E6D0AA71%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=

Quote from Bush to 20-year olds about Social Security: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/archivedStory.asp?archive=true&dist=ArchiveSplash&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BDEBBD92A%2D6B46%2D4CA7%2D9218%2D62525DD12FD4%7D&returnURL=%2Fnews%2Fstory%2Easp%3Fguid%3D%7BDEBBD92A%2D6B46%2D4CA7%2D9218%2D62525DD12FD4%7D%26siteid%3Dmktw%26dist%3D%26archive%3Dtrue%26param%3Darchive%26garden%3D%26minisite%3D

Read the Social Security trustees report here. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TR/TR04/trTOC.html

Read the CBO's analysis here. http://www.cbo.gov/SocialSecurity.cfm

[Eric J in MN]

1. You're asking pundits to discuss reality.

Pundits such as Tucker Carlson are Bush's whores.

That is why they talk about a stupid survey Frank Luntz did in the early 1990s (more people believe in UFOs than that they'll get Social Securtiy!) rather than talking about reality.

[liberal N proud]

2. They think they can get their hands on the Social Security money

This is money that they have been trying to loot for years and bush had made it a priority!
No one has ever been this stupid before and knew what it would mean to the repuke if they killed SS. This runt, isn't smart enough to know better.
He is only interested in lining the pockets of his buddies.