Social Security “the unsustainable” political experiment

USA Today 04/24/12 Kelly Kennedy

 “Trustees Report Social Security outlook worsening”

 http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-04-23/medicare-social-security-report/54494662/1

 The Medicare and Social Security trust funds are both on "unsustainable paths" — as they have been for years — and will be exhausted by 2024 and 2033, respectively, a trustee report released Monday said.

 "The projections in this year's report are somewhat more pessimistic than last year's report," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.

 Geithner said the 2010 health care law would lower costs by changing how people pay for health care. Administration officials also said that, without the health care law, Medicare's trust fund would be exhausted in 2016.

 "It's in a much stronger position than it was a few years ago because of the Affordable Care Act," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, adding that spending in Medicare is growing at a slower rate than in the private sector. Even so, officials said, it's not enough. The trustees have predicted the depletion of the Medicare Trust Fund every year since they first began issuing reports in 1970, and they ultimately extend the deadlines out a few more years. However, the realities of Baby Boomers hitting senior-citizen status, Americans living longer and an economy that has supplied fewer workers to pay into Medicare and Social Security have left the trust funds paying out more than they take in.

 Common Sense Review

 This is no shocking revelation. We have known this for decades, yet once again Chicken Little stands crying “the sky is falling” without a plan on how to correct this problem unless we the citizens of the US give up our freedoms to Obamacare.

 I find it interesting that the people who tell us that Social Security is “not sustainable” are the same who will not seek the benefits in their retirement years. Why are those not affected by the issues tend to have a solution for the problem but if their idea fails… Oh well! In the test tube of political strategy, real people are affected.

 I have a great test for the human tolerance.. Let’s take all govt officials (even the President) and have them live on a working wage of $35,000/year… If they are over the age of 65 then you must live on the retirement and social security benefits. After a year of this experiment, I would bet dollars to doughnuts, that the fed govt would come up with a sustainable plan.