Social Security and the “Baby Boom Generation”
One of the most frequently-repeated statistics quoted in the media these days is the number of “Baby Boomers”–those with birth dates starting from the early- to mid-1940s and ending anywhere from 1960 to 1964–reaching retirement age each day. Generally, the pundits cite 10,000 per day as the number of new Social Security-eligible folks reaching the threshold of their retirement life phase, and routinely equate this to a drain on the Social Security program’s financial resources. That’s true, but there’s an even more critical aspect to it: the number of workers leaving the taxpaying workforce means that, in addition to more money going out, there’s less coming in.
Alexa Lardieri, Staff Writer at U.S. News & World Report, examines the financial mechanics of this developing workforce demographic in a post on usnews.com. Her post analyzes the ratios of people in the workforce compared to people of retirement age, showing the changes in this ratio and comparing this change to increases in the country’s median age. Her post delves into the stress this demographic shift is placing on the Social Security program, a concern succinctly addressed in this quote, “”You have this top-heavy age distribution that is basically uncharted waters. The failure to face what’s evident, right in front of our eyes, is a form of generational theft,” the quote continues, referring to the financial repercussions for future generations. Read Ms. Lardieri’s post here…
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) recognizes the dilemma described in Ms. Lardieri’s article, and has long advocated for a solution that can resolve Social Security’s solvency issue for generations to come. AMAC has in fact developed a bipartisan compromise bill, titled “Social Security Guarantee Act of 2017,” taking selected portions of bills submitted by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and John Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s original legislative framework to create the new Act. This bill would achieve Social Security’s solvency without the necessity of tax increases, and AMAC representatives have been resolute in their mission to get the attention of lawmakers in Washington, meeting with many, many congressional offices and their legislative staffs over the past several years. Learn more about AMAC’s proposed solution here…
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