insolvency
Ben Shapiro, Social Security, and “bankruptcy”
Bankrupt is a harsh term. At its worst, the implication is that financial resources are gone. What it really means, though, is an inability to meet financial obligations. In the context of Social Security, the term is unfortunately accurate, in…
The Social Security Trust Funds Explained
Social Security’s financial picture, dismal as it might be, is typically misunderstood. Those unable to grasp its relationship to overall federal governmental finances characterize it as a “Ponzi scheme.” Others persistently claim that money has been “stolen” or “misappropriated” from…
How Lack of Understanding Drives Perceptions of Social Security
CATO Institute’s recent Social Security survey produced results that indicate a fairly broad misunderstanding of the program’s fundamentals. For example, more than half of the 2,200 survey participants were not aware of the “pay as you go” formula used by…
The downside of “fixes” for Social Security insolvency
It’s not going to be easy, and everybody knows this. After all, the can has been kicked for the past four decades, and the Board of Trustees noted that the kicking can only go another seven years before the cuts…
The One Big Beautiful Bill Is Now the Law of the Land
The victory laps are underway, the pre-passage performance politics have ended, and the dust is settling on H.R. 1, “The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.” Now, in the aftermath of President Trump’s Independence Day signing of this historic legislation, America’s…
A Contrasting View on Insolvency…Perhaps It’s Not as Dire as Many Believe?
Since the release of the 2025 Social Security Trustees Report last week, media accounts of the 2033 depletion of the program’s Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) cash reserves have focused on the consequences: the 23% across-the-board benefit reduction that…
Social Security’s Average Monthly Benefit Hits a New Milestone
The month of May is expected to see the average monthly benefit for retired workers reach the $2,000 level for the first time in history. For a quick comparison, the average benefit at the same point in 2015 was $1,363,…
DOGE and Social Security Savings: Clarifying the Possibilities
The airwaves and wires are aflame with projections about the dollars that can be cut from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid spending through uncovering fraud, waste, and abuse. Recent DOGE estimates are that perhaps $700 billion in spending can be…
The Plight of Today’s Retirees: A Tale of Living on Social Security
A post on Business Insider yesterday outlined the difficulties faced by a 70-year-old retiree attempting to navigate retirement life and survive with Social Security benefits as her sole income source. Compounding the struggle is her inability to obtain employment to…
Another Argument for Opting Out of Social Security
The issue of breaking away from Social Security in its present form is not new. It’s been discussed repeatedly through the years and is now resurfacing as the projected full depletion of the program’s financial reserves approaches. The arguments for…