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The budget deficit & Social Security
Mark Miller wades into the controversial debate about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and the budget deficit. These three programs, along with Defense, are the biggest in the entire federal budget. So, naturally “deficit hawks” talk about needing to do something to “control entitlements”. Miller explains the uniqueness of the Social Security Trust Fund and how benefits can only be paid commensurate with income collected. The most interesting part of Miller’s piece is the speculation as to what Congress and/or The Social Security Administration can or would do when insolvency hits, a date now projected to be 2034. Would both entities allow benefits to be cut across the board by over 20% as current law suggests need be done? Or would Congress just use general tax revenue to guarantee promised benefits (further driving up deficits) even in the absence of adequate payroll tax revenue to fund Social Security benefits? Would people be able to sue if promised benefits were cut? Read Miller’s take in this interesting piece.
I hope it’s just a fluke. But the SSI check didn’t direct deposit today after years of no issues.