This is a conversation that comes up in Washinton every few years before it fades away without anything being done about it. The clock is ticking for the Social Security system. It’s still solvent for the moment, but at the current rate of retirement for senior citizens and the shrinking number of young people entering the workforce, the program will begin running short of cash in roughly nine years. (Possibly a bit longer if the economy strengthens.) The math is fairly straightforward and it obviously needs to be fixed, but thus far, as NPR’s Scott Horsley reports, a politically palatable solution has not emerged. Legislators are hesitant to anger voters by increasing taxes again, but they also fear reprisals from senior citizens if they suggest trimming benefits. Someone is going to have to figure out something, however, because the math simply doesn’t add up.
We hear this from…
