SSA Article in Yesterday's NY Times

The article reinforced my view that there is a problem, not a crisis. However, if we do nothing now, there will certainly be a crisis within our kids’ lifetimes. Here are some interesting points.

We forget about the time span that is being talked about. We can’t be certain of next month’s economic numbers. How can we be so certain of what will happen 50 – 75 years from now. Remember the projections are based on many things, some of which are not economic: aging, medicine, immigration. The crisis of the late ‘70s came about because of faulty assumptions.

Without Social Security 48% of the recipients would be below the poverty level.

There have been 11 years since 1970 in which the SSA has run a deficit. In each year, they redeemed the trust fund bonds with no problem.

Private accounts, if implemented on an individual basis, will require a change in behavior of a heck of a lot of us. Studies of 401k participation indicate that many of those eligible do not participate and those that do often fail to match the maximum employer contribution.