Social Security expenditures exceeded the program’s non-interest income in 2010 for the first time since 1983. The $49 billion deficit last year (excluding interest income) and $46 billion projected deficit in 2011 are in large part due to the weakened economy and to downward income adjustments that correct for excess payroll tax revenue credited to the trust funds in earlier years. This deficit is expected to shrink to about $20 billion for years 2012-2014 as the economy strengthens. After 2014, cash deficits are expected to grow rapidly as the number of beneficiaries continues to grow at a substantially faster rate than the number of covered workers. Through 2022, the annual cash deficits will be made up by redeeming trust fund assets from the General Fund of the Treasury. Because these redemptions will be less than interest earnings, trust fund balances will continue to grow. After 2022, trust fund assets will be redeemed in amounts that exceed interest earnings until trust fund reserves are exhausted in 2036, one year earlier than was projected last year. Thereafter, tax income would be sufficient to pay only about three-quarters of scheduled benefits through 2085.http://www.ssa.gov/oact/TRSUM/index.htmlRelative to the combined Social Security Trust Funds, the Medicare HI Trust Fund faces a more immediate funding shortfall, though its longer term financial outlook is better under the assumptions employed in this report. Medicare costs (including both HI and SMI expenditures) are projected to grow substantially from approximately 3.6 percent of GDP in 2010 to 5.5 percent of GDP by 2035, and to increase gradually thereafter to about 6.2 percent of GDP by 2085.
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews...-faces-defaultThe Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the agency's predicament on Tuesday. It may consider some of the proposals Donhoe has made in recent weeks for eliminating the $9.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, ending September 30. All of the proposals are certain to be unpopular. They include eliminating Saturday mail delivery, closing up to 3,700 post offices, laying off 120,000 postal workers, and eliminating another 100,000 jobs through attrition. In the longer term, Donahoe hopes to cut $20 billion from the service's $75 billion annual budget by closing still more offices, cutting the number of sorting facilities from 500 to 200, and reducing the workforce by 220,000 from its current 653,000.
"Your guy Bush..." He might be your guy. He's not and never has been mine. I dislike equally all politicians. See my "signatures."
"Is this a tax argument?"
If you and I are paying premiums that are based on the cost of the programs for us, then I don't see taxes as a factor.
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Originally Posted by keyser soze
