Over 5 years of researching the financial mess familiarly known as “Social Security,” I have found one constant. At some point in the discussion, opposing sides will be reduced to labels. The program is either a “Ponzi scheme” or “the greatest invention of government.” When these tags come out, it is time to go home. Trust me, the discussion is over. These labels are less about adding insight to the debate, and more about getting people to forward the emotion with someone else. Is Social Secur...

You may have heard that Social Security is facing serious financial problems, and you may have seen over years that Congress has done very little about them. It is an interesting contradiction that stems in part from 3 urban legends about the program. We - the voter - hear them so much that we assume that there must be some truth in them. There isn’t. These convictions shape who we elect, and seriously limit what candidates are willing to say to the electorate. Our firm belief in these myths l...

It has been nearly a year of non-stop effort from Republicans to repeal or reform the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). In response, the Democrats have sought to maintain gridlock on the issue. As exhaustive as this battle has been, few have heard anything about the connection between the ACA and Social Security. Fewer still realize that the repeal of President Obama’s signature legislation might well trigger a crisis in FDR’s signature program. We aren’t even discussing the possibility. A quick l...

If you are 56 or younger, you should be paying attention to a curious piece of legislation - "Social Security Reform Act of 2016” (H.R. 6489) – introduced last month by Rep. Sam Johnson (Tx-03). While the legislation had little chance of enactment, it would have reshaped the entire program for people born in 1961 and later. For these people, they would have a program called Social Security, but one that has only marginal connection to the program enacted 82 years ago. Johnson’s plan depends en...

Social Security deserves better. The program is the largest expense in the federal budget, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the federal budget. Yet, it will be lucky to draw 1 percent of the coverage in this election cycle. Beyond its size, the system serves as a life line for many in our society, providing support that keeps millions above poverty. Any question about its stability should be a visible issue in any campaign. The program serves the elderly and disabled who really don’t have ...

The discussion of Social Security is normally a shouting match. One of the most divisive aspects of the discussion is the system’s trust fund. At this point, the discussion of the Trust Fund is little more than a competition of dueling hyperboles. On one side, the Trust Fund is the more space efficient version of Fort Knox. On the other, it is an accounting gimmick that funnels cash to the general fund to be spent on other programs. As is most frequently the case in the discussion of Social Se...

Any debate about Social Security will at some point devolve to five words: “Raise the cap, problem solved.” There are two things that you need to know about this slogan. * It is false; and * Even if it were true, the policy option is simply a bad idea. According to the Congressional Budget Office and the Social Security Administration, completely eliminating the cap solves about 50-70% of the financing gap, which is about halfway to the meaning of the word 'solved.' The larger problem is t...

It is possible that the retirement age for Social Security may have to be increased, but we should at least take the time to figure out why. Social Security faces a large gap in its finances. The program has promised more than it expects to be able to pay. The Social Security Trust Fund acts as a buffer against this gap. In the big picture - even at $2.8 trillion – this reserve provides less than a quarter of solution for every dollar of problem – that is a statistical best case. Many politic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w7NFTnLQt8 Sen. Bernie Sanders repeats Democratic talking points on Social Security about as frequently as anyone. He is unfortunately wrong more frequently than anyone. Today, FactCheck.Org is questioning a number of his positions (“Sanders Misleads on Social Security”, “FactChecking the Democratic Debate”.) His statements are almost never 100% true. Every statement has a word that is not consistent with the English language. Every number hides a more realist...