The Social Security program is currently paying out more in benefits than it collects in payroll tax and other revenue, and it is drawing down its reserves to cover the remaining cost of benefits.
The program’s Trustees project that the OASI trust fund – which funds retirement benefits – will deplete its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2033. That is when today’s 58-year-olds reach the normal retirement age and today’s youngest retirees turn 71.
Once the reserves are depleted, the law limits benefits to incoming revenue, which essentially mandates a 21 percent across-the-board benefit cut for the program’s 70 million beneficiaries.
While Vice President Harris has promised to “protect Social Security” and former President Trump has pledged to “fight for and protect Social Security,” neither candidate has offered a comprehensive plan to address the impending solvency challenge. In fact, some of President Trump’s proposals – especially to end taxation of Social Security benefits – would significantly worsen these challenges.
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Yes, what are politicians thinking?
Let’s be honest, either taxes must increase or future benefit costs decline or some combination of both.
The solution is quit easy with modest changes, but getting more difficult each passing month of inaction by Congress.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
it will take a crisis and with all the buying votes schemes we hear about the budget will be out of whack for generations unless we have a 2008-style implosion before then.
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My question is why doesn’t the so-called media hold the politicians feet to the fire on this ?
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Why is it on the President to deal with the shortfall? Congress is constitutionily responsible for appropriations. There are Congressmen who have been in office for several decades.It’s the powers that be in Congress to deal with the projected shortfall.
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This Congress is divided and passing the fewest bills of any Congressional session in the past 25 years. This is per Quorum,a political software company.
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isn’t it great that Congress has passed so few bills–Justice Gorsuch has written a book about too much law. Less than 100-years ago federal law was found in a single volume, in 2018 it was about 54 volumes and 60,000 pages –we are adding 70,000 pages annually to the Federal Register. Supposedly there are more than 5,000 federal statutory crimes, and at least 300,000 federal agency regulations and not a one written by Congress and they all carry criminal sanctions.
Gorsuch gives an example of a magician in MO who ran afoul of a USDA regulation for animals (a bunny) to be licensed (federal) for carnivals, circuses, zoos. The travel cage for the bunny, said a USDA bureaucrat, needed a sticker pointing UP so he knew how to carry it. No, he was told, the handle was not acceptable–so the bureaucrat sent 200 stickers pointing UP.
They need a 2-year vacation at least. Hell, we have a corpse for a president and nobody has noticed yet!
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Neither Trump nor Harris will do anything to Social Security since the deadline is beyond their time limited term of office. Nobody wants to wade in that swamp where everyone has an opinion and you will be criticized for whatever you propose for the program. A few platitudes during the campaign is all you get.
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