Social Security ISN'T broke!!!

http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1103454716326290.xml

Social Security isn't broke
Projections about the future of the system are misleading
Sunday, December 19, 2004
BY JAMES N. MORGAN

Most economists are irritated at the palpable nonsense being circulated about Social Security.

Start with a basic fact - it is not broken and does not need fixing.

Sticking with outdated pay-as-you-go rationalizations used during the Depression to justify bringing in beneficiaries who had contributed little, people talk about surpluses and deficits as though the contributions of the working generations at any year should equal the benefits to the retired.

The mathematics are simple: If the total wage bill (working population times real wages) increases at 2 percent per year, then an unfunded Social Security system could pay benefits like our present system. And if it increases more because of inflation, the benefits could increase accordingly

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