AP falsely claimed Social Security program "is forecast to run out of money around 2041"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200711200005?f=h_top

In a November 19 Associated Press article, reporter Beth Fouhy wrote that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) "have traded barbs over" the Social Security program, which she identified as "the retirement program for seniors ... forecast to run out of money around 2041." Fouhy's assertion, however, is false -- as Media Matters for America has noted several times; while the most recent Social Security trustees' report forecasts that the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2041, according to the same report, the program will not "run out of money" when the trust fund is depleted.

The trustees' report explains: "Even if a trust fund's assets are exhausted ... tax income will continue to flow into the fund." The report adds that, for Social Security, under current law, "{p}resent tax rates would be sufficient to pay 75 percent of scheduled benefits after trust fund exhaustion in 2041 and 70 percent of scheduled benefits in 2081."

.. but it will run out of money, i.e. the government will be unable to collect enough new taxes to fund it as we know it, long before 2041.

And the "trust fund" is nothing but IOUs. The right to issue bonds is only as useful as there are buyers.

Wonder who I should believe?

Don

... do some research and understand what is going on rather than believe a news agency, ESPECIALLY AP.

It astounds me that you will read the political lies and know they are lies and then believe them on shit like this. Real bright.

Do you know how it all works? Do you KNOW what is in the "trust fund"?

Not one goddamed cent bucko.

the SOCIAL SECURITY system - in 2018 when we project the Trust will want to cash some bonds in and the Treasury has to come up with cash to redeem those bonds.

Or do we just screw the old folks? Guess we can't ask the rich to pay higher taxes to repay the loan they took - in effect - from Social Security when Social Security was forced to finance the tax cut for the rich by covering the deficit it produced. Those higher taxes sure would be nice as the Treasury would then have the cash to redeem those bonds - but we can't not annoy the rich and corporate, now can we?