AP doesn't like social security

Pension Fund Cashes in Treasury Bonds: AP Screams "Crisis"

...the Social Security trust fund...is cashing in some of the government bonds that it holds to pay benefits. This is the way the trust fund was designed to work, but AP somehow cannot find a reporter (or editor) who understands even the most basic facts about Social Security or for that matter Treasury bonds, which get called "IOUs" in the headline and four times in the article. (When GE has its next bond issue, will AP report on the auction of "GE IOUs?")

The whole purpose of building up the trust fund was to help defray the cost of the retirement of the baby boom cohort. This meant that at some point it would be necessary to sell some of the bonds to pay benefits. This has happened somewhat sooner than had previously been predicted due to the economic crisis created by inept policy and Wall Street corruption. It is not clear why anyone should see this as a crisis for Social Security.

The article also includes this non-sequitur:

"Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn't be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come."

Actually, the timing couldn't possibly be better. The government is running a large budget deficit because the economy is in a steep downturn. It is very good that Social Security is continuing to pay benefits without any tax increase. This boosts demand and stimulates the economy. AP reporters should know this.

The article also includes the bizarre assertion that:

"Social Security's financial problems have been looming for years as the nation's 78 million baby boomers approached retirement age. The oldest are already there. As that huge group of people starts collecting benefits — and stops paying payroll taxes — Social Security's trust funds will shrink, running out of money by 2037, according to the latest projection from the trustees who oversee the program."

The fact that the program could face a shortfall in 27 years hardly fits most people's definition of crisis. Social Security also faced a shortfall in 1982. By the AP definition of crisis, it was in crisis at least from 1955. (Actually, it faced shortfalls in earlier years also, so by the AP definition, Social Security has always been in crisis -- giving the term a whole new meaning.)

What a careful reader can glean from this story is that AP doesn't like Social Security. The reality is that Social Security will likely face a modest shortfall in future decades, primarily due to the fact our children are projected to live longer lives than we do. This has been happening throughout the program's existence. There is no reason to believe that AP's Social Security "crisis" will be any more difficult to deal with than shortfalls that arose in prior decades.

http://prospect.org/csnc/blogs/beat_the_press

and they are busy journalists (busy writing crap!) so there's no time for that!

So let's cut SS and people can go hungry, start living without heat,never go to the doctor or, if they're lucky, work for the rest of their lives.

Because that's going to be the excuse to "save the Trust Fund" by forcing pay-as-we-go for the next 30 years. Now, some may think that's just a convenient excuse to defray paying back said Trust Fund, but they're just not economically prudent like the Blue Dogs. :sarcasm:

Al Simpson and the boys should have the report ready in December just in time to present it to the Corporate Free Speech Congress.

Bend over and spread 'em.

so as to avert the "crisis" (& avert the need to repay the tf)?

(although the latter and means-testing will produce a howl from the middle class).

But mostly phased-in benefits cuts.

during the election. AP, WSJ and Fox are no good.

I've seen conservative-leaning weirdness from the AP recently as well. It's always strange and takes a minute for it to register, as I came up with the AP wire being one of the pillars of mainstream journalism.

So it makes sense that stories coming out of DC skew very much right-wing:

From wiki:

>>Ron Fournier is the acting Washington bureau chief for Associated Press (AP).<1> He formerly served as the AP's chief political writer and subsequently as "online political editor".<<

Thank you. It is worth repeating many times.