Social Security IOUs

You knew the day was coming. Everybody knew the day was coming. But nobody has done anything about it. Social Security is taking in less money that it pays out. In some circles, that's called bankruptcy. (And since the government has done such a great job with Social Security, why don't we let the feds run health care, too?)

From The Associated Press:

This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.

Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg. Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg's municipal offices.

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.

Read the full story at the link below

IOUs come due for Social Security (pottsmerc.com)

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Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS