All tagged social security

John Hood: Stop kicking Social Security can

Let’s zero in on Social Security. Its “trust fund,” which consists entirely of debt the federal government has issued to itself, will be exhausted in a decade or so. As a practical matter, this isn’t as big a deal as it sounds. Social Security is already running a cash deficit — more payments going out than payroll taxes coming in. To cover the difference, the federal government draws from its trust fund of federal bonds.