annual trustees’ reports for Social Security and Medicare

[boutons_deux]

has become the occasion for some of

the most consistently uninformed reporting on government programs of the year.
The release of both reports Tuesday was no exception.

Within moments of their appearance, the Associated Press was tweeting (https://twitter.com/AP/status/1004064258424856576), and later reported (http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-pol-medicare-finances-20180605-story.html), that Medicare was projected to become “insolvent” in 2026, three years earlier than was projected last year.

Actually, no:

The Medicare report (https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/ReportsTrustFunds/Downloads/TR2018.pdf) projected that its hospital insurance trust fund, which applies to Medicare Part A, will be depleted in 2026. But since even then the program would be able to keep paying out more than 90% of scheduled benefits, it’s not anything like “insolvent.”

As economist Dean Baker observes (http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/social-security-insolvency-ap-meant-to-say-shortfall),

at most it would be correct to say Medicare will face a “shortfall” in 2026,

not insolvency.

( "The 2018 Trustees Report shows that the current program is fully affordable. Indeed, the United States can fully afford an expanded Social Security." )

The more glaring oversight in Tuesday’s reporting on both programs is that

the trustees made crystal clear that

policies of congressional Republicans and the Trump White House have damaged the financial prospects of both programs.

the truth is that the Republicans are doing their best to cut the legs out from under both.

It’s proper to note, incidentally, that the

trustees of both programs are mostly Republican officeholders:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin,
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.
Acting Social Security Commissioner Nancy Berryhill sits on both boards.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-social-security-20180605-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter

[boutons_deux]

Dozens of local Fox affiliates run misleading segments pushing Social Security benefit cuts

Fox is scaring viewers and making us think benefit cuts are inevitable. It’s a trick

Their claims that in the next few years, benefit cuts of over 20 percent might be necessary are flat-out false.

Social Security has built up a nearly $3 trillion surplus

so that full benefits could be paid out when there’s a large increase in new retirees, as America is currently experiencing with its retiring baby boomer generation.

As the 2017 trustees' report (which all these Fox reports are citing) explains (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TR/2017/tr2017.pdf#page=31):

“Social Security’s combined trust funds increase with the help of interest income through 2021 and would cover full payment of scheduled benefits on a timely basis until the trust fund reserves become depleted in 2034.”

So, contrary to Fox’s fearmongering, there will be enough money to pay out full benefits for nearly two decades.

Beginning in 2034, as the trustees' report notes (not 2022 as the FOX segments claim) Social Security faces a problem of not having enough revenue to pay out full benefits — but it can be addressed without cutting benefits by simply raising additional revenue.

https://www.salon.com/2018/06/06/dozens-of-local-fox-affiliates-run-misleading-segments-pushing-social-security-benefit-cuts_partner/

[CosmicCowboy]

The sad thing is they wont address it until it really runs out of money. You guys are gonna love that shit when they "raise revenue" from you to pay for it.

[rmt]

And some of you want single payer, free college tuition and universal basic income? We can't even afford a system that people have put into their entire working years.

[Winehole23]

the only reason we can't afford SS is the arbitrary contribution cap and because politicians spent too much of it.

repealing the cap would go a long way toward fixing it, tbh.

[Spurminator]

And some of you want single payer, free college tuition and universal basic income? We can't even afford a system that people have put into their entire working years.

I bet if we reduced our military budget to somewhere around, say, DOUBLE the combined spend of all other developed countries we could put a pretty good dent in it.

[Winehole23]

god forbid the military budget should ever shrink. then we afford nice things.