{"id":271653,"date":"2021-06-11T03:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T00:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/dont-believe-these-social-security-myths\/"},"modified":"2021-06-11T03:20:00","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T00:20:00","slug":"dont-believe-these-social-security-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/dont-believe-these-social-security-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"#\n  Don\u2019t believe these Social Security myths"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32d43ed1dfb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a32d43ed1dfb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/dont-believe-these-social-security-myths\/#A_point-by-point_refutation_of_common_assertions_about_the_program\" >A point-by-point refutation of common assertions about the program<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/dont-believe-these-social-security-myths\/#Nancy_J_Altman_and_Eric_R_Kingson\" >Nancy J. Altman and Eric R. Kingson<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#<br \/>\n  Don\u2019t believe these <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social<\/a> Security myths<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_point-by-point_refutation_of_common_assertions_about_the_program\"><\/span>\n  A point-by-point refutation of common assertions about the program<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\">\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000295678\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       <em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p> Talking with family and friends, listening to cable <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> or following public debate about the future of Social Security, you\u2019ve likely heard one or more of the following comments asserted as incontrovertible fact:<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      Social Security is going bankrupt, going broke, in crisis; young people will never see a penny in benefits.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      Social Security\u2019s trust funds\u00a0are simply an accounting gimmick, worthless IOUs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      Social Security is unsustainable. There just will not be enough working-age people to support retired boomers.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      Social Security is unfair to younger Americans.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here is a point-by-point refutation of each of these assertions and how these claims undermine confidence in the future of Social Security and distract attention from what is really going on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAIM:<\/strong>\u00a0Social Security is going bankrupt, going broke, in crisis; young people will never see a penny in benefits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TRUTH:<\/strong>\u00a0As long as there are Americans who work, there is simply no way that Social Security can run out of money. Social Security has a dedicated revenue stream that is not going away. Its major source of income \u2014 $948 billion in 2019 (89% of its revenues) \u2014 comes from the contributions of workers and employers.<\/p>\n<p>As long as there are workers, Social Security will continue to collect billions of dollars in income, week in and week out, for the next 75 years and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>Bankruptcy is a meaningless concept when <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lied to the federal government or any of its programs. Even if Congress were to take no action for a decade, Social Security is projected to have sufficient dedicated revenue to pay 100% of promised benefits for more than 10 years. After that, it is projected to have enough income to pay around 75\u00a2 on the dollar for the foreseeable future. Enough revenue should be brought in to cover that manageable shortfall.<\/p>\n<p>Congress has never failed to act to secure Social Security\u2019s funding. It never will.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t miss: Americans have lost more than $1 trillion \u2014 yes, trillion \u2014 to old, forgotten 401(k) plans<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAIM<\/strong>: Social Security\u2019s trust funds are simply an accounting gimmick. The $2.9 trillion in bonds that Social Security holds are just a bunch of paper, worthless IOUs. The federal government has already spent the money, so it will have to raise everyone\u2019s taxes or cut earned benefits to pay promised benefits.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>TRUTH:\u00a0<\/strong>These charges have been around since 1936. They were not true then, and they are not today. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n<p>Since 1935, the money that workers and their employers entrust to Social Security has been invested prudently and conservatively. The trustees are required by law to invest Social Security\u2019s trust funds in interest-bearing treasury obligations or in entities whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States, the safest investment in the world.<\/p>\n<p>These are not casual promises to pay. They are legal instruments backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. The Treasury bonds held by Social Security have the same legal status as bonds bought by you, a bank, a foreign government, or any other person or entity that invests in U.S. treasuries.<\/p>\n<p>The charge that the money has already been spent indicates either a misunderstanding of bonds or a desire to deceive. All those who issue bonds, whether they are corporations or government entities, do so to raise funds to be spent. The fact that the funds are spent, and what they are spent on, does not alter the legal obligation to repay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAIM<\/strong>: Social Security is unsustainable. Just look at the numbers. Once, 16 workers supported each Social Security beneficiary. Today, less than three workers support each person receiving these benefits. With 10,000 boomers turning 65 every day from 2011 to 2029, there just will not be enough working-age people to support them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TRUTH:<\/strong>\u00a0The truth is that the worker-to-beneficiary ratio, which compares the number of workers contributing to Social Security to the number of people drawing Social Security benefits, reveals very little about the affordability of Social Security. In fact, the logic behind this claim falls apart with a little analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The 16-to-one ratio is a meaningless factoid, plucked from 1950, when Social Security was still in its startup phase. Not unexpected, only five years later, the worker-to-beneficiary ratio was just about halved, dropping to 8.6-to-1 in 1955, and then to 3.2-to-1 by 1975. Neither is it surprising that in 2013 as increasing numbers of boomers began receiving their benefits, the ratio was down to about 2.8-to-1, where it has remained until today. (Social Security\u2019s actuaries project further decline to 2.3-to-1 in 2035 when all boomers are at least 65.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also see:<\/strong>\u00a0What will COVID-19 do to Social Security?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s nothing remarkable here. Very high worker to beneficiary ratios have been experienced by all pension plans, at the start, when few workers have yet qualified for benefits. Moreover, Social Security was expanded in 1950 to cover millions of new workers. All of these new workers were paying into Social Security, but none of them had worked long enough to become insured and start collecting benefits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CLAIM:\u00a0<\/strong>Social Security is unfair to younger Americans.<\/p>\n<p><strong>TRUTH:<\/strong>\u00a0This claim has a veneer of reasonableness and even some academic respectability. Old versus young is catchy and gets online clicks. But it is a flawed concept and is based on a very narrow measure of what\u2019s fair, one that implicitly raises a virtually unmeasurable notion of fairness between generations over more measurable and visible matters of fairness, such as between the top 1% and the other 99%\u00a0between Black and white Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Elevating competition and fairness between generations as the primary basis for making public policy also ignores that there is much to be concerned about when it comes to inequalities of income, wealth and political power and health disparities that structure and scar the lives of generations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See<\/strong>: \u2018Will Social Security be there when I retire?\u2019 Confusion about this question is hindering saving for young people<\/p>\n<p>Social Security is not simply a program for today\u2019s old. It is also our largest children\u2019s program and the most important source of life and disability insurance that most families have. And the children of today will be the older adults of tomorrow, relying heavily on their own Social Security.<\/p>\n<p><em>Copyright \u00a92021 by Nancy J. Altman and Eric R. Kingson. This excerpt originally appeared in \u201c<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenewpress.com\/books\/social-security-works-for-everyone\" class=\"icon none\"><em>Social Security Works for Everyone!<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d published by The New Press. Reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Nancy J. Altman\u00a0is co-author of \u201cSocial Security Works for Everyone!\u201d and co-founder of the nonprofit Social Security Works and the Strengthen Social Security Coalition.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Eric R. Kingson\u00a0is co-author of \u201cSocial Security Works for Everyone!\u201d and co-founder of the nonprofit Social Security Works and the Strengthen Social Security Coalition.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0<\/em><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/\" class=\"icon none\"><em>NextAvenue.org<\/em><\/a><em>, \u00a9 2021 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>More from Next Avenue:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"articleList\">\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/truth-social-securitys-solvency\/\" class=\"icon none\">The Truth About Social Security\u2019s Solvency and You<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/for-social-securitys-chief-andrew-saul-customer-service-is-job-1\/\" class=\"icon none\">For Social Security Chief Andrew Saul, Customer Service Is Job 1<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n      <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextavenue.org\/pandemic-could-shrink-social-security-benefits\/\" class=\"icon none\">Why COVID-19 Could Shrink Social Security Benefits<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>      <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author  hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Nancy J. Altman and Eric R. Kingson\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Nancy_J_Altman_and_Eric_R_Kingson\"><\/span>Nancy J. Altman and Eric R. Kingson<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-7482-FE88425F49DB%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Don\u2019t believe these Social Security myths &#8221; A point-by-point refutation of common assertions about the program This article is reprinted by permission from\u00a0NextAvenue.org. Talking with family and friends, listening to cable news or following public debate about the future of Social Security, you\u2019ve likely heard one or more of the following comments asserted as&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":271654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-271653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}