Social Security refresher

If you’re 30 or younger, there’s a fair to excellent chance that your Social Security benefits will be dramatically reduced:

Furthermore, current law will force an actual cut in benefits eventually, under official projections. The Social Security trustees estimate that under current law, without a tax increase, all benefits would have to be cut 27% when the Social Security Trust Fund is exhausted in the year 2042, and would continue to be cut each year thereafter. The Congressional Budget Office has a more optimistic projection, predicting that the trust fund wouldn't be exhausted until 2052 -- ten years later -- and that benefits would have to be cut only 22% at first.

The unfunded liability of Social Security is over $12 trillion. Never fear. The Democrats have a plan called “Golden Promise”:

House Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid kicked off the Democrat’s new nationwide “Golden Promise” campaign concerning Social Security. And what is their plan to preserve Social Security for today’s seniors and future retirees?

Have members of Congress sign a petition and pledge to oppose efforts to privatize Social Security. Yep, that’s it. Nothing else. No plan – nothing.

All that fritters is not gold.