Social Security Is NOT a Main Driver of the Country's Long-term Budget Problem! [View all]

[Sam1]

The NYT ran a short AP piece on Social Security and "why it matters." The piece wrongly told readers that Social Security is "a main driver of the government's long-term budget problems." This is not true. Under the law, Social Security can only spend money that is in its trust fund. If the trust fund is depleted then full benefits cannot be paid. The law would have to be changed to allow Social Security to spend money other than the funds designated for the program and in that way contribute to the deficit.

http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/contrary-to-what-ap-tells-you-social-security-is-not-a-main-driver-of-the-country-s-long-term-budget-problem