The Party’s Over, Retiring Baby Boomers May Bankrupt Social Security
Posted October 13, 2007
At the end of World War II, 42 workers were supporting each retiree. Today that ratio is three workers per retiree, and when the baby boomers have all retired it will shrink to two to one. Because of rising medical costs, Medicare is on even shakier ground. The hospital insurance portion of that program is already dipping into its shrinking reserves, and Social Security will start doing the same in a decade.
Support for the status quo on Social Security and Medicare has traditionally benefitted Democrats, but that could be changing for those who refuse to address the problem. Sen. Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for her party’s presidential nomination, is particularly evasive on the subject.
There are essentially only three ways to maintain the financial stability of the current Social Security program: raise the retirement age, cut benefits and/or raise payroll taxes. Clinton has inexplicably ruled out all three. That position runs counter to, among others, her husband when he was president.
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