My online students have a short paper for which they are to complete
an online questionnaire to evaluate their investment risk level, and then examine
various investment options, identify goals, and how they plan to allocate cash now for investing. I posted the following this morning.
Social
Security update
NOTE: Opinions expressed here are my own, and
do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of this organization or other faculty
or staff.
-------------------------
Page 392 of the textbook says that the Social
Security trust fund will be depleted by 2044.
Last year the Social Security and Medicare
Boards of Trustees projected that the theoretical combined OASDI trust funds
will be depleted in 2033 (see table
below). OASI is Old Age and
Survivors Insurance and DI is Social Security Disability Insurance. Other components are Medicare Hospital
Insurance (HI) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI). [1]
The textbook further notes: “ . . . the government is somehow going to
have to come up with the funds to make good on its pile of IOUs to the Social
Security trust fund.”
Allen W. Smith, Ph.D. (Ball State and IU
grad) stated that “The government has
embezzled all surplus Social Security revenue, generated by the 1983 payroll
tax hike, and spent the money on wars and other government programs. None of
the money was saved or invested in anything.” [2].
At the end of calendar year 2014 our national
debt was more than $18 trillion ($18,141,444,135,563) and has grown more than
$10 billion by the end of March 2015.
Last fiscal year (October 2013 - September
2014) the interest expense alone
on our national debt was $430.8 billion ($430,812,121,372), enough to put $113.56
of food, every month, on the table in
front of every man, woman, and child in
America.
With $18 trillion in debt and no budget at
all – let alone a balanced one - it is unrealistic to believe that our federal politicians
will work hard to hold themselves to unsustainable promises made decades ago by
their predecessors. After all, to remain
in office they’ve made too many of their own.
Rely on nothing
from government.
[1] Source: Social Security and Medicare
Boards of Trustees, Summary of The 2014 Social Security and Medicare Annual Reports
<http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum> accessed 12/09/2014
[2] Source:
<http://www.fedsmith.com/2013/05/23/government-owes-2-7-trillion-to-social-security>
accessed 12/10/2014
