Every single thing the right wing has been floating out about Social Security is demonstrably false.
The right wing in the United States has been executing a surprisingly successful public relations campaign to convince individuals that the Social Security system is somehow in dire straits. Paul Ryan — who for some reason continues to be taken seriously — hasnarrowly focused on Social Security along with Medicare and Medicaid as the chief culprits dragging down federal fiscal policy. Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry has made his mark just a few days into his official campaign calling Social Security and the other major entitlements Ponzi schemes, implying that they are inherently unsustainable and destined to collapse.
Every single thing the right wing has been floating out about Social Security is demonstrably false. The tired efforts that have been made to lump Social Security into the deficit mix are the most dishonest of the false claims. As Senator Bernie Sanders points out, Social Security has never contributed a single penny to any deficit in the 76 years it has been around. Social Security is sustained by a dedicated payroll tax that fully funds the program separate from annual discretionary budgets.
Additionally, Social Security is not an inherently flawed pyramid scheme either. Although I cannot believe it is necessary to point this out, the difference between Social Security and actual pyramid schemes is that Social Security never runs out of new enrollees to sustain the system: people continue to have children. While adjustments to outlays or revenue might be needed depending on population dynamics, the system itself is as inherently sound as the propagation of new generations is.
The actual issues with the solvency of Social Security are extremely minor. The massive Social Security trust fund will allow the program to pay out benefits at the current level until 2038. At that point — absent modifications to the program — revenues will only be able to pay out 81 percent of promised benefits. That is to say, if the federal government did absolutely nothing over the next 27 years to shore up Social Security, a one time cut of 19 percent in 2038 would make the program solvent into the infinite horizon.
