It still has a surplus until the 2030sSocial security has been paying out more in benefits than it collects in tax revenue since 2008. But it's the lesser of our problems.
It still has a surplus until the 2030sSocial security has been paying out more in benefits than it collects in tax revenue since 2008. But it's the lesser of our problems.
Computers created a helluva lot more jobs than they replaced.Personal computers put a lot of beancounters and number crunchers and secretaries out of work. There's no question that AI will be equally disruptive, but I don't think it will be the end of the world. The interesting part will be what happens when it starts to replace professionals rather than line workers and low level cubicle dwellers.
It still has a surplus until the 2030s
Jobs are eliminated, jobs are created. My point is that there hasn’t been long-term net reductions of employment due to technology. Disruptions, yes. Shifts, yes. Lasting reductions, no.Personal computers put a lot of beancounters and number crunchers and secretaries out of work. There's no question that AI will be equally disruptive, but I don't think it will be the end of the world. The interesting part will be what happens when it starts to replace professionals rather than line workers and low level cubicle dwellers.
Yeah, they have T bonds because those are government IOUs because the government spent the surplus.No it has Treasury bonds in a trust fund. Which is basically just an accounting move.
The ups and downs of the trust funds simply reflect a change in how we finance Social Security spending. When payroll taxes are greater than Social Security spending, which was the case until 2007, payroll taxes are financing other spending. When payroll taxes are less than Social Security spending, income taxes or increases in debt are financing Social Security spending, which has been the case since 2008. (See the graph below.) The trust funds just add up this change over time. Exhausting the trust funds is, in this view, really irrelevant.
![]()
Should We Worry That the Social Security Trust Funds Are Going Bust?
The depletion of the funds points to bigger fiscal issues.www.chicagobooth.edu
One can complain that we didn't 'lockbox' the trust fund like Al Gore famously argued for... But it's irrelevant to today. That money is long gone.
No it has Treasury bonds in a trust fund. Which is basically just an accounting move.
The ups and downs of the trust funds simply reflect a change in how we finance Social Security spending. When payroll taxes are greater than Social Security spending, which was the case until 2007, payroll taxes are financing other spending. When payroll taxes are less than Social Security spending, income taxes or increases in debt are financing Social Security spending, which has been the case since 2008. (See the graph below.) The trust funds just add up this change over time. Exhausting the trust funds is, in this view, really irrelevant.
![]()
Should We Worry That the Social Security Trust Funds Are Going Bust?
The depletion of the funds points to bigger fiscal issues.www.chicagobooth.edu
One can complain that we didn't 'lockbox' the trust fund like Al Gore famously argued for... But it's irrelevant to today. That money is long gone.
People who make the lockbox complaint are always surprised to learn that SSTF was going to run dry with or without Congress spending those funds. Some cynical pols blamed SocSec’s problems on this and that was never the case.
Yeah, they have T bonds because those are government IOUs because the government spent the surplus.
Why would you argue something so basic?
Oh and I would add that, like all other capital generated expansions of productivity, the bulk of the gains from this will make their way to the people who invested the capital to make them possible.Jobs are eliminated, jobs are created. My point is not that there hasn’t been long-term net reductions of employment due to technology. Disruptions, yes. Shifts, yes. Lasting reductions, no.
Neither buyers nor sellers of labor like to have it idled. It’s a valuable and necessary resource, And AI won’t do everything. What this will do is jack up its productivity. Quicker turnaround. Less frictional stuff.
SS was never part of the budget until Nixon incorporated it. Without that, our budget deficits and national debt would be much higher.People who make the lockbox complaint are always surprised to learn that SSTF was going to run dry with or without Congress spending those funds. Some cynical pols blamed SocSec’s problems on this and that was never the case.
It still has a surplus, it's just shrinking.You're the one claiming SS has a surplus into the 2030s. Not me. It hasn't had a surplus since 2007.
It still has a surplus, it's just shrinking.
Yes, I am, because it does.You're the one claiming SS has a surplus into the 2030s. Not me. It hasn't had a surplus since 2007.
A surplus is when there is more money than obligations. Which is still the case with SS.I don't think you understand the definition of a surplus.
Jobs are eliminated, jobs are created. My point is not that there hasn’t been long-term net reductions of employment due to technology. Disruptions, yes. Shifts, yes. Lasting reductions, no.
What?We might quibble on the edges, but I'm just talking about your recognition of human nature.
It always puzzles me when conservatives and libertarians criticize liberals for their utopian views of human nature, only to then turn around and fail to recognize how human nature might put a monkey wrench into their stated best form of society.
Doctors and lawyers are already using AI to a great extent and there's still a shortage of doctors.Of course. I'm just of the opinion that when it's the doctors and lawyers whose jobs are made redundant the fallout will be more shrill than when it was the clerks and line workers.
A surplus is when there is more money than obligations. Which is still the case with SS.
You're talking about a budget, not money in the bank.No it's not. If you make $100 and spend $120 each month, you are not running a surplus. Regardless of you having $1k in the bank.
Some will use it to their advantage. Hourly might become more piece meal. There will be a culling of numbers in the next Gen to things we aren’t even aware of yet. But there will still be lawyers. Just fewer. AI can’t replicate the scorn and bitterness of a middle aged female divorce lawyer who graduated from a night program after 9 years of pt undergrad. There’s not a Yale law review moot court winner that has ever been able to handle that challenge. Nor will AIOf course. I'm just of the opinion that when it's the doctors and lawyers whose jobs are made redundant the fallout will be more shrill than when it was the clerks and line workers.
Are you saying contributions are greater than payments into the 30's?It still has a surplus until the 2030s
No, that's not what I'm saying. I said the surplus is being lowered until the 30s, but there still is a surplus.Are you saying contributions are greater than payments into the 30's?
Because the SS 'Trust Fund' was looted years ago.
You're talking about a budget, not money in the bank.
If you and your wife save $10,000 over a period of time and then, due to having a child, gradually spend $1000 over your salaries until you have $1,000 left, you still have a surplus of $1,000
I don't care what mumbo jumbo language some government report says.You're using incorrect terms. Go read any report ever written about the SS trust fund and you will find the definition of surplus and deficit are exactly as I've described. Have a good evening.
Do you know if the Fed holds those bonds?No, that's not what I'm saying. I said the surplus is being lowered until the 30s, but there still is a surplus.
The 'trust fund' is now government IOUs - bonds.
Lawyers will be displaced, you say? Which kind? 😁Of course. I'm just of the opinion that when it's the doctors and lawyers whose jobs are made redundant the fallout will be more shrill than when it was the clerks and line workers.
No I don't. I doubt they are actually bonds - they're probably created out of nothing, like all government bonds are, when needed.Do you know if the Fed holds those bonds?
It doesn't have to. It just needs to satisfy enough people in enough of a way as to make civil society possible and stave off civil unrest and revolution.
I'd say "these people" are all people. Some do it more. Some less. Some do it w/r/t dick size. Some with beauty. Some money. Some IQ. And on and on. But everyone compares themselves to others. Almost impossible not to as a social creature. It might have developed through an evolutionary process.I agree with you in theory. But, in practice, there seems to never be enough to satisfy a lot of people.
My guess on this is that a lot of people don’t measure their well-being by what they have relative to things like how productive they are, how they’re doing relative to their parents, or relative to what they need…but rather by how much they have relative to others they see.
And these people seem to think it’s necessarily unfair when they believe others are faring better than they are.