Measuring social security's financial problems
By: Jagadeesh Gokhale, Kent Smetters.
Contributors: Smetters, Kent A.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 11060; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 11060.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Social security -- United States.; Social security -- United states -- Finance.
Description: "The U.S. Social Security system has helped keep many retirees out of poverty.  However, according to the Social Security and Medicare Trustees, Social Security faces a future financial shortfall of $10.4 trillion in present value.  This enormous imbalance has received little attention in public debates about Social Security.  Instead, the media and policymakers continue to focus on the program's trust fund and several other ad-hoc measures that create a misleading impression of the size of Social Security's financial problem.  Although the Social Security Trust Fund is not projected to be exhausted until 2042, Social Security's $10.4 trillion present value imbalance is accruing interest and will grow by $600 billion during 2004 alone.  The current cash-flow federal budget, however, is biased against reforms that would improve Social Security's finances.  As shown herein, a new federal accounting system would remove this bias"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 1/26/2005.
Also available in print.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.