On paper, Social Security is self-funded but under the “unified budget” law passed by the Democrat-controlled Congress in the 1980s, the $2.8 trillion surplus referred to the Aug. 10 Kennebec Journal has been used to buy government bonds, in other words, to fund ongoing federal budget deficits. Thus, future Social Security payments in excess of collections will be funded by increasing the already excessive federal deficit.
Retirees are certainly entitled to the benefits for which they have paid. If the government had properly funded the Social Security obligation in the manner required of private pension funds, future Social Security payments would not affect the federal deficit. Under the unified budget, they do.
Thomas Gillette
Jefferson
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.