According to the Congressional Budget Office, this year, Social Security will pay out more in benefits than it receives in taxes. This tipping point was not anticipated until 2016, but is apparently another impact of the recession. As unemployment rises, people are being forced to apply for social security sooner than they had planned. Furthermore, fewer jobs means fewer paychecks to tax. Alan Greenspan, who saved the program the last time it was in this sort of situation, said that the most important thing to do is to cut benefits. With unemployment still hovering around 10%, a solution will need to be found quickly or the administration risks a fast depletion of the social security trust fund. In my opinion, finding a solution really isn't that tricky. Raise taxes- mostly on large corporations; it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to raise taxes on individual and small businesses during a recession. But more importantly, expand and increase funding to temporary government jobs programs that help people get back on their feet and provide on-the-job training that they can take back to the private sector.
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