Social Security Cost and Revenue as a Percentage of GDP Through 2052
Preview:
In reality, Social Security's long-term problems are mild. The US is getting older, so the redistribution will increase, but it’s hard to imagine a program in better fiscal health. The Center on Budget Priorities crunches the numbers based on the 2012 Trustees Report:
The 75-year Social Security shortfall is slightly larger than the cost, over that period, of extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for the richest Americans (those with incomes above $250,000 a year). And the cost of extending all of the expiring tax cuts dwarfs the Social Security shortfall, over 75 years, by two-to-one.
This isn't new. Throughout its history, Social Security has been tweaked and adjusted to prevent it from increasing the budget deficit. Try naming another spending program with a projected 75 years of near-solvency.