Social Security and Medicare More Broke Than Last Year

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aqLTt.TroGcM&refer=us

You have no doubt read by now that Social Security and Medicare are going to go broke before we all run out of acutarial Life Expectancy.

First, the "Social Security Trust Fund" is an accounting trick. There is not some gigantic Al Gore "Lock Box" stuffed full of cash for future retiree payouts. There is a bank account stuffed full of IOUs. All of the money you and I have paid each month our working lives into the "Trust Fund" (Trust...*#$@^$!) has been taken to fund other programs.

Together, Social Security and Medicare will cost this country over $51 Trillion.
We will not be able to afford to pay it. We never could. They were promises meant to placate the worker so that he wouldn't demand higher current wages and lower taxes (so he could save some of his money). The Unions did the same thing - how has that been working for GM, Ford, Chrysler, Delphi, United Airlines, USAir...

Medicare will be broke by 2017 and will then be a $13.4 trillion Black Hole.
Social Security spending will exceed Social Security revenue in 2016 and be a large drain of wealth.
Corporate Pensions are at least 30% underfunded.

They will ALL be cutting their future payouts. They have to - or they will be broke. Do you really think that your kid will be okay with paying the first 22% of his or her income to you so that you can retire at 65 and get a free hip replacemnet at 70? They will revolt and vote to decrease your benefits - and they will have the votes.

If you have not figured out by now that you are on your own for financing your retirement. Your goal should be to work as long ass you need to, in order to self-finance your retirement.

Don't kill the messenger...