Media Myths Threaten Social Security
May 8, 2012
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The biggest danger to Social Security is not a shortage of funds to pay future benefits but rather the steady drumbeat from pundits and politicians who feed the media stories about how the Social Security Trust Fund is bankrupt and needs to be radically overhauled.
That’s the conclusion of a succinct review by CommonDreams.org of the current state of affairs following the release of the 2012 annual financial report from the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund.
Most mainstream news outlets reported the latest Trustee’s report as a “doomsday” scenario for the benefit program, which was created in 1935 and today supports 55 million Americans, including 38 million retired workers, 6 million widows, widowers and orphans, and 11 million disabled workers.
The Trustees report noted that Social Security is 100 percent solvent until 2033, and until that point, Congress has an opportunity to take action to supplement the reserves.
“Projections in the 2012 Trustees Reports come as no surprise to anyone who understands how Social Security and Medicare work,” Max Richtman, president of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement. “Contrary to the crisis myths perpetuated by fiscal conservatives and many in the media, the prevailing facts show once again that Social Security remains among the nation’s most successful and stable programs.”
