Social Security

The Social Security Squeeze, June 30, 1995, San Francisco Examiner

The U.S. Social Security program, formally known as Old Age Supplemental and Disability Income (OASDI), and the Medicare program, formally known as Hospital Insurance (HI), is in crisis, like a car careening off the edge of a cliff. "Crisis? What crisis?" say the Democrats. "Maybe if we drive off the cliff a little slower," suggest the Republicans. Without major changes, Medicare will be bankrupt before the end of the decade, and Social Security will be bankrupt within a few decades.

Many people have suggested raising the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare benefits. The argument is that health and life expectancy have increased since the programs' founding. Some U.S. Senators have proposed raising the eligibility age from the current 65 to 70. In fact, the eligibility age is already scheduled to go up to 67 gradually from the year 2003 to the year 2025. This minor tinkering will delay the collapse of the government-run pyramid scheme, but will not affect the underlying forces pushing the programs to bankruptcy.