Social Security, initially a safety net funded by payroll taxes to guarantee income for older Americans, the program has expanded to cover disabled workers, children of deceased or disabled workers, and surviving spouses. 184 million workers currently support nearly 70 million recipients at a cost of $1.5 trillion, consuming 22% of the federal budget. However, billion-dollar deficits, coupled with an aging population, declining birth rates, and longer life expectancies, threaten the program’s sustainability and risk future insolvency.
To learn more about Social Security and the Hoover Institution’s Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy, be sure to visit: hoover.org/tennenbaum
