US Published National Debt: $28T. The Truth: $146T. Each Taxpayer's Share: $951k

Post by tibbon » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 6:59 PM UTC

DFHippie wrote: post #72

jfengel wrote: post #30

It's a misleading way of calculating the number, since it refers to all of the future debt obligations, including Social Security out many decades -- but also ignoring the fact that we'll be collecting taxes all that time. It's a bit like concluding that you're a million dollars in debt because you are going to need to buy food for the rest of your life. I suppose it's true -- it is something you need to plan for. Bu…

> The meaningful number is 2033, the year Social Security is projected to run out of money. This is the year the trust fund runs out of money, at which point Social Security won't be able to meet its full obligations, only what it can cover with current payroll taxes. Social Security can't run out of money unless the taxes that support it are eliminated. "Social Security won't be available for you Gen X'ers" is misle…

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:00 PM UTC

megablast wrote: post #54

jfengel wrote: post #30

It's a misleading way of calculating the number, since it refers to all of the future debt obligations, including Social Security out many decades -- but also ignoring the fact that we'll be collecting taxes all that time. It's a bit like concluding that you're a million dollars in debt because you are going to need to buy food for the rest of your life. I suppose it's true -- it is something you need to plan for. Bu…

Wouldn’t the date it runs out of money be pushed out further due to increased deaths during the pandemic?

Post by hartator » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:01 PM UTC

jfengel wrote: post #30

It's a misleading way of calculating the number, since it refers to all of the future debt obligations, including Social Security out many decades -- but also ignoring the fact that we'll be collecting taxes all that time. It's a bit like concluding that you're a million dollars in debt because you are going to need to buy food for the rest of your life. I suppose it's true -- it is something you need to plan for. Bu…

Post by TbobbyZ » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:01 PM UTC

crobertsbmw wrote: post #82

I don’t understand how social security isn’t a pyramid scheme. It seems to me like something we should just do away with.

Post by ivalm » Thu, Sep 30, 2021, 7:02 PM UTC

mempko wrote: post #60

kingforaday wrote: post #40

If I were to accept the numbers as real and accurate. Am I correct to assume $951k over my "working" lifetime? Assuming if I start working at 18 and stop at 67, is that 951K "owed" over that time period? ~20K/yr in taxes owed to repay the debt. Is this correct thinking? Asking for a friend. :)

That's the amount that went into the private sector. It's literally how much money went into the private sector, every penny of it. To put it another way, if the government didn't spend, then the private sector would get less income. Or, every American would be fiscally poorer. One's spending is another person's income.