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February 10, 2006

The Social Security NOdometer measures how much saying no to Social Security reform is costing future generations of Americans.

The NOdometer display shows the outstanding debt owed to the Social Security Trust Fund. Congress will have to raise taxes, reduce Social Security benefits, reduce other spending, or borrow more when it comes time to repay the Trust Fund--starting in 2017, according to the Social Security Administration.

Without reform, future taxpayers will be paying down the Trust Fund debt until 2041. But things don't just get better then. When the trust fund is finally paid off in full, Social Security will face annual deficits just under $400 billion (in 2004 dollars), relative to the benefits that it has promised. Under present law, Social Security would have to cut benefits across the board by about 25 percent. The only alternatives are raising taxes, cutting away entire government departments, or borrowing more money.

For Social Security, time is money. The longer lawmakers delay fixing Social Security, the more painful the fix will be. This year alone, the debt owed to Social Security will increase by over $60 billion and the system's 75-year deficit will increase by over $600 billion.

"The NOdometer," The Heritage Foundation

Posted at February 10, 2006 11:07 PM | Categories:

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