Many years back, when people first started to worry about the long-term future of Social Security, I recall hearing Sen. John Heinz offer a simple explanation of why Social Security was headed for trouble: “People are living longer, and The Pill works.” (Back in those days you didn’t get in trouble with “progressives” for noting a falling birthrate.)
Another way of understanding the problem is looking at the ratio of wage-earning workers-to-SS recipients. I think when Social Security first started in the late 1930s, the ratio of workers-to-recipients was something like 40-to-1.
Chaser—By coincidence, our pals at Kite & Key Media are out just this morning with one of their terrific short videos on this issue:
