An Associated Press news story referred to "soaring" and "skyrocketing" cost of Social Security. This are unusual adjectives to include in a news story and they are also not particularly accurate. Measured as a share of GDP, Social Security is projected to increase by approximately 2 percentage points over the next twenty years. This is approximately the same as the increase in military spending in the Bush years.
Furthermore, this increase can be fully met by the designated Social Security tax. This article should have mentioned this fact. The Social Security tax and the bonds held by the trust fund will be sufficient to pay all scheduled benefits through the year 2049 according to the most recent projections from the Congressional Budget Office.
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