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TracyMorganFreeman t1_jc48ilu wrote

Reply to comment by mikevago in [OC] US Social Security Fund History by PM_Ur_Illiac_Furrows

And yet there are hundreds of trillions of unfunded liabilities, and not just for SS.

The system needs reform, not kicking the can 2 generations down the road.

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SsurebreC t1_jc8e40l wrote

Every single time I read "hundreds of trillions of unfunded liabilities", it's always a sum of these liabilities over decades.

Sure, that's a lot of money and the number can also be true. However, that's weighted against quadrillions of government income.

It's always used as a big scary number to make it seem like we need to fuck with future generations because they don't matter since they don't vote.

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TracyMorganFreeman t1_jc8h6zf wrote

>Sure, that's a lot of money and the number can also be true. However,that's weighted against quadrillions of government income.

No it isn't. It's *unfunded* liabilities. It's taking into account current government income trends. It's speaking to insolvent programs for people *who current exist* for which there is no funding to speak of in the future.

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SsurebreC t1_jc8kiry wrote

OK, say your income is one quadrillion dollars. Your liabilities are 900 trillion. You have 200 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Is it a scary number now?

You can't take into account current government income trends. We simply have no idea what the budget will be like in, say, 50 years. In addition, the number usually doesn't mention which programs and what levels they're currently funded or will be funded in the future and what is an actual liability. Case in point: Social Security is a liability - it's literally our money - but welfare is not because it's an optional social program.

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TracyMorganFreeman t1_jc9d6gu wrote

Oh you can't predict it, but somehow you can assume the budget of the US government will be in the quadrillions?

Their predictions are impossible, but your handwaving is sufficient. Got it.

The assumption is current levels, and it is only liabilities, as in entitlements.

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