# What to do with the baby boomer SS bonus **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 4, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969 "2008-03-04T00:16:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/21 "2008-03-05T05:29:15Z")
Somehow I don’t think that by 22041 Social Security will still be an issue… -XT ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/22 "2008-03-05T05:40:27Z")
BTW, again, did you READ your own cite?? > [@](#): > > Those numbers are correct; the implication isn’t. Social Security represents the only source of income for one-third of elderly households and more than half the income for another third. No one wants to see those benefits suddenly slashed by a quarter – least of all those who care about preserving what Franklin Roosevelt called “some measure of protection . . . against poverty-ridden old age.” They are talking about slashing the benefits so that they can try and stretch the system out here gonzo…by a quarter of TODAYS benefits (which have already been reduced once in the 80’s so we could get to THIS point). Do you get it? How about this part? > [@](#): > > Advocating thumb-twiddling as sensible strategy ignores the reality that acting sooner spreads the burden of change across more generations, allows changes to be phased in gradually and lets future retirees plan ahead. Acting SOONER spreads the burden of change across more generations. You see…the system ISN’T just humming along fine until 2040 when it suddenly will go off the deep end. > [@](#): > > As Jason Furman, a Clinton White House economic policy aide, explains, “The longer we wait on Social Security, the worse the options become. . . . Anyone interested in the highest possible level of benefits should want to get more revenue into the system starting today – not starting twenty years from now.” God gods man…were you trying to HELP your argument with this cite?? Seriously? Or did you actually bother reading this before doing your standard drive by? > [@](#): > > The shortfall is small, and it’s a lot smaller than the Medicare shortfall. But increasing taxes or cutting benefits by an amount equal to 2 percent of payroll shows only what it would take to make Social Security solvent if that change were made immediately. Even then, this is only the amount needed to shore up the program for the 75-year actuarial period, leaving it suddenly strapped for cash at the end of that time. Read through this cite…I think you will learn a lot about this subject if you do. Do you still think we are going to get some kind of BB death dividend at some point btw? -XT ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/23 "2008-03-05T08:13:18Z")
We may get a preview VERY soon. Japan had a Baby Boom…which lasted all of three years. These people are now retiring. This is small potatoes compared to the US, but should be instructional anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/24 "2008-03-05T09:07:46Z")
[QUOTE=xtisme] They are talking about slashing the benefits so that they can try and stretch the system out here gonzo…by a quarter of TODAYS benefits (which have already been reduced once in the 80’s so we could get to THIS point). Do you get it? [/QUOTE] But why do you assume nothing will be done until 2040? Something will be done, something has to be done. And why would cutting benefits be a terrible thing in and of itself? As you quoted from FDR, Social Security is supposed to be “some measure of protection . . . **against poverty-ridden old age**.” [bolding mine] Old folks shouldn’t expect SS to cover everything and to be able to maintain their former lifestyle. My grandmother lives on a combination of SS, my grandfather’s pension and the money from the sale of her house and, while she’s not living high on the hog, she is very very far from poverty. A good portion of the SS “crisis” is people freaking out that they will have to reduce their spending as they get older. The horrors. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/25 "2008-03-05T19:18:47Z")
Whatever surplus you have will get wiped out when all the computers crash on January 19, 2038. I suggest you invest in canned food and shotguns. ---
**Author:** ![BrainFireBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@BrainFireBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainFireBob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/26 "2008-03-06T05:52:18Z")
That conspiracy is a new one on me. Care to share? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/27 "2008-03-06T16:33:37Z")
[Year 2038 Problem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem) > [@](#): > > The year 2038 problem (also known as “Unix Millennium bug”, “Y2K38,” “Y2K+38,” or “Y2.038K” by analogy to the Y2K problem) may cause some computer software to fail before or in the year 2038. The problem affects Unix-like operating systems, which represent system time as the number of seconds (ignoring leap seconds) since 00:00:00 January 1, 1970[1]. This representation also affects software written for most other operating systems because of the broad deployment of C. On most 32-bit systems, the time\_t data type used to store this second count is a signed 32-bit integer. The latest time that can be represented in this format, following the POSIX standard, is 03:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, January 19, 2038. Times beyond this moment will “wrap around” and be represented internally as a negative number, and cause programs to fail, since they will see these times not as being in 2038 but rather in 1901. Erroneous calculations and decisions may therefore result. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/28 "2008-03-06T16:59:19Z")
And unlike Windows systems, they have a decent chance of still being up in 28-30 years. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969/29 "2008-03-06T17:11:58Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] But why do you assume nothing will be done until 2040? Something will be done, something has to be done. And why would cutting benefits be a terrible thing in and of itself? As you quoted from FDR, Social Security is supposed to be “some measure of protection . . . **against poverty-ridden old age**.” [bolding mine] Old folks shouldn’t expect SS to cover everything and to be able to maintain their former lifestyle. My grandmother lives on a combination of SS, my grandfather’s pension and the money from the sale of her house and, while she’s not living high on the hog, she is very very far from poverty. A good portion of the SS “crisis” is people freaking out that they will have to reduce their spending as they get older. The horrors. [/QUOTE] The fix is actually pretty simple. The repubs want to convince people that it is failed and bankrupt. It is not but they want it. To skim 20 or 30 percent off a multi billion dollar program is a wet dream for the bankers and insurance moneymen. Greed works. Many who thought their pensions were secure found otherwise. Corporations are finding ways to shitcan old agreements and slash health and pension packages. Remember World Com and the others. Left their long time employees in the dust. It can and will happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-with-the-baby-boomer-ss-bonus/439969.md?page=1)