Long and Short of It

A slowing economy. The high cost of food and other essentials. A dearth of job opportunities. The debt ceiling debate. Chaotic markets. Nowadays, there's plenty of bad news to go around about near-term concerns. But it's worth remembering, of course, that we also face significant long-term challenges. In "Social Security TF – 'The Economy Stinks,'"  Bruce Krasting highlights one of them:

Social Security is continuing to run red ink on the critical ratio of payroll tax revenue to benefits paid. This looks at the first five months over the past few years. Benefits march higher while revenues are flat

A closer look at the difference between the primary income and expense. The red ink for the five months in 11’ is the first since 1983. Not long ago SS was a cash cow that funded a portion of the federal deficit. Not any longer.

Michael J. Panzner
Editor, Financialarmageddon.com