Early Retirement Blog

Memo to the Government on how to fix Social Security

The current recession is causing the Social Security and Medicare trust funds to run out of money sooner than anticipated, reports the trustees of both government funds, headed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The Social Security trust fund will go negative one year earlier, paying out more than it takes in by 2016, while Medicare will completely run out of money in 2017, only eight years from now.

The most often cited solutions to the twin crises, is a raising of the retirement age, and increased taxes.  Both solutions, unfortunately, will have a negative impact on workers and the economy.

Instead, Timothy Geithner and the rest of the administration should think outside the box, and consider this creative plan for how to fix Social Security and Medicare.

How to Fix Social Security

1.  Fix Social Security and Medicare by fixing the economy.
Increase Social Security  and Medicare receipts through wage inflation by lowering the retirement age.   Yes, you read that right, decrease the retirement age.   Decreasing the retirement age will decrease unemployment, ending the recession much sooner, leading to higher wages and payroll tax receipts for Social Security and Medicare.

2. Legalize Illegal Immigrants.
Legalizing and taxing the un-documented workers that already exist in our country will increase Social Security and Medicare receipts.  People can argue ’til the cows come home about illegal immigration, in the meantime, Social Security and Medicare are losing billions of dollars every year.   One of the benefits of legalizing un-documented workers for everyone, not just illegal aliens, is that everyone’s wages will go up and therefore bring in even more funds for Social Security and Medicare.

How To Fix Medicare

1. Nationalize Health Care.
Do it now, shut-up and just do it, corporations are profiting by denying Americans health care and raising prices for everyone they do insure.   All Americans are created equal and deserve equal health care.   Obama’s plan to provide “affordable” health care for all Americans, is simply an attempt to slice the health care baby, between the health insurance companies and the American people.

Screw the CEO’s and their bonuses, if the Canadians, English, and Australians can provide their citizens with quality affordable health care, so can we – just do it.

One more thing about Social Security and Medicare, all Americans should be using the Green Retirement method and formula, to calculate their retirement savings needs.   Green Retirement enables American workers to retire years earlier, and with much less savings, than is possible with the current retirement formula used by the financial planning industry.   Try the Free Retirement Calculator, help yourself, the economy, and Social Security.