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Message: <blockquote data-quote="HardRightEdge" data-source="post: 880332">Be sure that those trust funds are not temporary things.  They have been funded since forever by payroll taxes as ensconsed in law with benefits paid from these funds.  For some time now they have been sinking funds with taxes not keeping up with benefit payments.  The problem has been exacerbated in recent years with low interest rates; these funds are invested in special classes of US Treasuries which pay dirt.Now, if those trust funds run down to zero, which will happen in the not too distant future if nothing is done (something like 2026 for Medicare, 2035 for SS), one of three things will happen:  Payroll taxes will be increased, benefits will be cut or the trust funds will be supplemented from the from the Federal budget.  Maybe some of all three.  Something will be done before those dates but I'll lay odds there will not be supplements from the Federal general accounts.Some might recall that the great tax cutter Ronald Reagan signed off on the biggest payroll tax increase in history to get the trust fund projections ship shape for the following few decades, one of about a half dozen tax increases of note during his tenure.  It's going to be a lot harder this time with the federal deficit growing by a trillion every year thanks in part to the Trump tax cuts, multi-trillions this year thanks to Covid-19, and who knows how bad next year will be.  Federal and state fiscal projections in general are nothing short of abysmal.End of life care for Medicare recipients (the last 6 months) runs on average about $500,000.  So if you can knock off some of the recipients (like me) relatively quickly there's money to be saved in addition to the end of their SS payments (or lower payments if there is a survivor's benefit).  That's "cull the herd" thinking which of course no one (almost) would dare utter even if they like the idea.  <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/whistling.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":whistling:" title="Whistling    :whistling:" data-shortname=":whistling:" /></blockquote>

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