In case you missed it on Social Security

Just out today:

Social Security fund slides into permanent deficit


By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press
Thu Jan 27, 11:18 am ET

WASHINGTON – Social Security's finances are getting worse as the economy struggles to recover and millions of baby boomers stand at the brink of retirement.
New congressional projections show Social Security running deficits every year until its trust funds are eventually drained in about 2037.
This year alone, Social Security is projected to collect $45 billion less in payroll taxes than it pays out in retirement, disability and survivor benefits, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. That figure swells to $130 billion when a new one-year cut in payroll taxes is included, though Congress has promised to repay any lost revenue from the tax cut.
The massive retirement program has been feeling the effects of a struggling economy for several years. The program first went into deficit last year — the first deficit since it was last overhauled in the 1980s. But CBO said last year that Social Security would post surpluses for a few more years before permanently slipping into deficits in 2016.

Something has to be done with this sucker.  Our representatives need to stop being such cowards and address it.

And we need to let them, too.

We've known for decades this needs solutions.  We've also known that the earlier we fix it, the easier, relatively, and smaller the fixes will be required.  Alternately, the longer we wait and do nothing, the bigger and more difficult the solutions will need to be.

Washington?  You listening?

Link to original post:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110127/ap_on_re_us/us_social_security