http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/05/13/114202/long-term-funding-worsens-for.html
"The foul economy has shaved a few more years off the life expectancy of Medicare and Social Security, according to a new government report released Friday.
"Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund — which pays for hospital, home health, skilled nursing and hospice care for the elderly and disabled — will run out of money in 2024. That's five years earlier than last year's trustees report projected.
"Social Security has enough cash to cover benefits for 25 more years, but will become insolvent in 2036 when revenues no longer will cover full benefit payments. Last year's trustee report projected the Social Security Trust Fund would go broke in 2037. Longer life expectancy was the main cause of the year-to-year change"
Without considering anything else, with Fukushima only, I don't think they need to worry about longer life expectancy. Because of the mismanagement of Social Security funds all these years, something was bound to happen to "lessen the debt load" of the Social Security burden, whether an "unusually virulent" Christmas flu or nuclear "leaks." It is a precarious situation aging Americans are in...we are major creditors, but our debtors have the means to destroy us. Pardon my bluntness, but the US Gov't is making an extinction level event look pretty good these days.
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