Is the Government Hiding the True Cost of Social Security?
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Episode Description
Can Social Security reform look successful on paper while failing to solve the actual problem?
Kent Smetters, Faculty Director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, explains how government accounting practices can make reforms to Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs appear effective when they may do little to address the underlying financial challenges. He warns that these accounting loopholes create major opportunities to make ineffective policies look like real solutions.
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Brief Summary
Government accounting can make Social Security look fixed while leaving its underlying financial problems untouched.
Key points
- Solving Social Security on Paper. Different accounting rules can make Social Security look solved by every metric while leaving the underlying problem untouched.
