Editorials & Other Articles

That means it won't be able to cover its obligations (at least unless something's done to fix it).

"Insolvent" doesn't mean "out of money." It just means the law will say to pay a certain amount and the SSA will say something like, "I can pay 75 cents on the dollar."

In that sense there's nothing to "fix"--SS payment will then be 100% pay-go, no dipping into invested assets to fund current pay-outs. Even now, liquidating those assets just moves the debt around on the books and increase current interest expenses paid by the Treasury. They are transferred to publicly debt on the books of the federal government, issued as T-bills and the like at commercial rates, as opposed to the internally held special issue Treasury bills at a fixed rate.