[lbo-talk] "First Baby Boomer applies for Social Security" attracting media hysteria, innacuracies

[B.]

[Ah, the issue that won't seem to die. The below
article says Soc Sec, if left unchanged, would "go
broke" by -- 2041. I thought that was when payments
would go down to 75% of promised benefits. But
apparently it's a crisis ... yet again .... I hate
fighting these defensive battles. Time for offensive
action, dammit.  -B.]




First boomer applies for Social Security

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 15, 7:23 PM ET

The baby boomers' stampede for Social Security
benefits has begun.

The nation's "first" baby boomer, a retired teacher
from New Jersey, applied for Social Security benefits
Monday, signaling the start of an expected avalanche
of applications from the post World War II generation.

Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue called it
"America's silver tsunami."

Kathleen Casey-Kirschling applied for benefits over
the Internet at an event hosted by Astrue.
Casey-Kirschling was born one second after midnight on
Jan. 1, 1946, gaining her recognition as the first
baby boomer — a generation of nearly 80 million born
from 1946 to 1964, Astrue said.

"She's leading the way for her generation," Astrue
told reporters.

Casey-Kirschling will be eligible for benefits after
she turns 62 next year. She said she taught seventh
graders for 14 years at a school near Camden, N.J.,
before retiring and volunteering for the Red Cross in
Gulf Coast areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.

She and her husband have since moved to the eastern
shore of Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay.

"I think I'm just lucky to be at the top of the boom,"
she said.

An estimated 10,000 people a day will become eligible
for Social Security benefits over the next two
decades, Astrue said. The Social Security trust fund,
if left alone, is projected to go broke in 2041.

But Astrue said he is optimistic that Congress will
address the issue, perhaps after the 2008 presidential
election. President Bush had proposed changes in
Social Security to create private accounts, but the
proposal went nowhere in Congress.

Last week, Bush's budget director called the growth in
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid a "fiscal train
wreck." The three entitlement programs make up nearly
half of all federal spending, a share that is expected
to grow.

A report issued last month by the Treasury Department
said that some combination of benefit cuts and tax
increases will need to be considered to permanently
fix the Social Security shortfall. But White House
officials stressed that Bush remains opposed to
raising taxes.

Astrue acknowledged the political difficulties of
addressing the issue, but said there is still time.

"There's no totally politically easy choice," Astrue
said. "I'm not pushing any one answer."

Casey-Kirschling said her generation won't let Social
Security fail.

"I think the baby boomers will want to get this
fixed," she said. "They're going to want to take care
of their children and their grandchildren."

__

On The Net: http://www.socialsecurity.gov


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071015/ap_on_go_ot/boomer_social_security