What does population have to do with the Social Security dilemma?
As a pay-as-you-go system, the solvency of Social Security is directly tied to the ratio of workers to those receiving benefits. The rapid population growth of the post-World War II “baby boom” created a huge generation – some 77 million strong – which now, as active workers, pays far more in taxes than the benefits paid out to retirees from previous generations. However, after 2010 this huge population bulge of boomers will begin to retire and the taxes from the workers available to support them will be increasingly unable to fully pay their Social Security benefits.
