The US Treasury puts out a financial report that paints a bit less of a rosy picture. So long as the dollar is the world reserve currency there is not going to

The US Treasury puts out a financial report that paints a bit less of a rosy picture. So long as the dollar is the world reserve currency there is not going to be much appetite to make significant changes. Any shortfall in benefits after 2035 could likely just be financed with debt. If the appetite for US debt would ever change we would then see likely see changes in standard of living, but not in nominal benefits paid, as dollars would need to be created probably on the Fed's balance sheet. I could see some other mechanism coming along though that would actually handle the mechanics of creating large amounts of money. Given how far off any of this is likely to be I can't conceive of how spending could actually be cut on an absolute basis, or even just indexed to inflation. Ultimately healthcare is likely to be a larger driver of US debt than social security. https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/finrep/fr/17frusg/02142018_FR(Final).pdf https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/fsreports/rpt/finrep/fr/17fr...