Once again Paul Krugman looks at an issue that has had a lot of spin put on it (and surely has a lot more to come) and lays out the facts clearly.
But it’s a problem of modest size. The report finds that extending the life of the trust fund into the 22nd century, with no change in benefits, would require additional revenues equal to only 0.54 percent of G.D.P. That’s less than 3 percent of federal spending – less than we’re currently spending in Iraq. And it’s only about one-quarter of the revenue lost each year because of President Bush’s tax cuts – roughly equal to the fraction of those cuts that goes to people with incomes over $500,000 a year.
