Originally published June 25 2005
Reporter answers questions about social security and US population growth
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Reporter Elisabeth Goodridge explains social security surplus and population growth in this Q and A column in the Sun Herald.
A: As the Social Security program works right now, there are two established trust funds that collect payroll taxes from current workers to provide financial benefits to American retirees and the disabled.
The Old-Age and Survivor Insurance Trust Fund pays out to retired workers and the Disability Insurance pays out to those disabled.
Since 1937 (the year the first payments were disbursed) to 2003, the Social Security Administration, through these trust funds, has collected more than $9.3 trillion and disbursed more than $7.3 trillion.
That's because more workers have been paying into the system than retirees taking money out.
Social Security spokeswoman Grissella Burgus explained that the surplus is invested by purchasing special government securities, or treasury bonds.
While there is concern in some quarters that the surplus is disappearing, because of this borrowing, that is erroneous, Burgus said.
A: The United States has an estimated 296 million people, according to data from the Central Intelligence Agency Web site.
For every 1,000 people in this country, there are 14 births and eight deaths, which means the population is growing almost 1 percent each year.
The second largest growth decade was during the 1950s, when 28.4 million baby boomers joined the population.
The smallest increase occurred during the decade of the Great Depression, when only 9 million were born, largely due to the dismal national economy from 1930 to 1940.
For fun, let's compare our population numbers with another country, Russia.
With a growth rate of negative 0.37 percent, the former communist nation is actually losing population.
With India roughly one-third the size of the United States, you can imagine how that country is getting a bit crowded and dealing with its own traffic congestion.
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