Peak Oil Impacts: "Millions face shrinking Social Security payments," By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press, August 23, 2009

"Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.

The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next two years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975."

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"Social Security and Medicare Finances Worsen," by Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press, May 12, 2009

"Social Security and Medicare are fading even faster under the weight of the recession, heading for insolvency years sooner than previously expected, the government warned Tuesday. Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, a year sooner than projected last year, and the giant trust fund will be depleted by 2037, four years sooner, trustees reported.

Medicare is in even worse shape. The trustees said the program for hospital expenses will pay out more in benefits than it collects this year, just as it did for the first time in 2008. The trustees project that the Medicare fund will be depleted by 2017, two years earlier than the date projected in last year's report.:

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Blog Comment:

These funds will collapse much sooner than indicated here. Most government revenues are derived from the individual income tax. Peak Oil means less employment and less income.