Here's how it works: to make the quite mild financial shortfall of Social Security seem apocalyptic, the writer starts out by talking about Social Security, then starts using numbers that combine SS with the health care programs — programs that are very different in conception, financing, and solutions.
More specifically: The long-run actuarial shortfall of Social Security is less than half the revenue that will be lost due to last year's tax cut.
Peter R. Orszag, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former official in the Clinton administration, said the projected shortfall of Social Security -- $3.5 trillion over the next 75 years -- is barely one third the cost of making Mr. Bush's tax cuts permanent.
China Daily: "Despite concerns about the creaky transport system and a shortfall of private security guards, which forced the government to call in thousands of extra troops to help screen visitors, the Games have passed by fairly trouble-free.
I mean I knew they did already, given their January policy memo on doing just that; despite acknowledging that the future shortfall of Social Security could easily be fixed by lifting the payroll tax cap for wealthier people, Third Way preferred cutting benefits.
But, the River Bus is still suffering from many issues and people are complaining about the service's current shortfalls (lack of security and safety, dirtiness etc).
Answering questions in Parliament, Home Secretary Theresa May denied that the government knew last year there would be a shortage of security staff, maintaining instead that G4S only warned the government of the shortfall on Wednesday 11 July.
Most analysts say that the looming financial shortfalls of Social Security are relatively modest and can be addressed by incremental changes to benefit formulas and a gradual delay in retirement ages.
Frost and Sullivan has forecast a shortfall of 1.5 million trained security experts by 2020.
Switching to another index — to so-called chained C.P.I., which would reduce annual cost of living adjustments — would erase about one-fifth of the shortfall in Social Security benefits.
In the Commons, Home Secretary Theresa May answered an urgent question on Olympics security from shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper saying that it was "untrue" that ministers knew last year that there would be a shortfall in the numbers of security personnel they had been promised.
