MORE THAN 50 MILLION AMERICANS DEPEND ON SOCIAL SECURITY TODAY

Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law in 1934, millions of American workers have earned benefits by paying into the system, creating a safety net that keeps retirees, survivors of workers who die young and people with disabilities and their families out of poverty.

Source: Social Security Administration, Monthly Statistical Snapshot, October 2008.

SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT GOING BROKE

Contrary to Bush's scare tactics, Social Security is not going broke. Modest commonsense measures, such as lifting the cap on the amount of income taxed for the Social Security fund, would strengthen the program. Right now, the cap is set so low upper-wage earners do not pay Social Security on most of their incomes.

* The Social Security Trustees calculated the 2041 date. Using a slightly different method and set of assumptions, the Congressional Budget Office arrived at the 2049 date.

Sources: Social Security Trustees, The 2008 OASDI Trustees Report, and Congressional Budget Office, Updated Long-Term Projections for Social Security, August 2008.