It is generally recognized that, in the absence of policy changes, the U.S. faces a long-term fiscal challenge. But, as a result of the 2007-09 recession, the U.S. is currently facing an unemployment crisis — the unemployment has been above or near 8 percent since February 2009. Furthermore,...

The Social Security program is one of the most popular and successful government programs in the United States. At the end of 2004, the OASDI trust funds held almost $1.7 trillion in Federal government bonds and notes. It is projected that the trust funds assets will be equivalent to over 20...