Director Gary King Discusses the Future of Social Security

January 9, 2013
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At a time when the US federal budget is once again an important topic of debate, Gary King, Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor and director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, is contributing to the discussion on Social Security.

Gary King, with Samir Soneji of Dartmouth College, published a New York Times opinion article on January 5 titled, "Social Security: It’s Worse Than You Think." In the article, they examine the Social Security Administration's forecasting methods—which, they explain, are flawed and in need of an update—and compare them to their own methods and results. King and Soneji also discuss possible solutions and suggest including social scientists and statisticians in the Social Security Administration to complement the work of its actuarial staff. They emphasize that regardless of the steps taken, Americans must recognize the need for a solution in order to avoid drastic measures later on: if the current situation remains unchanged, Social Security trust funds will become insolvent within 20 years.

On Tuesday, King discussed the New York Times article on Bloomberg Radio with Joe Brusuelas, senior economist at Bloomberg LP, who described the article as "very important and interesting" and called IQSS "a national treasure." King also spoke with Rob Ferrett on Wisconsin Public Radio's Joy Cardin Show that morning.