You're right about the ability to estimate (not calculate, but estimate) future social security liabilities. This is standard procedure for actuaries. IBM has to do it, GE has to do it, not because they want to but because the government requires them to. The government, though, exempts themselves from the same requirement they impose on others.
There's one difference. While GE has limited flexibility in changing their obligation, since most of what they owe is contractually obligated, the government could, at least in principle, terminate Social Security tomorrow and nobody would have any right to sue since there's no contract.
But that aside, the government could perfectly easily -- well, technically easily, it would take some work because of the number of people invovled and the complexity of payout formulas for disability, widows and orphans, different retirement ages, etc. -- estimate the current value of their obligations under the present standards of the law.
They won't, of course, because the sum would be massive and would totally freak both legislators and taxpayers. |
