On the February 21 edition of the Public Radio International-distributed Marketplace, investment adviser Gabriel Wisdom falsely claimed: “Worst-case scenario for Social Security is that within 15 years or so, you'll get less than you were promised to receive.” Wisdom also suggested that, besides raising taxes, "[t]he other way out of the [insolvency] problem is to change Social Security from its current pay-as-you-go model to a system that's based on savings and investment."

In fact, the Social Security board of trustees projected in its 2004 report that the trust fund will be able to pay all promised benefits for another 37 years, or until 2042. According to a projection by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the trust fund will be able to pay all promised benefits until 2052.

And rather than providing a “way out of the problem,” President Bush's proposal for private investment accounts would not address Social Security's future insolvency, as The Washington Post noted on February 4 and as a “senior administration official” has acknowledged.