--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The real Social Security crisis is that…" description: "\"The real Social Security crisis is that the government does not have the money to redeem its IOUs.\" — Paul Craig Roberts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png" --- # The real Social Security crisis is that the government… ![“The real Social Security crisis is that the government does not have the money to redeem its IOUs.” quote by Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png) > “The real Social Security crisis is that the government does not have the money to redeem its IOUs.” [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The crisis stems from insufficient funds to honor promised benefits, not just demographic issues. **In simple terms:** Government lacks cash to pay promised Social Security benefits. Key Takeaway Address funding gaps before policy reforms. Themes economics public policy social welfare Mood concerned urgent Type analytical policy When to use this quote - budget planning - policy reform - public communication - financial literacy Key Concepts fiscal sustainability trust in government Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure long‑term solvency? - What reforms balance equity and sustainability? A Different Perspective Political opposition may block necessary fiscal adjustments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Social security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-security/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Social Security \] is not in crisis at this stage. Leave Social Security alone. We have a lot of other places we can look… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/social-security-is-not-in-crisis-at-this-stage-leave-social-security/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [I do not believe that the Social Security system is in crisis. The Social Security Administration itself recently reported that the system is able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/i-do-not-believe-that-the-social-security-system-is-in-crisis-the/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [Social Security is not in crisis. It's a crisis the president's created, period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/social-security-is-not-in-crisis-it-s-a-crisis-the-president-s/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [Republicans are manufacturing a Social Security crisis that does not exist in order to dismantle Social Security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-watson/republicans-are-manufacturing-a-social-security-crisis-that-does-not/) [Diane Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-watson/) > [“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-this-present-crisis-government-is-not-the-solution-to-our-problem-2/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government IS the problem. It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-this-present-crisis-government-is-not-the-solution-to-our-problem/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Every dollar they saved was worth less with every financial crisis, while the government just printed more money to preserve the stock markets, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-eade/every-dollar-they-saved-was-worth-less-with-every-financial-crisis/) [Kenneth Eade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-eade/) > [In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-this-present-crisis-government-is-not-the-solution-to-our-problem-3/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-the-present-crisis-government-is-not-the-solution-to-our-problem/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Millions of Americans have paid into social security and deserve their full benefits. Pure and simple, Republicans are manufacturing a social security crisis that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-watson/millions-of-americans-have-paid-into-social-security-and-deserve/) [Diane Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-watson/) > [Our biggest national security crisis is Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/our-biggest-national-security-crisis-is-barack-obama/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [“One final bit of advice. The next time a senior administrator of the CIA tells you she has a national-security crisis ... Leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/one-final-bit-of-advice-the-next-time-a-senior-administrator-of-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“After each perceived security crisis ended, the United States has remorsefully realized that the abrogation of civil liberties was unnecessary. But it has proven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-each-perceived-security-crisis-ended-the-united-states-has-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our ballooning national debt is already an economic and security crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-britt/our-ballooning-national-debt-is-already-an-economic-and-security/) [Katie Britt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-britt/) > [I reject the federal contention that there exists an overwhelming national security crisis at the southern border, along which are some of the safest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lujan-grisham/i-reject-the-federal-contention-that-there-exists-an-overwhelming/) [Michelle Lujan Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lujan-grisham/) ## More by Paul Craig Roberts > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [In 21st century America, capitalism has been unfettered from the regulations that democratized it and made it serve society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/in-21st-century-america-capitalism-has-been-unfettered-from-the/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [War is the only destination to which Washington can lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/war-is-the-only-destination-to-which-washington-can-lead/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The only thing that can be expected from the next US president is more war, more murder, and more oppression of the gullible American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-only-thing-that-can-be-expected-from-the-next-us-president-is/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Terrorists can endanger some of us, but the war on terror endangers us all. How much more can the Constitution be diminished before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/terrorists-can-endanger-some-of-us-but-the-war-on-terror-endangers-us/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [When America's Newspaper of Record is nothing but a propaganda ministry, what is America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/when-america-s-newspaper-of-record-is-nothing-but-a-propaganda/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [I have no sympathy for debunking human achievements that, in the end, gave ordinary people liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/i-have-no-sympathy-for-debunking-human-achievements-that-in-the-end/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [If all countries are exceptional, the word loses its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-all-countries-are-exceptional-the-word-loses-its-meaning/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [There are no free financial markets in America or, for that matter, anywhere in the Western word, and few, if any, free markets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/there-are-no-free-financial-markets-in-america-or-for-that-matter/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The notion that Americans can be protected from "terror" by giving up the Bill of Rights is absurd. Democrats are complicit in this absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-notion-that-americans-can-be-protected-from-terror-by-giving-up/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Americans have no idea why they have been at war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa for a decade. They don't realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/americans-have-no-idea-why-they-have-been-at-war-in-the-middle-east/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [There are enough fools in Washington to destroy the country without any help from Muslim terrorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/there-are-enough-fools-in-washington-to-destroy-the-country-without/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Every public institution in the United States and most private ones are corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/every-public-institution-in-the-united-states-and-most-private-ones/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The office of U.S. Trade Representative was created in order to permit corporations to write law that serves only their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-office-of-u-s-trade-representative-was-created-in-order-to-permit/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) [Explore all 139 Paul Craig Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) ## More Crisis quotes > [People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/people-in-great-groups-have-blinders-on-their-work-is-all-they-see/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) Jim Wright > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a couple of decades you have half of the wells that are drilled right now, and you're talking about numbers in the millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/in-a-couple-of-decades-you-have-half-of-the-wells-that-are-drilled/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [Disasters affect every state, and North Carolinians have given our own tax dollars to help neighbors and those in other states in times of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-cooper/disasters-affect-every-state-and-north-carolinians-have-given-our-own/) [Roy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-cooper/) > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [When this coronavirus crisis is over, what kind of society will we be? A more important question is what kind of society do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/when-this-coronavirus-crisis-is-over-what-kind-of-society-will-we-be/) [Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Firstly, economic globalisation has brought prosperity and development to many countries, but also financial crises to Asia, Latin America and Russia, and increasing poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-lindh/firstly-economic-globalisation-has-brought-prosperity-and-development/) [Anna Lindh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-lindh/) > [If we Europeans are not in a state to be able to solve the refugee crisis ourselves, if we only depend on Plan B…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-kurz/if-we-europeans-are-not-in-a-state-to-be-able-to-solve-the-refugee/) [Sebastian Kurz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-kurz/) > [Urbanisation is not a crisis but an opportunity, seeing it as a crisis is wrong. And not just villages, we want everyone to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/urbanisation-is-not-a-crisis-but-an-opportunity-seeing-it-as-a-crisis/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) [Browse all 3,419 Crisis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The real Social Security crisis is that the government does not have the money to redeem its IOUs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Craig Roberts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that-the-government-does-not-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crisis" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that-the-government-does-not-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/paul-craig-roberts-3108_crisis_the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that_1373276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The real Social Security crisis is that the government does not have the money to redeem its IOUs.” — Paul Craig Roberts", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Craig Roberts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The real Social Security crisis is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that-the-government-does-not-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-real-social-security-crisis-is-that-the-government-does-not-have/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```