[dragonwriter]

> If a huge chunk goes to retirees and wasn’t 40 years ago, there’s simply less leftover for everything else.

If you are talking about state governments in the US, that's approximately true.

If you are talking about the federal government, it's not, because the idea of a fixed purse is simply false. Spending and revenue are separate policy decisions that don't constraint each other.

[lotsofpulp]

I do not understand why you are downvoted. It is obviously true the federal government can simply issue new money to pay its debts.

[ravel-bar-foo]

It's true, but you get inflation or exchange rate devaluations as a side effect.