Political Quotes

Tim Ryan: “He said bankrupt. To me bankrupt means there is nothing in the bank. It is belly up, zero. That is how I interpret…”

On the recordMarch 1, 2005
He said bankrupt. To me bankrupt means there is nothing in the bank. It is belly up, zero. That is how I interpret bankruptcy. Nothing left. The problem is Social Security will never, ever, ever, go bankrupt because there will always be workers putting money into the system. Now it may not be, if we stay like we are now, it may not always be at the levels we want. Down the line, it may only pay 80 percent of the benefits, but there will always be money in the Social Security system so it will never be bankrupt. So when the President says bankrupt, he is misleading the public because the gentleman from Florida and I will be paying in for the next 30 some years into the program. So even if you and I are just paying in, it is not bankrupt. It may not have enough funds, but it is not bankrupt.
Said by
Tim Ryan
Democratic · Ohio

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the financial status of Social Security during a floor speech.

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