Obama: Social Security Checks Will Stop When Debt Ceiling Is Reached

President Obama said last Thursday that while its bad members of
Congress have allowed a government shutdown, it would be worse if they failed
to increase the government's borrowing authority later this month. First and
foremost, he said, retirement and disability benefits for millions of Americans
would be at risk. More than 57 million Americans receive monthly benefits from
the Social Security Administration. The average monthly check for retirees
totaled $1,224 in Sept. The president's remarks followed a Treasury Department
report detailing catastrophic consequences for Congress failing to allow the
government to continue borrowing money to cover expenses. Not raising the
so-called "debt ceiling" by Oct. 17 could trigger "a financial
crisis and recession that could echo the events of 2008 or worse," the
report said. A lapse in Social Security would be bad news for the 21 million
seniors the benefits have lifted from poverty, and it would certainly disrupt
the broader economy. A report by the AARP Public Policy Institute this week
estimated Social Security benefits accounted for $1.2 trillion worth of
economic output last year.

Source/more: Huffington Post