AMERICA’S SOCIAL Security trust fund for the country’s elderly citizens is now more than old enough to be drawing a pension(领取养老金) itself. When the programme launched in 1940, its future must have seemed assured(确定的，有保障的). Lots of money went in and little came out(大量资金流入，少量流出): for each retired person drawing benefits, more than 150 workers were contributing(缴费，贡献) to the fund, which invested in Treasury securities(国债（美国财政部证券）).
美国为老年公民设立的社会保障信托基金如今早已到了可以领取养老金的年龄。该项目于1940年启动时，其前景似乎十分稳固：资金大量流入，流出很少——每有一位退休人员领取福利，就有超过150名工人向基金缴费，而基金则投资于国债。
Today, after years of demographic transformation(人口结构转型)—lower birth rates bringing fewer workers to the labour force, and longer lifespans(寿命) for the fortunate recipients(接受者（福利领取者）)—the ratio of workers to recipients is less than three to one. In 2017 the reserves held in the trust fund peaked(达到峰值) at $2.8trn. Since then, the fund’s size has dropped by $400bn, with more money leaving it in payments to retirees than has entered it in the form of contributions. Outflows are accelerating, and some time around the end of the next presidential term, in late 2032 or early 2033, the fund will run dry(枯竭，耗尽).
如今，经过多年的人口结构转型——出生率降低导致进入劳动力市场的工人减少，而幸运的退休者寿命延长——工人与退休人员的比例已不足三比一。2017年，信托基金的储备达到2.8万亿美元的峰值。自那以后，基金规模已下降4000亿美元，流出的退休金超过了流入的缴款。资金外流正在加速，大约在下届总统任期结束时（2032年底或2033年初），基金将枯竭。
Washington has a little more than six years to find a remedy(补救措施，解决办法), which means that senators elected in November may still be serving their term when the fund runs out. If nothing is done, the immediate consequences for pensioners(养老金领取者) will be dire(可怕的，极其严重的). Payments will drop by around 23%, and will slide(下滑，逐渐下降) further in the following decades. The gap between the fund’s revenue and payments last year is estimated to have been around $209bn, about 0.7% of GDP, a gap which would have to be covered by borrowing. The system has been in a similar position before, but that was then(那是过去的事了).
华盛顿还有六年多一点的时间来寻找补救措施，这意味着11月当选的参议员在基金耗尽时可能仍在任期内。如果不采取任何行动，养老金领取者将面临可怕后果：福利金将减少约23%，并在未来几十年进一步下滑。去年基金收入与支出之间的缺口估计约为2090亿美元，约占GDP的0.7%，这一缺口只能通过借贷来弥补。该系统以前也曾处于类似境地，但那是过去的事了。
Security theatre
安全剧场