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| By Jim Nelson |
Last month, we talked about the ugly reversal in the Social Security trust that started in 2021.
For the previous four years, the net change in SSA trust assets has been negative. That was after decades of growth.
At the time, we noted that we hadn’t yet seen the 2025 numbers and that it might reverse course again.
It didn’t.
Earlier this month, we got the latest year’s figure. It added a lot more red:
The line on the far right side of this chart shows the gap between what went into the trust and came out of it in 2025.
You can see that the problem is getting worse.
And we just got some other bad news. Real income isn’t doing much better.
Adjusted for inflation, real private-sector wages have given up all their gains over the past year and a half:
That’s primarily due to rising inflation. This problem only gets worse.
Sean Brodrick has been digging into what happens next. And on Wednesday, he gave you five reasons why inflation will remain a serious problem.
He also gave you a ticker to add protection for your portfolio:
He followed up that afternoon with more. He showed you that:
So, with Social Security becoming less secure and inflation eating away any wage growth, we’re planning something important.
I can’t give away any details just yet. But soon we’ll have news about a crucial event you’ll want to attend.
We’ll give you the full scoop when it’s ready.
For now, use this long weekend to catch up on what your other editors are working on …
Nilus Mattive is, by his own admission, not a technical analyst. But he has three charts that show exactly how screwed up the stock market is right now.
The War May End, But the Reload Won’t
With the agreement to come to an agreement between the U.S. and Iran signed, hopefully we’ve seen the last of missiles flying. But that still means the rearmament is coming. And it will be different than previous buildups.
Overpaying the Tax Man Can Ruin Even a Solid Financial Plan
If you make this mistake, you can do serious damage to your retirement and estate. David Phillips gives you some solutions to avoid overpaying taxes at the critical moment.
Anthropic vs. OpenAI: Only One IPO is Set to Capture the SpaceX Momentum
The SpaceX IPO is now past. What comes next will be the difference of billions of dollars. Chris Graebe has the full story on the next two IPOs that will steal the market’s attention.
Domain Registration Is a Silent Cash Cow
E-commerce is more important to the economy than ever. And next week’s Prime Day sale will drive that point home. Michael A. Robinson has a backdoor cash cow that sits at the center of this growth.
Have a great holiday weekend!
Jim Nelson
Managing Editor, Weiss Ratings Daily
1 https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4a3.html
2 https://www.epi.org/blog/trumps-war-in-iran-has-wiped-out-1-5-years-of-wage-growth/
