Newsletter says Social Security is on the path to insolvency
Richard Rubin and Kara Dapena examine proposed fixes to Social Security’s funding shortfall in “Ways to Narrow Social Security’s Shortfall,” a feature spotlighted in the Oct. 24, 2026 edition of The Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Reads newsletter. The newsletter says the piece takes up “some of the ideas being discussed” and examines “how far they go to narrow the shortfall and how long they postpone the insolvency date, if at all.”
The edition opens on what it treats as settled ground. “Everyone can agree that Social Security spends more on benefits than it receives in tax revenue,” the newsletter writes. What people do not agree on, it says, is “how to shore up the system to keep it viable for future generations.”
On the available approaches, the newsletter states: “The system is on the path to insolvency, but there are ideas out there to boost revenue or cut spending.” The email accompanying the edition does not name the individual proposals or attach cost estimates to any of them; it directs subscribers to Rubin and Dapena’s piece. The newsletter’s own contribution is therefore a signpost, and the work of comparing how much each idea would close the gap and how much time each would buy sits in the feature it promotes.
The rest of the edition turns to the labor market and to consumer habits. A feature on nursing asks why so many nurses are leaving a profession the newsletter describes as well paid and unlikely to be taken over by AI: “Nursing pays well and it’s a profession that won’t be easily taken over by AI. So why are so many nurses quitting?”
A consumer feature reports that “Gummie supplements are out, oral strips are in, as brands claim they are a faster way to improve sleep, skin and other benefits.” A business profile describes “Gund, a 75-year family-owned company, has never laid off a worker,” and says CEOs want to know its secret.
Another feature covers the social mechanics of splitting a bill, noting the friend who always covers the group tab and the friend who makes repayment awkward. Columnist Nicole Nguyen reviews the new iPhone Duo, Apple’s phone-tablet hybrid, and a travel feature reports that “Airfares this holiday season are expected to be the highest in at least a decade.”
On family economics, the newsletter notes that “Adults are waiting longer to have children, meaning first-time grandparents are getting older, too. And that’s reshaping family economics.” A feature profiles the cruise influencer Kyndall “Fire” Magyar, who counts several hundred thousand followers on social media and whose ship is the one those followers choose. Columnist Kyle Smith weighs a parable starring Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman, set in a fairy-tale village. A Buy Side item explains that it chose balance-transfer cards by prioritizing “a long time to pay down your debt and low fees.”
The newsletter describes itself as “a weekly look at our most colorful, thought-provoking and original feature stories on the business of life.” The Oct. 24 edition credits editor Cristina Lourosa-Ricardo, who invites readers to respond by email, and it thanks Demetria Gallegos “for filling in over the past few weeks.”