go belly up

“He’s not as great a businessman as he thinks. A lot of his businesses go belly up, quickly.”

So is the idea that Social Security will go “belly up” in some number of years — even if Congress sits on its hands, the program will still have enough revenue to cover three-quarters of the benefits due.

A system that allows a 167-year-old bank to go belly up, in the space of a few days, at the cost of many jobs and massive losses in share value?

“A private company with tens of millions of customers would go belly up if their information technology was older than the CEO’s parents,” said Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS employees.

According to the notice, Diamond Baby is a small, black and brown Chihuahua who “is a little shy and will go belly up if you try to carry her.”