How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money

[hvactec]

As I’ve been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is
going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama’s recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, it’s time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn’t raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America’s Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:

“The government’s $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money…. Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the ‘embezzled’ money by taxing the rich.”

Here are reports by Dr. Allen Smith that we have featured over the past two years:

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund
II: The Social Security Fraud Has Finally Been Exposed
III: How Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan Pulled off one of the Greatest Frauds Ever Perpetrated against the American People
IV: Obama and the Social Security Time Bomb
V: Censored Social Security Book Back in Print

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund

AP writer, Stephen Ohlemacher, sent shock waves throughout the nation this week with his story, “Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs.” Social Security has been running large surpluses ever since the enactment of the 1983 payroll tax hike, and was projected to continue running surpluses until at least 2016. Instead, Ohlemacher reports that the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed payroll tax revenue by approximately $29 billion this year, because of the severe recession which has reduced payroll tax revenue at the very time that many unemployed Americans have been forced to retire early.
read more How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money | UFO'S BLOG PAGES AND WEB SITES

 

[kyzr]

Clinton came up with the "Unified Budget" when the SS money was no longer in Gore's "lock Box".

Its not just SS that needs to be restored, its also Medicare. SS is supposed to be solvent thru 2037, Medicare goes bankrupt in 2017. I want to see how long the "Big Deal" extends these vital programs.

 

[Truthmatters]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

I'm laughing at your weak math.

 

[kyzr]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

Not just on the wealthy, when the Bush Tax cuts expire that helps a lot. They still need to eliminate subsidies, foreign aid, and tax loop-holes. We can't afford to borrow to give largess. Bringing the troops home from most places also helps. Here is the classic NYT "You balance the Budget" and see how easy it really is. That the DC clowns can't do it just shows how stupid they really are
Budget Puzzle: You Fix the Budget - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

If you stole every penny possessed by your "wealthy", you'd have about $980,000,000,000.

You're an idiot and a tool.

 

[ClosedCaption]

see what many wont acknowledge is that it isnt the fault of one party but both are to blame. SS and Medicare has been looted by both parties then when the bag is almost empty repubs claim that the program itself is faulty and ignore the hands that are stealing from that program

It's like saying a bank has a failing business model because someone just robbed it and took all its money

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

see what many wont acknowledge is that it isnt the fault of one party but both are to blame. SS and Medicare has been looted by both parties then when the bag is almost empty repubs claim that the program itself is faulty and ignore the hands that are stealing from that program

It's like saying a bank has a failing business model because someone just robbed it and took all its money

The program is faulty.

 

[kyzr]

see what many wont acknowledge is that it isnt the fault of one party but both are to blame. SS and Medicare has been looted by both parties then when the bag is almost empty repubs claim that the program itself is faulty and ignore the hands that are stealing from that program

It's like saying a bank has a failing business model because someone just robbed it and took all its money

The program is faulty.

Its customary to list WHY so that we can support or oppose. Your trite post style isn't helpful.

 

[oreo]

As I’ve been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is
going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama’s recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, it’s time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn’t raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America’s Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:

“The government’s $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money…. Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the ‘embezzled’ money by taxing the rich.”

Here are reports by Dr. Allen Smith that we have featured over the past two years:

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund
II: The Social Security Fraud Has Finally Been Exposed
III: How Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan Pulled off one of the Greatest Frauds Ever Perpetrated against the American People
IV: Obama and the Social Security Time Bomb
V: Censored Social Security Book Back in Print

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund

AP writer, Stephen Ohlemacher, sent shock waves throughout the nation this week with his story, “Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs.” Social Security has been running large surpluses ever since the enactment of the 1983 payroll tax hike, and was projected to continue running surpluses until at least 2016. Instead, Ohlemacher reports that the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed payroll tax revenue by approximately $29 billion this year, because of the severe recession which has reduced payroll tax revenue at the very time that many unemployed Americans have been forced to retire early.
read more How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money | UFO'S BLOG PAGES AND WEB SITES

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them --Charlie Reese

There's no doubt that Social Security--is a much bigger and better ponzi scheme than Bernie Madof ever thought of. If you don't make it to now 65--and you're single the Federal Government simply confiscates 12.4% of your gross wages (employer/employee) contribution--if you make it to 65--you get diddly sqwaut in a monthly check.

The Federal Government has used this fund as their slush fund. To pay for wars--foreign aid--political goodies--earmarks and about anything and everything other than the well-being of the elderly.

But it's been DEMOCRATS who have flatly opposed putting a portion of your social security into private sector (guaranteed) funds--and for good reason. They wouldn't be able to get their grubby little hands on it--if it were in the private sector.

 

[Flopper]

As I’ve been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is
going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama’s recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, it’s time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn’t raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America’s Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:

“The government’s $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money…. Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the ‘embezzled’ money by taxing the rich.”

Here are reports by Dr. Allen Smith that we have featured over the past two years:

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund
II: The Social Security Fraud Has Finally Been Exposed
III: How Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan Pulled off one of the Greatest Frauds Ever Perpetrated against the American People
IV: Obama and the Social Security Time Bomb
V: Censored Social Security Book Back in Print

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund

AP writer, Stephen Ohlemacher, sent shock waves throughout the nation this week with his story, “Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs.” Social Security has been running large surpluses ever since the enactment of the 1983 payroll tax hike, and was projected to continue running surpluses until at least 2016. Instead, Ohlemacher reports that the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed payroll tax revenue by approximately $29 billion this year, because of the severe recession which has reduced payroll tax revenue at the very time that many unemployed Americans have been forced to retire early.
read more How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money | UFO'S BLOG PAGES AND WEB SITES

About 95% of the money needed to pay benefits will come from payroll taxes in Aug. The remainder, about 3 or 4 billion must come from the government from either cash on hand or from the redemption of treasury bonds held by the trust. The government is suppose to have a minimum of 70 billion in cash as of Aug 2nd. They should easily be able to make the Aug. payments.

The Social Security Trust is invested in treasury bonds. This has been required by law for at least 25 years. Would you have preferred the trust be in a lock box held in cash? If you look at actuary reports, you will see that of that approximately 1.7 trillion of the 2.5 trillion, comes from interest earned on treasury bonds. So if the money had not been invested, the balance would be about 750 billion in cash now and the fund would be exhausted in this decade, not the 2030's.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

Another false statement. We have something like 160T in unfunded liabilities, 14T in debt and a 2.5T deficit. Even if the IRS and feds raided every last private 401k along with private accounts, we're only talking about 3T total. Your math is wrong and your partisanship always shows.

 

[Too Tall]

Raising taxes on the wealthy back to what they used to be can solve this all.

The way it works in Obama land, raising taxes on the wealthy will enable him to spend the extra money on his pet projects and continue the current practice with social security money.

 

[Avatar4321]

They lied. Like most people leading ponzi schemes do.

I think it's about time we cut our losses and admit that there is no money and eliminate the program.

 

[California Girl]

They lied. Like most people leading ponzi schemes do.

I think it's about time we cut our losses and admit that there is no money and eliminate the program.

And what about those who've paid in all their lives in good faith? You think it's ok to steal their money? I don't.

 

[Too Tall]

As I’ve been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is
going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama’s recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, it’s time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn’t raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America’s Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:

“The government’s $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money…. Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the ‘embezzled’ money by taxing the rich.”

Here are reports by Dr. Allen Smith that we have featured over the past two years:

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund
II: The Social Security Fraud Has Finally Been Exposed
III: How Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan Pulled off one of the Greatest Frauds Ever Perpetrated against the American People
IV: Obama and the Social Security Time Bomb
V: Censored Social Security Book Back in Print

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund

AP writer, Stephen Ohlemacher, sent shock waves throughout the nation this week with his story, “Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs.” Social Security has been running large surpluses ever since the enactment of the 1983 payroll tax hike, and was projected to continue running surpluses until at least 2016. Instead, Ohlemacher reports that the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed payroll tax revenue by approximately $29 billion this year, because of the severe recession which has reduced payroll tax revenue at the very time that many unemployed Americans have been forced to retire early.
read more How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money | UFO'S BLOG PAGES AND WEB SITES

About 95% of the money needed to pay benefits will come from payroll taxes in Aug. The remainder, about 3 or 4 billion must come from the government from either cash on hand or from the redemption of treasury bonds held by the trust. The government is suppose to have a minimum of 70 billion in cash as of Aug 2nd. They should easily be able to make the Aug. payments.

The Social Security Trust is invested in treasury bonds. This has been required by law for at least 25 years. Would you have preferred the trust be in a lock box held in cash? If you look at actuary reports, you will see that of that approximately 1.7 trillion of the 2.5 trillion, comes from interest earned on treasury bonds. So if the money had not been invested, the balance would be about 750 billion in cash now and the fund would be exhausted in this decade, not the 2030's.

I am sure you can call me ignorant, but I thought that people bought treasury bonds from the government and the government then paid the person that bought the treasury bond interest. The way you stated it, the government is earning the interest.

 

[kyzr]

Fucking morons better figure out how to fund SS & Medicare before they get lynched. If/when the pols say fuck-y'all there is no money, then the shit hits the fan in a major way.

 

[Avatar4321]

They lied. Like most people leading ponzi schemes do.

I think it's about time we cut our losses and admit that there is no money and eliminate the program.

And what about those who've paid in all their lives in good faith? You think it's ok to steal their money? I don't.

The system from the beginning was to use current people's money to pay for current retirees. Their money was never meant to go towards them.

And no i don't think it's okay to steal their money. That's why we need to shut down the system and stop stealing it.

 

[Flopper]

As I’ve been reporting for quite some time now, trillions of our tax dollars have been looted by Wall Street, wars, global corporations and the richest one-tenth of one percent of the population. The economic crisis has made this blatant fact much more evident to the average person. Now that these elaborate schemes are coming undone and major cuts to vital social programs are beginning to be implemented, the American public is
going to get a harsh wake up call.

With cuts to Social Security on the way, and Obama’s recent comments saying that he cannot guarantee that Social Security checks will go out if the debt ceiling doesn’t get raised, it’s time to take a closer look at why politicians are pushing to cut this vital program.

The Social Security Trust Fund should currently have $2.5 trillion in surplus. So how is it that these checks could stop being issued if the debt ceiling isn’t raised? Economics professor Dr. Allen Smith, author of The Looting of Social Security: How The Government is Draining America’s Retirement Account, has been reporting on the theft of Social Security funds for years. As he sums it up:

“The government’s $2.5 trillion debt to Social Security is the real reason that so many politicians want to cut benefits. They are trying to find a way to avoid having to repay the looted money…. Given the fact that much of the surplus revenue from the 1983 payroll tax hike ended up in the pockets of the super rich in the form of income tax cuts, I propose a special tax on this group of taxpayers to recoup the missing Social Security money. The government used revenue from the Social Security payroll tax hike to fund tax cuts for the rich because that was where the money was. I think the government should recover the ‘embezzled’ money by taxing the rich.”

Here are reports by Dr. Allen Smith that we have featured over the past two years:

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund
II: The Social Security Fraud Has Finally Been Exposed
III: How Ronald Reagan and Alan Greenspan Pulled off one of the Greatest Frauds Ever Perpetrated against the American People
IV: Obama and the Social Security Time Bomb
V: Censored Social Security Book Back in Print

I: It’s Time to Tap the Empty Social Security Trust Fund

AP writer, Stephen Ohlemacher, sent shock waves throughout the nation this week with his story, “Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs.” Social Security has been running large surpluses ever since the enactment of the 1983 payroll tax hike, and was projected to continue running surpluses until at least 2016. Instead, Ohlemacher reports that the cost of Social Security benefits will exceed payroll tax revenue by approximately $29 billion this year, because of the severe recession which has reduced payroll tax revenue at the very time that many unemployed Americans have been forced to retire early.
read more How Republicans, Democrats and the Mega-Wealthy Stole Your Social Security Money | UFO'S BLOG PAGES AND WEB SITES

About 95% of the money needed to pay benefits will come from payroll taxes in Aug. The remainder, about 3 or 4 billion must come from the government from either cash on hand or from the redemption of treasury bonds held by the trust. The government is suppose to have a minimum of 70 billion in cash as of Aug 2nd. They should easily be able to make the Aug. payments.

The Social Security Trust is invested in treasury bonds. This has been required by law for at least 25 years. Would you have preferred the trust be in a lock box held in cash? If you look at actuary reports, you will see that of that approximately 1.7 trillion of the 2.5 trillion, comes from interest earned on treasury bonds. So if the money had not been invested, the balance would be about 750 billion in cash now and the fund would be exhausted in this decade, not the 2030's.

I am sure you can call me ignorant, but I thought that people bought treasury bonds from the government and the government then paid the person that bought the treasury bond interest. The way you stated it, the government is earning the interest.

You make the mistake a lot of people make, confusing government managed trusts with the government. They are separate entities. The funds do not belong to the trustee, the treasury dept. The treasury dept. just manages the funds. The beneficiaries of the trust are those who paid into the trust via payroll taxes. Receipts and distributions from the fund are off budget item; that is they are not considered normal revenue and expense items.

So when the treasury buys government bonds on behalf of the trust, the trust owns the bonds and the government pays the trust interest.

The law requires that the fund be invested in treasury bonds because they are considered to be the safest investments.