social security

[infman4x]

hey congress quit tampering with social security, ill dare you guys, robb from the working taxpayers to fund illegals or slackers with the working folks money that they earned and put in for retirement, most people would go to jail for these actions.
obama has wasted enough money to foreign countries and bailouts plus money/ assistance for welfare and slackers to have corrected social security, dont continue to rob the working people who made this country, working folks have to be responsible with their money,how about government getting their act together and living within their means, and oh by the way fix social security, because you guys screwed it up, theres enough of you guys sittin on your bottoms drawing big pay,lets do something.

 

[MikeFrank]

SS should be put into a non touched account, if a private company touched this money they would be locked up, when congress does it for some reason it is legal.

 

[waltky]

Social security onna table an' dem politicians gonna take a bite outta it...

Talks: Inflation change could cut Social Security
7 July`11 WASHINGTON – Once considered untouchable, Social Security is now in play in the debt-ceiling negotiations. And that could mean higher income taxes for many U.S. families in addition to shaved benefits for tens of millions of retirees as they age.

Social Security became part of the private discussions between President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner on coming up with "something big" to reduce deficits by $2 trillion to $4 trillion over the next decade. One option includes a new inflation measure for Social Security that could produce savings close to $200 billion through a combination of reduced benefits and higher taxes, White House officials said Thursday. Low- and middle-income families could be hit.

The proposal would represent a reversal for Obama. In contrast to his pledge to target tax increases at the wealthy, high-income families would largely be spared from tax increases that would result from changing the way inflation is measured. And until now, the administration has been adamant that Social Security does not add to the deficit and should not be a part of deficit reduction talks. Adopting a new inflation measure would allow policymakers to gradually cut benefits and increase taxes in a way that might not be readily apparent to most Americans. The inflation measure under consideration is called the Chained Consumer Price Index. On average, the measure shows a lower level of inflation than the more widely used CPI.

A Chained CPI assumes that as prices increase, consumers buy lower cost alternatives, reducing the amount of inflation they experience. For example, if the price of beef increases while the price of pork does not, people will buy more pork. Or, as opponents mockingly argue, if the price of home heating oil goes up, people will turn down their heat and wear more sweaters There's no indication at this point whether Obama and congressional Republicans — and Democrats — will agree on the change. And, if they do, how broadly it might be applied. Another private meeting at the White House is set for Sunday.

The measure, if adopted across the government, would have a wide-ranging effect on taxes and government benefits, and those changes would grow over time. The change would mean smaller annual increases in Social Security payments, government pensions and veterans' benefits. Current payments would not be affected, but recipients would get smaller increases in the future. Overall, the proposal would cut Social Security benefits by $112 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It would cut government pensions and veterans' benefits by $24 billion over the same time period if adopted for them as well.

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[Gadawg73]

Social security is broke now. There is no account anywhere with the $$ that anyone has put their $$ into.
Social Security has been a pay as you go system since inception.
How does a system work when there are 2 people drawing out of it for every person paying into it?
If there was a system set up similar to social security in the private sector they would arrest the owners of it for fraud.
All social security is and has been is a big Ponzi scheme.
We should never as taxpayers honor past promises our politicians made THAT THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN KEEP.

 

[uscitizen]

Lets privatize SS so that Wal Street and JP Chase can mess with the surplus....

 

[Russell]

Politicians and social security is like foxes guarding the hen house. The politicians have been drooling, salivating and licking their chops for years, now they are going to pounce on it and tear it to pieces. And if you don't like it, what are you going to do about it?

 

[Gadawg73]

Why would politicians want social security?
There is NO $$$ in it.
Either we make changes in it or it will be gone in 25 years.
When Americans finally wake up and KNOW that our politicians have made promises THEY CAN NOT KEEP things will get better.
Social Security was never intended to be a retirement program. It was a supplemental program IN CASE you lived past the average age. Fact: average age of an American when social security started was 61. Fact: there were 29 Americans paying into social security when it started for every person drawing a benefit.
Tell us how it works when there is 1 person drawing social security for every person PAYING INTO it.
How do we fund that without CHANGING IT???

 

[iggy pop]

Lets privatize SS so that Wal Street and JP Chase can mess with the surplus....

Is there a surplus? Why is government even allowed to touch that money?

 

[Claudette]

You can thank LBJ for that my friend.

He needed money to fund the Vietnam War and there were all those billions in SS money just sitting there.

Not anymore.

 

[Flopper]

SS should be put into a non touched account, if a private company touched this money they would be locked up, when congress does it for some reason it is legal.

That would be pretty simple to do. All Congress would have to do is change the law to stop S.S. from investing the trust fund in treasury bonds. In about 10 years the trust would be in a cash position. Of course it would be earning no interest which would hasten the depletion of the fund

 

[Flopper]

Social security is broke now. There is no account anywhere with the $$ that anyone has put their $$ into.
Social Security has been a pay as you go system since inception.
How does a system work when there are 2 people drawing out of it for every person paying into it?
If there was a system set up similar to social security in the private sector they would arrest the owners of it for fraud.
All social security is and has been is a big Ponzi scheme.
We should never as taxpayers honor past promises our politicians made THAT THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN KEEP.

It is only broke if you consider the two trillion dollars it holds in US treasury bills as worthless.

 

[Gadawg73]

Social security is broke now. There is no account anywhere with the $$ that anyone has put their $$ into.
Social Security has been a pay as you go system since inception.
How does a system work when there are 2 people drawing out of it for every person paying into it?
If there was a system set up similar to social security in the private sector they would arrest the owners of it for fraud.
All social security is and has been is a big Ponzi scheme.
We should never as taxpayers honor past promises our politicians made THAT THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN KEEP.

It is only broke if you consider the two trillion dollars it holds in US treasury bills as worthless.

Those are IOUs only.

 

[Gadawg73]

You can thank LBJ for that my friend.

He needed money to fund the Vietnam War and there were all those billions in SS money just sitting there.

Not anymore.

Congress funds wars, never Presidents.

 

[Flopper]

Social security is broke now. There is no account anywhere with the $$ that anyone has put their $$ into.
Social Security has been a pay as you go system since inception.
How does a system work when there are 2 people drawing out of it for every person paying into it?
If there was a system set up similar to social security in the private sector they would arrest the owners of it for fraud.
All social security is and has been is a big Ponzi scheme.
We should never as taxpayers honor past promises our politicians made THAT THERE IS NO WAY WE CAN KEEP.

It is only broke if you consider the two trillion dollars it holds in US treasury bills as worthless.

Those are IOUs only.

Yes, that's exactly what a treasury bill is, no collateral just backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

 

[flacaltenn]

It is only broke if you consider the two trillion dollars it holds in US treasury bills as worthless.

Those are IOUs only.

Yes, that's exactly what a treasury bill is, no collateral just backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

This is 2nd time you've made that assertion, Flopper.. I gave you the back-up on this.

All that sits at the Soc Sec Admin are "Special Issue" non-transferable "intra-governmental transfer bonds" They are NOT normal Treasury bonds.. Congress could decide to default on these IOUs without affecting the Fed bond market..

They cannot be sold to 3rd parties -- Have NO market value.. And if interest is paid on them, it's the 2nd time it's been stolen from the taxpayers. You might have missed the ORIGINAL theft of the $2Trill.. But I hope you catch them the 2nd time....

MAYBE we should ask the SSA...

Special-issue securities, Social Security trust funds

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund comprise the Social Security trust funds. Both funds are managed by the Department of the Treasury through their Bureau of Public Debt. Since the beginning of the Social Security program, all securities held by the trust funds have been issued by the Federal Government. There are two general types of such securities:

•Special issues—available only to the trust funds
•Public issues—marketable Treasury bonds available to the public.
The trust funds now hold only special issues, but they have held public issues in the past.

Holy SHIT! Were we robbed 3 times?? Wonder what happened to those "public issue" bonds?

Ask yourself why -- when SS books are going negative fast --- WHY the SSA CLAIMS that the treasury is gonna kick in a SURPLUS (over and beyond what's required to balance the fund) for the next 20 years or so?? That's the 4th GRAND THIEF that most folks aren't even aware of yet..

 

[percysunshine]

Politicians and social security is like foxes guarding the hen house. The politicians have been drooling, salivating and licking their chops for years, now they are going to pounce on it and tear it to pieces. And if you don't like it, what are you going to do about it?

What makes you think there is anything left to tear to pieces?

It is already gone.

 

[waltky]

Scare tactics: Social Security benefits at risk, Geithner warns...

Benefits at risk, Geithner warns
July 11, 2011 - Ties Social Security to higher debt cap | Leaders meet; more talks today

WASHINGTON - As the nation inched closer yesterday to what the White House says would be a catastrophic default on its massive debt, President Obama’s administration ratcheted up the pressure on Republicans by suggesting Social Security checks for some 55 million Americans could be in jeopardy if no deal is reached in the next three weeks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said his agency must borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends and suggested that without the ability to borrow, it may not be able to deliver crucial benefits to Americans who rely on them to pay for food and other necessities.

“On August 2d, we’re left running on fumes,’’ Geithner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.’’ “We have no capacity to borrow. . . . We have to act; Congress has to act ahead of that point. If they don’t act, then we face catastrophic damage to the American economy.’’ President Obama met with congressional leaders from both parties at the White House last night in an effort to reach a compromise to avert default on the debt. Obama and the lawmakers made no statements immediately after the meeting, but they are scheduled to meet again today.

The nation is set to surpass the legal cap on its borrowing on Aug. 2, accumulating debt of more than $14.2 trillion, and Congress must pass legislation to raise that cap to prevent default. Despite House Speaker John Boehner’s announcement Saturday night that he favors a $2 trillion plan for debt reduction rather than the $4 trillion sought by Democrats, Geithner and other administration officials said yesterday that they still are hoping for a larger deal. The two sides have been mired in negotiations for months, stymied in a political and ideological standoff over taxes and the size of the federal government.

MORE

See also:

Social Security: Could a new way to measure inflation affect it?
July 11, 2011 - Social Security is probably the most controversial thing that would be affected by a change in the way inflation is measured. Besides Social Security, what would be the other effects of a new measurement of inflation?

Should Congress use a new measure of inflation to index the tax code? It sounds awfully technical—and it is—but shifting to what most economists believe is a more accurate measure of inflation would gradually raise a substantial amount of new revenue for politicians scrambling to find ways to cut the deficit. The idea has surfaced in the high-stakes budget negotiations between President Obama and Congress. Government would adopt something called the chained consumer price index (CPI) to adjust programs to reflect changes in the price of goods and services.

The proposal isn’t new—it has been kicking around for decades and appeared last year in budget plans offered by both President Obama’s fiscal commission and the Bipartisan Policy Center. And it would not only apply to taxes—indeed the most controversial change would affect Social Security benefits. But this is TaxVox, so let’s take a closer look at what this revision would mean for taxpayers. The income tax is littered with provisions that are indexed for inflation, including the standard deduction and personal exemption, the earned income credit and the refundable child credit, and IRA contribution limits. In addition, the tax brackets themselves have been indexed for inflation since the Reagan era. This important feature prevents bracket-creep, where taxpayers pay higher rates just because their nominal (rather than real, inflation-adjusted) income rises.

Shifting to a chained CPI index would achieve two goals. It would fix a vexing problem with the traditional measure of inflation: The CPI does not reflect the fact that consumers respond to higher prices for one product by substituting another. For instance, if strawberries are very expensive at the farmer’s market this week, I may buy cheaper blueberries instead. And, let’s not kid ourselves, the other purpose is to scrounge some new tax revenues without seeming to raise rates or end popular subsidies. The Congressional Budget Office figures chained CPI would grow at an average annual rate of 0.25 percent less than the traditional CPI. And the Joint Committee on Taxation projects this change would produce about $60 billion in new tax revenue from 2012 through 2021. But keep in mind that the cumulative decline in measured inflation gradually raises more and more revenue. So while the shift would boost taxes by only about $2 billion in 2014, it would generate more than $12 billion in 2021.

Who’d pay? New estimates by my Tax Policy Center colleague Rachel Johnson suggest that average after-tax incomes would fall by a small amount across the board. Those making less than $10,000 would see no change on average, while those making $500,000 or more would see their incomes fall by 0.1 percent. Everyone else, on average, would end up with 0.2 percent or 0.3 percent less, although those making $30,000 to $40,000 would be hit the hardest. For all households, the typical tax bill would be about $150 higher in 2021 than it is today. Her estimates all assume the 2001/2003/2010 tax cuts are extended. Overall, shifting to the chained CPI seems to be a sensible technical change that is long overdue. But it is little more than a back-door rate increase. I’d much rather see a substantial revenue package that eliminates inefficient tax subsidies.

Source

 

[Toro]

hey congress quit tampering with social security, ill dare you guys, robb from the working taxpayers to fund illegals or slackers with the working folks money that they earned and put in for retirement, most people would go to jail for these actions.
obama has wasted enough money to foreign countries and bailouts plus money/ assistance for welfare and slackers to have corrected social security, dont continue to rob the working people who made this country, working folks have to be responsible with their money,how about government getting their act together and living within their means, and oh by the way fix social security, because you guys screwed it up, theres enough of you guys sittin on your bottoms drawing big pay,lets do something.

Hi

Could you post normally, like with sentences, capital letters and periods and such?

Thanks.

 

[Bern80]

It is only broke if you consider the two trillion dollars it holds in US treasury bills as worthless.

Those are IOUs only.

Yes, that's exactly what a treasury bill is, no collateral just backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

Are you under the assumption that the 'faith and credit' of the federal government is infinite. WAKE UP. That is exactly what the government is losing.

 

[Avorysuds]

Lets privatize SS so that Wal Street and JP Chase can mess with the surplus....

No no no... we should leave it up to the Government so they can spend it into bankruptcy
Odd because the best answer is to not have SS at all………………. But lol, that can’t buy votes!