Social Security Crisis: Who's Responsible

USA Next ^ | 3/30/2005 | ceoinva

[ceoinva]

AARP, more than any other group in America, bears primary responsibility for the developing financial crisis of Social Security. That’s right. This fact surprises some people, but it’s true.

For four decades AARP has claimed to represent seniors. In its leadership role, this political behemoth ($20 million spent annually on lobbyists) bears responsibility for every major policy action taken on Social Security since the early sixties.

AARP should be excoriated for enabling and creating the financial problems in Social Security for which they now claim to have solutions. Unfortunately, AARP’s “solutions” are the very same bad policies that turned Social Security into a massive ticking debt bomb – tax hikes, benefit cuts for millions of future retirees, and continued spending of every cent of the Social Security Trust Fund.

Here's the short list of how AARP specifically put America’s future generations in financial jeopardy...

[Andy from Beaverton]

Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security.

[Brilliant]

I give George Mitchell primary credit. He's the one who pushed thru the massive unfunded benefit increase in 1987 after Reagan increased taxes to buttress the trust fund in 86.

[Young Werther]

LBJ needed to finance the Viet Nam war and the Social Security trust fund was the answer. By moving it "on budget" in 1966 he made the funds available to all the congress critters to spend as they liked.

[Mark in the Old South]

Don't worry about a crisis. Bush has stumbled across the Shiavo Solution to Social Security.

[tnlibertarian]

So, the 178 active Terri threads weren't enough for ya, huh? Thank you for that insightful post on the looming crisis of Social Security and how the AARP exacerbates the problem. Many younger workers, such as myself, don't want to continue flushing our hard-earned dollars down the government toilet at the behest of the financially most secure segment of our population.

[pabianice]

AARP knows!

[KevinDavis]

I think there 900 threads about Terri but who is counting..

[Politically Correct]

I think that the blame can be safely laid at the feet of FDR

[Wolfie]

Who's this "Terri" person you're talking about?

[bahblahbah]

The selfish liberal baby boomers are responsible. These people were part of a baby boom then decided to kill off their offspring which would support them when they were old.

[Mark in the Old South]

Not to worry you have your solution, just bump off the old geezers. It isn't the solution I would recommend but there is a little more serious problem right now and it is related to the topic of this thread. We have politicians in Congress and the White House that give aide and comfort to a court that is willfully killing an innocent handicapped woman. They seem to think that is a more palpable solution than saying "NO" to a powerful lobby that pads their pockets. You don't see the link?

[carlr]

The head of the AARP was on Britt Humes show last Friday and when asked if the system could be fixed by reducing benefits to the middle and upper class he responded that it would be bad because then there might be a disconnect with that segment of the population as to the importance of Social Security.
In other words if you punish those that are financing the system and remove them from dependency on it then his political demagoguery of the program won`t succeed.
I realize those were not his words but that was the effect of what he was saying.
The only thing he supported was non specific revenue(tax)adjustments(increases).

[doctor noe]

Congress is solely responsible for spending SS payroll taxes on discretionary items. The idea that raising the cap will "save" SS is ridiculous...any excess revenue will allow Congress to continue the big spending party. Private accounts are the only way to prevent Congress from getting their grubby little hands on our money.

[DustyMoment]

Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security. Congress is solely responsible for the problems with socialIST security.



Can't be said often enough.

[tnlibertarian]

Apparently you missed Congress passing that legislation that the President flew back to Washington to sign. And no, I don't see the link. If you honestly believe that Congress' solution to the looming Social Security crisis is to 'bump off the old geezers', then you may be past hope. Instead, I think your first post was simply an attempt to continue the hijacking of every thread on FR (All Terri, All the time) with an issue that you feel is more important than Social Security reform, and therefore everyone else should feel the same way.

[Kozak]

And here I thought it was the fault of older citizens who invented deficit spending and thought the government should provide them with a ponzi retirement scheme and free healthcare. Silly me.

[DManA]

It isn't just AARP. There's a whole menagerie of organizations riling up oldsters for the purpose of collecting donations. My Mother gets about 5 a week -

SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY..SEND A DONATION OF $100 RIGHT AWAY!!!National Associating of Very Afraid Retired Persons

[Go_Raiders]

By moving it "on budget" in 1966 he made the funds available to all the congress critters to spend as they liked.

Nope. It was always "On Budget" whether they wanted to call it that or not. The money always disappeared into US Treasury Notes as soon as it was collected. Guess what the US treasury did with the money before 1966?

[Irontank]

"Social Security is the cornerstone of retirement security. For many, it is all that stands between years of dignity and poverty."
AARP CEO William Novelli, Feb 3, 2005


"Abandon your responsibilities, live out a few fantasies, and check a bunch of items off your "To Do Before It's Too Late" list—all in two weeks—in glorious, gorgeous Tahiti"
AARP Magazine, March 30, 2005