Social Security

Citizen Primer ^ | April 22, 2014 | Eric Patrick

[Rational Voter]

"Some think Social Security is going bankrupt, but since the program uses taxes from current workers to pay current retirees, it is impossible for it to go bankrupt. The program also doesn’t contribute to the national debt or the deficit as some have suggested. All taxes and spending for the program happen independently of the federal budget."

"Social Security took in more money than it paid out in benefits until 2010, which created an enormous trust fund, but since 2010, the program has paid out more in benefits than it has received in taxes. Should this trend continue, the trust fund will be depleted by 2033. If that happened, without changes the program would only be able to pay 76% of projected benefits, which is not ideal, but far from bankrupt."

"Some question the accuracy of long term forecasts for the program, pointing out that long term financial predictions are notoriously unreliable- A healthy economy and strong labor market would increase tax receipts and quickly alter these predictions."

[Rational Voter]

This is a short (under four minutes), animated video that explains exactly why liberals are wrong about Social Security going bankrupt and wrong for attacking Conservatives who support social security. Conservatives get attacked for defending social security, when they want to cut spending. Social Security is INDEPENDENT from federal spending. Show all of your liberal friends this video--see what they say about it.

[goodwithagun]

Not everybody who receives SS paid into it. Crazy checks are an example of this.

[DManA]

It goes bankrupt when the two workers supporting a retiree get sick of the burden and refuse to carry him anymore.

[Tenacious 1]

I am not able to watch the video on this computer. However, I am suspicious based on the explanation. Liberals are not usually the ones worried about anything going bankrupt. And they don’t admit there is anything fiscally concerning about social security. It is the conservatives who want reform.

Your explanation seems to be the opposite. ?????

I will watch the video later and check back.

[dragnet2]

If they ever want to end their income confiscation program no problem.

As long as government pays me in full for what they’ve looted from my income, I have no problem.

[109ACS]

There is no trust fund, only worthless IOUs.

[William Tell]

From the article: "... which created an enormous trust fund,"

What an enormous relief. Is the trust fund in the form of stacks of gold bars? Or a portfolio of stocks in long-standing American corporations?

Or is it in the form of IOUs issued by the federal government in order to satisfy the insatiable borrowing appetite of our socialist government?

I think it makes a difference.

In the first two cases, the assets can be sold for their intrinsic or market value. In the third case, the "assets" can only be sold to someone willing to lend yet more money to a bankrupt government. Good luck with that.

[wfu_deacons]

There is no trust fund. The 3 trillion dollars in the trust fund have been replaced with IOUs. Where are the funds going to come from to replace the money taken from the trust fund?

[PieterCasparzen]

Hey, Eric Patrick, jackass shill for the financial elites:

The sheeple have a question.

Social Security took in more money than it paid out in benefits until 2010, which created an enormous trust fund

Regarding the trust fund - what are its investment holdings ?

Be specific.

[buwaya]

It is not independent, other than on paper.

Economically speaking the government is a black box. Money goes in, money comes out. What matters is the balance of what goes in vs what comes out.

If some money goes in, is shuffled into some inner compartment called a social security trust fund, it matters not a bit. What happens inside the box is economically irrelevant.

In past years SS payments could be treated as just part of the overall government income and the tax burden. Payments to SS beneficiaries as just another bit of government spending.

The important issue now is that more is going to come out of the box, without more coming in. Structurally out of balance.

[kabar]

Conservatives get attacked for defending social security, when they want to cut spending. Social Security is INDEPENDENT from federal spending.

Not really. SS has been running in the red since 2010, i.e., revenue doesn't cover benefits paid. In order to pay those benefits, SS must redeem its interest bearing, non-market T-bills in the SSTF to make up the shortfall.

The General Fund must come up with the money to redeem the SS T-bills. And since we must borrow up to 40% each year to cover budget deficits, we are borrowing money to redeem the SS T-bills.

And don’t be misled by those who say the system can pay full benefits until about 2037 without making any changes to the law. That’s true, but does not change the fact that Social Security taxes no longer cover those benefits. The government is now borrowing money to pay them, and will do so every year for the foreseeable future. And keep in mind, if nothing is done, when those trust funds are exhausted, benefits would have to be cut by 22 percent in 2037, and more each year after that, according to the most recent report of the system’s trustees. By 2084, the system will generate only enough revenue to pay for 75 percent of promised benefit levels.

[House Atreides]

Not everybody who receives SS paid into it. Crazy checks are an example of this.
********************************************************************

“Crazy checks” are actually Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments and are not paid from the Social Security trust funds.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of “crazy checks”, they are payments to/for “disabled” children. Disabled in children can and does include children whose ONLY disability is behavior problems. MANY families coach their kids on how to pretend, if they actually don’t have such problems, to have such behavior problems so that they can be determined to be “disabled”. This SSI program is vastly abused now.

The “reward” for such behavior (or pretense) is $731 per month per child TAX FREE. Bad behavior is being rewarded! Kids who don’t misbehave and are not otherwise disabled get nothing.

[Texan5]

There is no trust fund-it is in the general fund that government raids every time they need a few bucks.

There is a solution to the problem, though-pay back our looted money to us, with compounded interest, and I don’t give a damn what program or agency they dismantle to do it-even at a paltry 2%, it is better than what people get from SS now. We can handle our own investments much better than government, thank you...

[Uncle Miltie]

LOL! Good one.

[Uncle Miltie]

Posting History (All of it): Social Security ‎4‎/‎22‎/‎2014‎ ‎10‎:‎48‎:‎10‎ ‎AM · 1 of 14 Rational Voter This is a short (under four minutes), animated video that explains exactly why liberals are wrong about Social Security going bankrupt and wrong for attacking Conservatives who support social security. Conservatives get attacked for defending social security, when they want to cut spending. Social Security is INDEPENDENT from federal spending. Show all of your liberal friends this video--see what they say about it. Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies Tax Day ‎4‎/‎8‎/‎2014‎ ‎9‎:‎15‎:‎53‎ ‎AM · 1 of 4 Rational Voter Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies

[Uncle Miltie]

IBTZ?

[dfwgator]

[Uncle Miltie]

[Uncle Miltie]

[Uncle Miltie]