Free Republic

As gun sales break records—partly because of fear of coming gun control from the Obama administration—supplies of ammo ran so low that gun stores and ranges have to ration ammunition. Meanwhile, rumors of mass purchases of ammunition made by government entities began to fly around the Internet. Making all this even worse is that fact that it hasn’t been a short-term supply problem. Now well over a year since the shortages of popular types of ammo began there are still empty shelves and rationing here and there around the United States.

A former Social Security official has pleaded guilty to identity theft on accusations he used information from the federal agency's database and took more than $160,000 of a Coventry man's stock investments. ... Hurst, who was assistant district manager for the Social Security Administration in Warwick, used a Social Security database to find personal information such as a Social Security number and date of birth.

I wanted to share a quick story about something that happened in our household today and 3 days ago with a friend of mine as well of 23 years. My wife is on permanent disability for the remainder of her life due to a number of health reasons from on and off cancer battles to other sustained health issues that prevent her from working. My friend Cory injured himself on the job a few years ago breaking his back, right knee, and shoulder. Both have been getting around $1,000.00 a month in disability. My wife puts that money towards the...

Eventually this shutdown crisis will end. And eventually the two parties will make another stab at a deal on taxes, investments and entitlements. But there’s one outcome from such negotiations that I can absolutely guarantee: Seniors, Wall Street and unions will all have their say and their interests protected. So the most likely result will be more tinkering around the edges, as our politicians run for the hills the minute someone accuses them of “fixing the deficit on the backs of the elderly” or creating “death panels” to sensibly allocate end-of-life health care. Could this time be different? Short of...

I just heard my Conservative radio hosts discussing what is being put on the table by the Republicans in the House. They said Ryan is pushing means testing for SS benefits.

The Social Security Administration has begun warning the public it cannot guarantee full benefit payments if the debt ceiling isn’t increased. When asked by the public, the agency is notifying beneficiaries that “Unlike a federal shutdown which has no impact on the payment of Social Security benefits, failure to raise the debt ceiling puts Social Security benefits at risk,” according to a person familiar with the agency directive. The warning was assembled after the agency consulted with the Treasury Department, which would play a lead role in determining how the government handles payments if the borrowing limit isn’t raised soon....

Social Security Administration employees are being instructed to tell people who ask that if the debt ceiling is not raised, their social security benefits could be in danger. In an email sent Friday, obtained by The Daily Caller, employees are instructed: “If a member of the public asks whether their Social Security payment will be affected if the federal debt ceiling is not raised, you may give the following response: ‘Unlike a federal shutdown which has no impact on the payment of Social Security benefits, failure to raise the debt ceiling puts Social Security benefits at risk.’ “Direct all program–related...

The President’s comments, underlying the danger of not authorizing an increase in government debt, highlights the structural concerns within the government’s current fiscal policy. During a campaign style speech (does he give any other kind?) the President said "In a government shutdown, Social Security checks still go out on time, [ but] if we don't raise the debt ceiling, they don't go out on time." double speak "In a government shutdown, Social Security checks still go out on time, [ but] if we don't raise the debt ceiling, they don't go out on time."

President Barack Obama warned Thursday that as bad as the government shutdown is, a failure to raise the debt ceiling would be even more damaging to the U.S. economy, and called on congressional Republicans to end their “irresponsibility” on both issues. “As reckless as a government shutdown is … an economic shutdown that results from default would be dramatically worse,” Obama said on the morning of the third day of the government shutdown, at an event held at M. Luis Construction Company in the D.C. suburb of Rockville, Md. The president had on Wednesday warned Wall Street that “this time’s...

Pensions: In Chile, a major study shows the nation's private retirement accounts provide workers pensions worth 87% of their salaries, 73% of that from profits on savings. So much for the canard about the perils of markets. The story was front-page news in Chile's largest newspapers, El Mercurio and La Tercera, on Sept. 3, a powerful affirmation of what former Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain called "The Chilean Model" of private retirement accounts. The study of 28,000 households by Dictuc, a consultancy affiliated with the Catholic University of Chile, showed that male workers who contributed just 10%...

In response to Just How Distorted is the U.S. Unemployment Rate Number?, reader Bjorn asked "care to take a guess on the percentage of fraud among the population receiving disability compensation?" Fraud Incentive My Reply Follows: I suspect fraud is in the neighborhood of 25-50% (and higher would not surprise me one bit). The reason is that States Have an Incentive to Promote (Not Stop) Disability Fraud. This all goes back to 1996 when president Bill Clinton promised to "end welfare as we know it". He did indeed do just that, and fraud is the result. Why? The federal government...

Americans who dream of a retirement filled with sandy beaches, temperate weather and colorful local life may have another thing coming. That's because a new report from the National Institute on Retirement Security finds that 45 percent of working-age households have no retirement savings at all. The average figure for funds set aside by households nearing the end of their working lives was a meager $12,000. That's not enough to cover a single year. If there is no change in their savings rate, many Americans may wind up living on monthly Social Security benefits alone. Monthly benefits now average just...

One potential benefit that can come from last week’s March on Washington 2013, which commemorated the 1963 civil rights event, is the various data publicized about the current state of affairs of black America vis a vis the rest of the country. In particular, it has been an eye opener for many to see how little progress has been made over the last 50 years in closing the economic gap, on average, between blacks and whites. I call shining light on the data a “potential” benefit because there is no benefit if real remedial action is not taken to improve...

A recent audit report by the inspector general for the Social Security Administration found that Obama’s IRS was reluctant to penalize any employers who consistently used Social Security numbers that did not match the names. Thus refusing any efforts to stop identity fraud from ”unauthorized noncitizens” using Social Security numbers that in 80% of the cases belonged to legal citizens. Defund the IRS. Flashback video reports here and here: (VIDEO-AT-LINK)CNSNews.com reports the following: An audit report published this month by the inspector general for the Social Security Administration says that the Internal Revenue Service’s reluctance to penalize employers who consistently...

This week’s charts show total receipts, expenditures, and assets left in the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund. Data from the 2013 Trustees Report show that the disability fund is currently predicted to be three years from insolvency. Under more pessimistic assumptions, the insolvency date is pushed up to 2015. The fact that the DI trust fund is not currently depleted shouldn’t mislead us into thinking we have until 2016 to deal with the shortfalls.Spending on Social Security has more than doubled in the past decade, and DI now accounts for almost 20 percent of Social Security’s budget, up...

The Federal government debt outstanding is almost $17 trillion. This has grown at a staggering pace since 2007. GFDEBTN_Max_630_378 (2) And that is the GOOD news! According to economist James Hamilton at University of California at San Diego, the value of notional off-balance sheet liabilities was around $70 trillion in 2012. We were already aware that unfunded liabilities are staggering, according to USDebtclock.org. usbtclcok The biggest items in this category are Social Security and Medicare. If current policies are maintained, these off-balance sheet liabilities will require enormous sacrifices from future taxpayers. Better know as massive increase in taxes. Hamiton includes...

Dear Readers, Social Security is a hot topic for young and old alike. And as with any frequently discussed issue, there's a lot of misinformation out there. So whether you plan to collect benefits soon or are worried there won't be anything for you to collect by the time you reach retirement, take a look at these 10 common myths and misunderstandings about Social Security. It's always best to have the facts! 1) I should start taking Social Security benefits as soon as I'm eligible. This sounds good on the surface, but to max out your benefits, you need to...

In just about seven weeks, people will be able to start buying Obamacare-approved insurance plans through the new health care exchanges. But already, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is predicting those plans, and the whole system of distributing them, will eventually be moot. Reid said he thinks the country has to “work our way past” insurance-based health care during a Friday night appearance on Vegas PBS’ program “Nevada Week in Review.” “What we’ve done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction, but we’re far from having something that’s going to work forever,” Reid said. When then asked...

The Muslim terrorist group Qa’adat el-Jihad claimed responsibility Saturday for a terrorist bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria. The bombing in Bulgaria last week killed five Israelis, one a pregnant woman. The Lebanese paper El-Nashra reported that the group, which has ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility in an email to the Arab press.

Went to the local Social Security Administration Office today with my wife who will be retiring in near future. The office is in a rural low crime area in Western Kentucky. We were greeted by two armed, courteous "Rent-a-Cops" upon entry. While waiting to be served we observed the Rent-a-Cops doing a thorough search of a an elderly lady's purse prior to her being allowed to see the Social Security worker. These guys were opening every thing in the purse, unzipping every zipper. Voicing our disapproval over the search, we departed. The entire scenario was ridiculous. Does anyone know the...