Social Security and the Fleecing of America

If Americans of all ages ever recognize the degree to which they've been conned by the proponents of failed government programs such as Social Security, they will likely respond in a manner reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party. And it is not hard to imagine a few career politicians floating in the harbor alongside King George's cargo.

Consider the caterwauling from Democrats in response to President Bush's efforts to reform Social Security. Originally promoted as merely a retirement supplement, Franklin Roosevelt's scheme initially involved a miniscule payroll tax. Once the tax was implemented, however, the road was clear to incrementally grow the program in scope and cost, eventually burdening American workers with a 13 percent confiscation from every dollar they earn. Politicians in Washington quickly recognized that intake from taxpayers would, for a time, exceed expenditures. So, in a manner sufficient to earn any Enron executive a trip to the slammer, Congress soon began pillaging the fund, using the money to supplement its insatiable quest for pork. Worse yet, it then covered its actions with a lie of unfathomable proportions.

Ostensibly, such violation of public trust is assuaged by the substitution of IOUs, offered as a "guarantee" of repayment. Consider the abject absurdity of this concept, and how it exemplifies the unbridled contempt with which these politicians regard the American people.

Not even worth the paper it is written on, any government-issued "IOU" simply concedes the fact that monies were indeed appropriated and that sooner or later somebody will be forced to repay them.

Since governments cannot create wealth, and possess only that which can be forcibly extorted from their citizens, those promissory notes hold no monetary value whatsoever. Instead, they are nothing more than confessions of the original theft. If they are to be repaid, it will be by the very same citizenry that was overtaxed to create the surplus in the first place.

Meanwhile, political operatives are having a field day dipping into the coffers, essentially robbing from one citizen in order to purchase the loyalty of another. It is perhaps the biggest deception of the 20th century to portray Social Security surpluses as anything other than a supplemental income tax, further burdening the citizenry while enabling big-government liberal Democrats from both parties to perpetuate their "business as usual."

Thus, the phony outrage among liberals, intent on maintaining the system in its present form, offers proof of their real loyalties. And politicians who piously suggest another tax hike as some sort of corrective action are merely showing themselves to be willing to continue the theft, not only from this generation but also from future generations, until such time that the public wakes up to the sham.

Such underhanded tactics are the lifeblood of liberalism, which on the one hand publicly reviles the evils of capitalism while on the other hand continually seeks to solidify its access to the lion's share of the fruits. Is it any wonder that liberals vehemently oppose revamping the system into a form that would allow average people some measure of independence, and would eventually force the system to become honest and accountable?

Perhaps common citizens, particularly those who rely heavily on Social Security for their sustenance, can be forgiven for their anxiety. But those politicians echoing such alarmist rhetoric are either grossly ignorant of the fiscal reality, or shamefully disingenuous and willing to stoke the fears of their constituents in order to keep them in line.

Among the worst collaborators in this ruse is the American Association of Retired Persons, an organization with a fundamental necessity to maintain its symbiotic tie to the governmental status quo. The AARP thrives on the backs of frightened and dependent members, and therefore works to ensure that they stay that way.

That is why it cannot sanction any Bush plan, no matter how favorable to future generations or how thoroughly it protects present recipients from any adverse effects, if such a plan holds even the tiniest possibility of allowing them to disentangle themselves from the debilitating web of dependence on government.

Every pyramid scheme in existence requires the inclusion of a "bottom tier" of people whose destiny it is to be robbed blind, in order to enrich those above them. Social Security is no different.

In the private sector, such schemes are considered criminal. How much more criminal is it for the government to continually subjugate present and future working Americans by fleecing them in this manner?

You nailed it in post #3.

The thing that gets me is that 10 years ago Democrats were also saying that SS was in a crisis and should be fixed. Even the great Bill Clinton said so in his 1999 SOTU speech.

The best thing about Bush is that he actually opened the door and put the subject on the table. Prior to him any politician that mentioned SS reform might as well kissed his reelection goodbye. For this alone makes Bush a great President.

What you're saying is that if you're old enough now, you reap the benefits of the Ponzi scheme, as those who are in early enough usually do.

These seniors paid into the system; they have a right to receive whatever they put into it. It is the politicians who put the SS trust fund into the general fund, and replaced it with worthless IOUs.

What you're also saying is that people younger than that have to pay off the old people...

Wrong. I didn't say that. I said it should be mandatory that younger people invest a minimum percentage into an IRA or 401(k). Seniors can receive their benefits through spending cuts or replacing all payroll and FICA taxes with a temporary federal sales tax.

accept the fact that the system will blow up and pay them nothing and somehow scrape together enough to support themselves in old age after paying off the older ones who've scammed them.

They got their own retirement accounts, remember?

Look, I agree with you that Social Security is a scam. But the ideal solution is to pay off the current recipients, allow those in-between to accept a lump-sum payment in exchange for forgoing future benefits, and mandate that younger workers set up their own retirement accounts.

The first paragraph is the core of this article for me.

As far as I am concerned, there are more than a few current and former members of Congress that I would love to see dancing at the end of a gibbet.

"It could probably be shown with facts and figures, that there is no distinctly native American criminal element, excepting Congress" - Mark Twain.

regards,

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