Posted on 03/13/2006 12:17:02 PM PST by cope85
Free Inside Every 'Guest Worker' Plan: A Ticking Social Security Time Bomb. Barbara Anderson
March 8, 2006 ‘Yessirree, ladies and gents, step right up. Get yer 'guest worker' elixir with secret ingredient that will fix what ails ya. Goes down smooth and easy and costs just pennies a day.” So say the snake oil senators trying to sell this poison.
Every “guest worker” program (read amnesty) plan being advanced in the Senate has in it provisions for acceptance into the Social Security program the millions of illegal aliens who have managed to sneak into the country and can “prove” with dubious documents that they have worked here for some length of time. Nobody knows just how many of these workers there are, as nobody is allowed to ask a person’s citizenship status when applying for welfare benefits, for instance. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is applied by most government agencies. The Bear Stearns estimate is 25+ million. This is just for the workers and some family here, but there are many more waiting in Mexico for the word to come. These other family members are the recipients of the $20 BILLION dollars sent home, and out of our economy, to Mexico from the U.S. last year. If they choose not to come, they may still be eligible for benefits from the primary worker’s “right” to Social Security benefits. Thus, they may be eligible for Social Security benefits even if they have never lived in the U.S.
SSA is an Executive branch agency whose director is appointed by the President. Director Joann Barnhardt is so eager to give U.S. Social Security benefits to Mexicans that she signed the U.S.-Mexico Totalization Agreement in July 2004 and built an SSA building in Mexico: sort of a branch office, paid for by American taxpayers. Barnhardt is among our many civil servants who can’t keep accurate records. She told the Senate that her agency isn’t able to prevent fraudulent wage transfers for years prior to 2004. Her solution: give away benefits paid for by citizens of this country to people who don’t deserve them.
We are not entirely in the dark as to how this amnesty would affect Social Security. In 1986 we were sold the same elixir. We don’t hear the leading salesmen, Ted Kennedy, Orrin Hatch or John McCain, who are touting the 2006 rerun of amnesty, bragging about their 1986 votes. In 1986 we were promised that amnesty would be given to 300,000 illegal aliens, and that would be the final, final amnesty. The reality was that the final count was nearly 3 million. Well, we know how things just grow in the atmosphere of Washington, D.C. when you take your eyes off them. The “one-time” amnesty showed INS and SSA knowingly accepted massive numbers of fraudulent rent receipts, earning records and birth records. The country is now awash with fake I.D. and other documents produced by entrepreneurs who seized on the lax requirements of businesses and government for these documents.
When an illegal alien attains legal status, whether by marrying an American or by “guest worker” program, that person is issued a genuine SSN. It is used to earn future wages and Social Security credits, obtain public funded benefits, financial aid for education, and the list goes on. That new SSN enables the illegal alien to retroactively access wage credit for money in the Earnings Suspense File, even if they were using a bogus SSN or “borrowing” a valid SSN assigned to someone else! It’s the little bomb in each and every “guest worker” program.
Even with a speeded up program, one can imagine the literally millions of illegal aliens in line applying for a SSN, who will be given first priority at SSA offices, bogging down the system for legal American workers. Those already in the system can look forward to their benefits being handled in a much less efficient way, unless an enormous amount of new personnel is brought in to handle the hordes of new people being enrolled in the system. Even that remedy will ensure chaos because of the vastness of the task.
However, the same people who are saying we don’t have the means and personnel to track down those who are here illegally, are perfectly willing to accept the enormous task of trying to determine…….who are allowed benefits.
By law, if an illegal alien had bogus pay stubs or W-2s (making up numerous names and SSNs) from 1980-2000, and was given amnesty OR became legal, we would have to give them “credit” for those 20 years of illegal work. Considering the money at stake, both in past Social Security payroll deductions and future benefits, can anyone doubt that these illegal aliens will do all possible to lay claim to “wage credits” and FICA deductions for the SSN they’ve been fraudulently using? Does anyone suspect they might also try to take wage credit that doesn’t belong to them?
This little bomb is currently in every guest worker plan, no matter who is pushing it: McCain, Kennedy, Hatch, Craig, Domenici, Specter or any of the other senate panderers. If you see your senator in this lineup, you should be especially indignant, since these are the main pushers, but there are plenty of others poised to join them, if their constituents don’t make too much noise. Republicans pander to their contributors who love cheap labor, while Democrats are already counting the heads of those they think will be voting for them. Oh, did I mention that voting rights come along with this little package, once they are deemed legal.
How many years have we been hearing that Social Security is going broke? Younger people paying into the plan have all but given up any hope of ever seeing anything of what they have put into it. Older people have had a false sense of security about the safety of their benefits, it seems. With 25+ million (including beneficiaries) coming onto the rolls of Social Security, who can doubt that all benefits will be sharply curtailed.
The Senate is developing its immigration bill right now. There is a strong push for “guest worker” (amnesty) provisions to be added to, or replace, the commonsense bill passed by the House, which has no Social Security provisions in it. Every senator knows the pernicious effects such an amnesty will have on the country, mostly on low-wage earners and the middle class. It was known in 1986 when it was passed with the promise it was a one-time amnesty, but the same mindset that promoted and allowed amnesty in 1986 is rampant in the Senate today. Senators who will vote for this know what will happen, but are keeping quiet about it as they did in 1986. Are your senators among them?
Giving amnesty to several millions of illegal aliens, which automatically entitles them to future AND PAST Social Security would be like throwing anchors on a sinking ship. This ship is named the U.S. Social Security.
Sounds as though you are making a good argument for a well run immigration program
They will buy whatever documentation is needed from the same guy on the same corner they do now. All this will do is add to the problem of false documents and identity theft in this country.
Sorry, I'll say it, because "these people" are not only able-bodied immigrants; they are illegal gate crashers, many of whom drop their dependants on our financial doorstep as soon as they can get away with it.
Were we naturalizing a larger number of qualified and vetted productive applicants seeking to become Americans, I'd be right there with you.
A person or entity having knowledge of a violation or potential violation of employer sanctions provisions may submit a signed written complaint to the INS office with jurisdiction over the business.......
Designated INS officers and employees, and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws, may make an arrest for violation of smuggling or harboring illegal aliens.........
State and local law enforcement officials have the general power to investigate and arrest violators of federal immigration statutes without prior INS knowledge or approval, as long as they are authorized to do so by state law.......
There is no extant federal limitation on this authority. The 1996 immigration control legislation passed by Congress was intended to encourage states and local agencies to participate in the process of enforcing federal immigration laws.....
I'm not blaming anyone for anything.
I'm just saying that a possible solution for our social security problem is to allow more people in the country who would be paying into the Social Security system. That strikes me as nothing more than common sense.
Old Bill pointed out that the illegals are not rich. That doesn't matter; the SS tax is charged from the first dollar you earn. Illegals may not pay their fair share of income taxes, but there's no way for them to avoid SS. And they are paying this money now, when it's needed to support current retirees. If we had to borrow to pay it, it would cost us double or triple what it would cost to just take the money now and transfer it to retirees.
Every time I've encountered illegals, I've seen them as willing - nay, eager - to work. I find it strange that the welfare leech label gets applied to them.
Of course my children's America, if I have children, will be different from my parents' America. The Internet didn't even exist when I was born in 1962. The coarsening of life and culture was only just starting. And regional diffferences were much stronger then than they are today.
There are a lot of differences between today and tomorrow, and illegal aliens - which many focus on to the complete exclusion of every other problem and situation - have very little to do with the overall picture.
D
Those were the same requirements for Reagan's amnesty. The program was full of fraud and it took us 2 decades to weed out over 100,000 fraudulent applicants.
Imagine how long it will take and how many fraudulent applicants we can find in the new amnesty!
Not only is it deniable, it is complete horse puck!
About 65% of illegal immigrants are using fraudulent social security numbers and paying about $6 billion per year into Social Security. If all 100% were contributing it would be about $10 billion per year.
The problem with your straight talk is that these illegals consume about $16 billion per year in various Federal services and benefits making their net contribution to the treasury a negative $10 billion annually. If they were made legal, given their low earnings power, they would qualify for many more Federal social/welfare programs and their net cost to the Federal Treasury would climb to about $30 billion annually.
All of this ignores the additional $60 billion or so of net costs that they are imposing on taxpayers at the state level, after subtracting out the pittance they pay in sales taxes and other fees.
We are not going to solve Social Security or any other problem by importing more poor ignorant people from the third world. In fact all of our problems become harder to solve as we add people and particularly ignorant people.
I don't. There is a high percentage of illegals on welfare then citizens. The percentage of illegals that participate in welfare is higher then the percentage of citizens that participate.
I've seen them as willing - nay, eager - to work.
A criminal is a criminal, regardless of his willingness or eagerness to work.
There are a lot of differences between today and tomorrow, and illegal aliens - which many focus on to the complete exclusion of every other problem and situation - have very little to do with the overall picture.
LOL, they have much more to do with the overall picture them you think.
Can they buy the documentation of the employer records? Can they buy the documentation of the SS records?
Actually, I'm not. Go back and read the tripe I was responding to. That post was based on the false premise that I pointed to in my post.
OTOH, a very, very large number will not be able to prove that they actually did pay into the system.
Most likely they can do what ever it takes, not long ago an illegal managed to pass a federal background check, got hired as a US Border Patrol officer and was only caught when his fellow officers reported they believed he was smuggling illegals into the US. He was investigated, and only in the course of that investigation was it found he was himself an illegal and had used false documents.
I am sure not many are as clever as he was, but you never know, there is a well organized criminal system that thrives on false documents for illegals and they have been caught bribing various officials to get driver's licenses and other paperwork they need that can be cross checked.
Illegal entry into this country is organized crime in every way, so I will not feel comfortable that they could not accomplish matching records by some means. The other issue is the bleeding heart syndrome, if many are rejected because they can't provide the proper paperwork, the rules will be relaxed for them, open door for the criminals to walk in.
The reality is that most illegals who have paid in and will never get credit.
That Costa Rica thingie was supposed to be kept a secret. ;-)
How does adding millions of low-wage workers help SS? You are only adding to the rolls later on. Really. How much thought did you put into this?
Yes and Yes. It happened in the 80's it will happen now.
Being in the Military is not proof of anything other then being in the Military. It's never been used to prove citizenship. Also, the BP does not do it's own background investigations. The investigations are conducted by OPM, DOJ or DOD, depending on who your going to work for.
The INS used the OPM investigators. I'm not sure who DHS uses, but I would guess that it's OPM.
The problem is the lack of investigators to do the checks, so the checks are not done thoroughly.
Did they bribe somebody at SS? How did they get the SS records changed?
Unfortunately, the vast majority will succeed. The same problem exists now as it did then. Nobody to do the checks properly.
Also, after we investigate some false claim for 20 years, the courts won't let us kick the alien out.
Same shit, different decade.
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