Free Republic

[I begin] with the story of a series of Socialist scholars conferences that Barack Obama attended when he lived in New York City between the years 1983 and 1985. And when I finally reconstructed what had gone on at these Socialist conferences that Barack Obama attended, I truly was amazed because what I saw was a kind of map of Barack Obama’s entire subsequent political career. It was at this Socialist conferences in New York in the mid-’80s that Barack Obama encountered the groups, the strategies, and the mentors who would guide him throughout his entire political career. [T]hese Socialist...

Let’s touch on a few points regarding Social Security retirement benefits that are coming into sharper focus in the current economic crisis. In general, one should avoid beginning benefits prior to Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is age 66 for persons turning 66 this year and which will gradually increase in future years. While benefits can begin as early as age 62, the cost of doing so is a permanent 25% lifetime reduction of benefits. Unless one is under tremendous financial or medical distress, drawing benefits prior to FRA can be a costly and irreversible mistake. Second, one can defer...

The 2020 Social Security Trustees’ Report is out, and it is not good news. According to Social Security’s trustees, the Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance Trust Fund will run out of money in 14 years, meaning that beginning in 2035, all of Social Security’s beneficiaries will have their monthly income checks slashed by 21 percent. ... But it’s going to be much worse than that. Social Security’s Trustees never considered the possibility of a global coronavirus pandemic that would prompt state and local government officials to close businesses and to order residents to stay at home, effectively shutting down a...

$5,000 Stimulus Check Loan Proposal: The Washington Post reported that senior economic officials at the White House are exploring a polarizing proposal by conservative scholars at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute and Hoover Institution. The scholars, Andrew Biggs (a Forbes contributor) and Joshua Rauh, had published an opinion piece in The Hill outlining their plan, which would provide cash to households, but not in the form of a direct stimulus payment. Instead, the two argue that Congress should offer voluntary loan checks of up to $5,000 – the actual amount is up for debate – in exchange for a delay...

When to claim Social Security is arguably the most important decision you will make regarding the benefits program, which begs the question: Is the most popular age to claim Social Security the best option for you?While popularity shouldn’t matter when it comes to claiming your benefits, it does give a little insight into what others are doing so we can explore some reasons they might choose a particular age to claim Social Security.Many factors go into determining your monthly benefits, and the age you claim will most likely have the greatest impact on how much Social Security income you...

WASHINGTON - The financial conditions of the government’s two biggest benefits programs remain shaky, with Medicare projected to become insolvent in six years and Social Security on track to no longer be able to pay full benefits starting in 2035. And that’s without accounting for the impact of the coronavirus, which is sure to impose further pressure on the two programs. For Social Security, the projected 2035 date for exhausting the trust fund reserves means that it would be able to pay only 79% of benefits at that time. The projected timetables, which remained unchanged from last year’s estimates, were...

Most Social Security recipients will be paid automatically, but there are some big exceptions. The U.S. Treasury Department recently announced that Social Security beneficiaries who aren't typically required to file a tax return won't need to take any special action to get a $1,200 stimulus payment. Because of this, most Social Security beneficiaries don't have to take any special action -- the payment will be automatically paid in the same manner as their Social Security benefits. On the other hand, there are some Social Security recipients who may still need to take action, especially if they want to maximize the...

CURIOUS! Has anybody out there of Social Security got $1,200 stimulus direct deposit yet?

The Social Security Disability Insurance system was established as a social safety net program for workers who lose the physical or mental ability to work at a sustainable gainful activity level. It has become so much more than that. But a new rule from the Social Security Administration will improve the integrity and purpose of the Disability Insurance system. The inability to communicate in English does not render someone unable to perform work, but under the Disability Insurance program’s qualification standards, it does make it easier for them to receive benefits.

The Treasury Department said late Wednesday that Social Security recipients who typically don't file tax returns will automatically receive their coronavirus relief checks and will not have to file tax returns to receive their payments

The Treasury announced late Wednesday that Social Security beneficiaries who typically do not file a tax return will automatically get the $1,200 payment. The announcement is a reversal from earlier in the week when the Internal Revenue Service said everyone would need to file some sort of tax return in order to qualify for the payments. Democrats and some Republicans criticized the IRS for requiring so many extra hurdles for this vulnerable population to get aid when the government already has their information on file. The reversal came as the Trump administration tries to rapidly get stimulus payments out to...

As part of an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus bill expected to pass the Senate on Wednesday night, many Americans experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 will soon be eligible for a $1,200 check and expanded unemployment benefits. But despite promises from Democratic congressional leaders, the sweeping legislation will leave behind some of the country's most vulnerable residents: undocumented immigrants and mixed status families. According to a draft of the bill, the relief explicitly excludes those without Social Security numbers from obtaining the one-time cash assistance payments that will soon be sent to millions of Americans. Even more glaring, advocates said,...

I will be addressing the Nation this evening at 9:00 P.M. (Eastern) from the Oval Office. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1237841878889840642

The Trump administration plans to delay the April 15 tax deadline for most individual taxpayers as well as small businesses as part of an effort to mitigate the effects of the spread of the novel coronavirus, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday. Mr. Mnuchin said the delay would apply “to virtually all Americans, other than the super rich,” and said officials would likely announce a decision quickly...

President Donald Trump proposed eliminating federal payroll taxes altogether for the rest of the year, according to a report from CNBC Tuesday. The proposal would include eliminating both the employer and employee payroll taxes on Social Security and Medicare, according to the report. “There was also discussion of making the payroll tax rollback permanent,” CNBC reported.

A retired federal administrative law judge from Mercer County pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of buying an assault rifle for his boyfriend, a North Side felon described by the FBI as obsessed with Nazis and mass shootings. Karl Alexander, 78, who splits his time between Pittsburgh and Grove City, admitted to lying on a federal firearm form in buying an AR-15 for Dennis Alan Riggs, 50, of Troy Hill, who was arrested on illegal gun charges in January after a raid on his house that turned up seven guns among portraits of Hitler, swastikas and Nazi banners. Riggs can't...

As you may have heard, our nation's most successful social program is in a bit of a bind. Every year since 1982, the Social Security program has generated a net cash surplus. By bringing in more revenue than is paid out in benefits each year, the program has been able to build up a $2.9 trillion reserve. However, according to the 2019 report from the Social Security Board of Trustees, the program is about to hit an unwanted inflection point. You see, more than a half-dozen ongoing demographic changes are expected to result in Social Security expending more than it...

Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg twice compared Social Security to a Ponzi scheme when he was in office, CNN reports, which is a far cry from his current stance as a Democratic presidential candidate. Nowadays, Bloomberg has vowed to to strengthen entitlement programs, but he used to see them as a major hurdle in the effort to shrink the United States' deficit. During appearances on his old radio program "Live from City Hall," which were reviewed by CNN's KFile, Bloomberg made the Ponzi scheme comparison once in 2006 and again in 2009. The latter instance was...

New social security rule will block people that speak limited or no English from getting benefits through the system’s disability insurance program. The change would remove the “inability to communicate in English” from the list of educational categories that are considered when the Social Security Administration’s administrative law judges determine who qualifies to receive disability insurance through the program. “It is important that we have an up-to-date disability program,” Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said. “The workforce and work opportunities have changed, and outdated regulations need to be revised to reflect today’s world,” he added. The Hill reported that the...

WASHINGTON - As part of a forthcoming package of proposed tax cuts, the White House is considering ways to incentivize U.S. households to invest in the stock market, according to four senior administration officials familiar with the discussions. The proposal, one of many new tax cuts under consideration, would see a portion of household income treated as tax-free for the purposes of investing outside a traditional 401(k). Under one scenario, a household earning up to $200,000 could invest $10,000 tax-free, although officials noted these numbers are fluid. "Nothing's ruled out," said one senior administration official. "Nothing's been ruled in, either."...