Just a reminder to those who think social security is a government handout: It’s not!
This is my money that has been siphoned from each check since 1965. That’s a long time and I have a right to it now, while I’m still alive. For those who propose a reduction, I’ll meet you in the alley behind the dumpster. The winner decides. Politicos, keep your paws off my money.
D.J. Diebold, Scottsdale/Mesa
Accuracy posted at 9:37 am on Fri, Feb 18, 2011.
This is one D.J. Diebold “daily letter” that I and many Americans agree with.
As you say; “Politicos, keep your paws off my money.”
And better yet, cut out Congressional Social Security Spending all together, by stopping the federal government from borrowing against Social Security's annual surplus revenue to fund other programs.
Congress has been spending Social Security’s annual trust funds and surplus revenue, and even all Social Security (FICA) contribution payroll taxes (by employers and employees), to pay for more “Big Government” programs.
Dale Whiting posted at 2:02 pm on Fri, Feb 18, 2011.
D.J.
The talk is to keep current Social Security benefits in place. It is those yet to retire who face some changes. And in particular it is those who are just now starting to work, those whose first pay checks were not issued as long ago as were yours and mine. Looks like we both started together in 1965.
The argument given before the current crisis came along was that Social Security was based upon the concept of an ever increasing population size where the number of workers were about 8 times more than the number of retirees. Then, rather than having average family sizes of 2 adults [one working] and 4 children [to grow up and pay for the retiree, the average family size dropped to 2 adults [maybe both working] and 1.7 children AND the retirees at 62 or 65 lived not until 72 but 89. These population dynamics have continued to worsen. FDR's crystal ball was not working. Change is needed.
So it looks like today's generations will still pay for us for another 25 years or so but themselves will have to work until age 70 or higher to retire. AND that late retirement places a burden upon their next generation to find work. With less incentive to retire early, fewer openings in the job market occur.
Nothing about the future of Social Security is good.
samkat posted at 7:13 pm on Fri, Feb 18, 2011.
Dale: What you naysayers tend to ignore is the bathtub curve. The current crop of retirees will begin to subside in a few years and the entire scheme of things will begin to settle down. There are a number of things that could be done to protect the Social Security program. For starters, remove the folks who never paid a dime and get full blown benefits, i.e., the parents of immigrants admitted into the the country. Next, remove the SSDI folks and put them into a separate funded pool until they reach social security age .Ditto for Medicaid. Incrementally raise the threshold on earnings and perhaps increase the Social Security and Medicare withholding by say .01% each. That amount is not going to break the backs of even the lowest paid worker.
Next, keep the politicians from tapping the Social Security funds as it was their personal bank.
Accuracy posted at 2:40 pm on Sat, Feb 19, 2011.
D.J. Diebold wrote: “Politicos, keep your paws off my money.”
And . . samkat posted : "Next, keep the politicians from tapping the Social Security funds as it was their personal bank."
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As a plan to stop the federal government from borrowing against Social Security's annual surplus revenue to fund other government programs, Rep. Ron Paul, Republican Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas, introduced “The Social Security Preservation Act ” [HR219] in the U.S. House of Representatives.
It seeks "to amend title II of the Social Security Act to ensure the integrity of the Social Security trust funds by requiring the Managing Trustee to invest the annual surplus of such trust funds in marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States and certificates of deposit in depository institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and to protect such trust funds from the public debt limit".