Posted on 06/23/2007 4:46:06 AM PDT by Son House
Social Security benefit payments soon will exceed payroll tax revenues. Beginning in about a dozen years, these annual cash-flow deficits will begin to climb rapidly, soaring to $100 billion in 2015 and $500 billion in 2025.
The Social Security Trust Fund is a deception. It contains no genuine assets, only government bonds--IOUs that have no value beyond a promise to impose higher taxes on future workers.
"When the government issues a bond to one of its own accounts, it hasn't purchased anything or established a claim against another entity or person. It is simply creating a form of IOU from one of its accounts to another." 8 And just as an individual or a business cannot write an IOU to itself and count that as an asset
In reality, the Trust Fund's holdings simply measure that one part of the government--the Treasury--owes money to another part of the government--the Social Security Trust Fund.
Indeed, the best possible interpretation of the Trust Fund is that the IOUs are a measure of how much taxes will have to be raised in the future.
A group of government actuaries acknowledged this fact, writing that "we are not accumulating a true trust fund and are instead merely accumulating a right to future government revenues." 11
"Where would the cash required to pay the principal and interest on the bonds come from?"
Their answer: "The Treasury would have to (1) increase its borrowing from the private sector and from other countries to raise the cash necessary to fund the deficiency in the OASDI program, or (2) raise taxes." 13
(Excerpt) Read more at heritage.org ...
Article is from 1999, these are partial excerpts, but those 'imposed higher taxes' are getting closer.
The next President and Congress will "impose higher taxes on future workers" to repay Social Security IOU's.
I would hope some urgency would be put into privatization and even immediately imposing the lock-box Al Gore suggested, after learning about 'Ear Marks'.
Higher tax rates will mean less opportunity to find work. I am not an authority on Social Security IOU's(see Congress), though hopefully, someone can respond to help put into perspective the up-coming tax increase.
I distinctly remember when George Bush came into the Presidency he had a plan to deal with Social Security. The Democrats told him —No— there is no problem with Social Security and shuffled him off.
We have sat for 8 years doing nothing because Democrats said there was no problem. The next President no matter what party he is in is going to have to face this mess the Democrats said didnt exist.
A good start would be to seize all the assets and real property owned by the thieves in Congress, past and present.
Then sell off the 196 million acres of federal socialist forests.
If that’s not enough, fire 10 million federal bureaucrats and end all federal retirement benefits.
Then tell the Congress and the bureaucrats: “We’re taking things away from you for the common good.”
Teddy Kennedy will have fits if you touch his ‘Education Spending’, though I am with you on the rest.
And they will do the same thing they did in 1983 when payouts exceeded revenue, raise taxes, increase the retirement age, and decrease benefits.
A giant Ponzi scheme. Ten years ago it took three working people’s monthly “contribution” to pay one retiree.
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
No problem.
We gotta let in forty million Mexicans and let them dip into the pot as well as us gringos.
Love, Jorge.
We can start with the 250,00 IRS deadheads.
I can already guess the ‘polls’ that will say most think Americans are living longer are already being made-up for news articles.
jorge bush/the no cajones republicans/all lib/dems.....
with amnesty will destroy any last vestiges of Social Security...
being the tax paying citizen...I have been mandated to pay into this system for many many years....in another decade when my time comes to actually collect...thanks to jorge & gang, I won’t be able to collect due to the money all to be going to illegals......
what a great social contract!!!!
I would gladly, nay GLEEFULLY, give the gubmint every dime I've paid in if they would just LET ME OUT OF THE SOCIAL (IN)SECURITY SYSTEM!
Well --- wait a minute --- the Federal Government that has borrowed this money from us Social Security Taxpayers to enlarge itself at our expense does have a lot of buildings, lands, properties, and pension funds itself that far exceed the value of those Social Security bonds. Maybe the Social Security taxpayers can take those assets in exchange --- in a sense buy back their own government with those IOUs.
Their answer: "The Treasury would have to (1) increase its borrowing from the private sector and from other countries to raise the cash necessary to fund the deficiency in the OASDI program, or (2) raise taxes." 13
or [3] sell, license, contract out American assets like highways, national parks, other such functions and assets that the government owns to public-private partnerships that will then charge the public for what their taxes have already paid for, as they are currently doing, or [4] just restructure itself into the North American Union with Canada and Mexico, as they currently are doing as well.
Of course this should not be news to anyone. A private system is really the only solution. — But meanwhile, tick - tick - tick...
Let’s see this evidence before it disappears,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7393649/
“A lot of people in America think there is a trust — that we take your money in payroll taxes and then we hold it for you
Bush said. “There is no trust ‘fund’ — just IOUs that I saw firsthand,” Bush said.
Susan Chapman of the Office of Public Debt Accounting had shown Bush an ivory four-drawer filing cabinet with numeric locks. “This is it,” she said.
“This is what exists,” Bush said, illustrating his point that the promise of future Social Security benefits are simply stashed in a file.
Chapman opened the second drawer and pulled out a white notebook filled with pseudo Treasury securities — pieces of paper that offer physical evidence of $1.7 trillion
by law, the bureau creates paper bonds to put in the file cabinet just in case anybody, like Bush, wants to see the trust fund.
“Imagine,” Bush said in his speech. “The retirement security for future generations is sitting in a filing cabinet.
What Government spending entity borrowed the money? When does it get paid back?
Yes, I support a flat tax of 7% until a consumption tax equivilent of 7% can be enacted.
1 sheet of paper, even Sherl Crow could use for herself.
Remember this fella?
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E0D8153CF935A15750C0A9679C8B63
These funds are not set up to be pension funds, like the funds of private pension funds. They do not consist of real economic assets.’’
As Mr. Sperling knows too well, the trust fund was a drawer full of government I.O.U.’s in Parkersburg, W.Va., and it still is.
PHIL GRAMM
U.S. Senator from Texas
Federal Government that has borrowed this money from us Social Security Taxpayers
to enlarge itself at our expense does have a lot of buildings, lands, properties, and pension funds
itself that far exceed the value of those Social Security bonds.
Maybe the Social Security taxpayers can take those assets in exchange
Democrats would have to be charge, or it would ‘fail’.(sarc)
“A giant Ponzi scheme.”
Exactly! The sooner people understand this the better off we are.
This is the same scheme the government put Ken Lay in jail for.... is’nt that ironic?
Enron = Social Security Administration on an infinitely smaller scale. In terms of money you could say Enron was a small gnat on the back of this pig we call social security.
Giant Ponzi scheme growth;
New Benefits Bills In Congress
http://hr.cch.com/news/pension/062207.asp
H.R. 2357: To amend the Social Security Act to guarantee comprehensive health care coverage for all children born after 2008. Sponsor: Fortney Stark (Cal.). Cosponsors (27). Referred to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means.
Now your Social Security will soon to pay for health care for someone else’s kids?
How many ways can they cut a pie?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.