Posted on 08/14/2009 3:00:26 AM PDT by Scanian
On May 12, 2009, the trustees for the Social Security system released their annual report,
"The 2009 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds."
Following release of this report, many media outlets were quick to report (or should I say regurgitate) the findings sited in the trustee's executive summary -- notably that Social Security payroll tax collections would begin to exceed benefits paid in 2016, a year shorter than had been forecasted in 2008.
Although the news media were correct to convey this fact, such simplistic accounts failed to candidly state the true deterioration of the Social Security system over the past year.
For example, in their 2008 report, the Social Security trustees projected a cash surplus of $87 billion in 2009 -- a figure reduced to $19 billion this year. However, even this sharp 78% reduction in the projected Social Security cash surplus failed to illuminate the nonsensical statistical assumptions used by the trustees in the prognostications -- assumptions so unfathomable they make the 2009 trustee report virtually useless.
Employment and Wages
Social Security tax collections are dependant upon two factors: the level of employment and the level of wages. If more people are working, then naturally payroll tax collections from employees and employers are higher. Moreover, as wages increase, at least up to the OASDI cap level ($106,800 for 2009), then payroll tax collections too will increase.
However, both employment and the level of wages have declined rapidly in the United States this year. This is best signified by the current 9.4% unemployment rate (up from 7.6% in January), a headline rate that will certainly exceed 10% in the near future.
Moreover, average hourly earnings increased to just $18.56 in July
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
If your point is that being outvoted somehow entitles you to take money from future generations, then I disagree completely. Nobody is entitled to Social Security payments. Such payments are simply theft by the government.
Democratically passed legislation to commit theft is still theft.
I feel the same way. Hubby has been working and paying in for over 30 years with the promise that we would get it back someday. They had better figure out a way to make that happen soon. Whether it takes cuts now to what they are paying out so those us us who are older later on get what we have been promised.
Treasury will print One thousand bazillion trillion quadrillion dollars each year.
You will need a dump truck full of cash to buy your can of cat food. Enjoy.
On the down side, every tree in the US will be cut down to print money. On the upside, every Senior citizen and illegal immigrant will be a multi millionaire and we pay off the Chinese with a Bazillion dollar bill. It will have Obamas picture on it. Do you think they will nuke us for this?
Don’t like cats , BUT use cans of cat food for CATFISH chum .
US currency is printed on paper made from linen and cotton.
</nitpick>
“The young family just starting out will be subsidizing senior citizen vacations even more.”
Don’t think I don’t appreciate it cause I do. I have drawn my first two and next wednesday will be my third social security check. I want to thank you because they sure come in handy when I make the payments on my new Dodge SLT Ram Pickup with 5.7 Hemi engine and my new SunCruiser 24 foot Party Barge Pontoon boat. Without your contributions I would never be able to afford either of them.
I paid into the “ponzi scheme” for 49 years and I think I’m entitled to a few nice things in my life as it starts to wind down.
As for vacations I can’t decide on Jamaica or the Cayman Islands. What do you think? Since your paying for it I think you should have some input as to where I spend it.
The only sane thing to do would be to pay down current debt, which of course they (congress) never did. No, they just couldn't help themselves, so they kept on skimming the cash and spending it on ever expanding social programs with the end of buying more votes.
Regards,
GtG
PS My contributions for FICA go back to 1961 and if invested in the stock market w/ returns tracking the Dow would be worth $1,200,000 or there abouts. The actual total cash withheld is around $50,000. So no, I don't want just what they skimmed, I want the time value of that money spread over 40+ years that they screwed me out of, they can keep the chump change.
PPS Is anyone else getting screwy results from the "spell check" feature? Like it flags every word?
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