Posted on 03/15/2010 12:01:07 PM PDT by RobinMasters
We’ve noticed the cash shortfalls at Social Security for more than a year, and now they appear to be permanent. For the first time, the Social Security Administration will start cashing in its IOUs from the Treasury in order to meet its benefits obligations. Unfortunately, the Treasury doesn’t have the cash, either:
The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.
It’s time to start cashing them in. … Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg’s municipal offices.
Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn’t be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Ping
They could also try slashing the spending side of the equation by slashing the size of the Government -- but that's not in their genetic DNA.
To do that - requires 'heroic' measures to remove this cancerous growth...
/ sarcasm
Welcome to the End of the West.
I remember back when Herb Denenberg, former PA Insurance Commissioner and “consumer advocate” Said that there was nothing wrong with this practice and there was no danger of Social Security running out of money and the evil republicans where just lying and fear mongering.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2471264/posts
From MarketTicker
More than a decade ago I wrote a paper called "Investable Capital" which, unfortunately, I no longer have available for republication. What's worse is that some of the data set has been lost - at least I think it has. I expected that the negative FICA draw would begin in 2015, and that this would make a major shift in all market valuations. We're five yeas ahead of that time, largely due to the bubble-blowing. The original paper saw the Internet Bubble (because it was nascent at the time) but did not predict what Bush and Greedspan would do to try to arrest the effect of it popping.
We talk about ratings agencies downgrading the US Debt - they should have done it a decade ago. Why? Because we continually call the debt-to-GDP ratio as $12.57 trillion to ~$14 trillion "right", or 89.8%, while ignoring the claimed amounts of the Social Security and Medicare promises. But unless you're going to tell Granny that she's not going to get her check (or her health care), along with the 80 million boomers (all of who will instantly vote out anyone who tries to tamper with those programs, whether the money exists or not!) those "promises" are real.
So what's the real debt-to-GDP ratio of the federal government? About 500%, if one assumes the forward liabilities are on the low end of CBO and private estimates, or $60 trillion. This makes the total "debt" $72 trillion dollars and the ratio 514%!
Are there any hard estimates of when Social Securiy and Medicare actually crash the government?
Why the alarm from anybody?
Isn’t this exactly what Congress and the President wished to happen in 1983 as part of the Greenspan Commission http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/reports/gspan5.html
when they voted on the increase in SS taxes to pay for the continued life of the program?
Based upon this law that increased substantially the SS trust fund, Social Security woudl be solvent until 2056.
Why should we worry? Nothing has really changed since 1983, so all we have to do is draw down the trillions placed there to ride SS for the next 46 years.
Does anyone believe we might have been lied to about the way this all works?
...and so it begins..................
Earlier thread>
Social Security: “Here It Comes” http://bit.ly/bLJEQu
—
Sobering, current entitlements exposure.
This graph will scare the strongest heart.
Since this was supposed to be a few more years away, I don’t think the “hard” estimates mean didly squat at this time.
My next read
http://www.starvingthemonkeys.com/
So who is this THEY anyway? They are the monkeys, the non-productive majority in our nation, and they fling psychological poo at you all day long. Watch what you say, or what you think or what you do, or they will pounce to put you back in your place. Or destroy your life if you don't comply.
But we can defeat them if we simply stop feeding them. Instead of struggling to get ahead in an artificial race that we cannot win, we can spend our time with our families and educate ourselves and our children. We can learn skills that we will need after the system collapses, as it must, so that we can put our nation back together later, and restore our Constitutional principles ourselves.
First, we have to stop thinking the way we have been taught to think. Our God-given ability to think for ourselves has been diluted by monkeys on the left and right so that we will stay in our place. We have to break through that programming if we are to free ourselves. This book shows you how to do that.
Thanks for the previous post.
I’ve said that all along...passing healthcare will INSTANTLY bring in more revenue to fund their other projects and porkulus. If we’re lucky enough to survive 4 more years, then the funds won’t be there—BIG SHOCK and they’ll tell us the whole project will be unsustainable!
IOW, the whole thing is a diversion from the real issue: having to cut spending due to fiscal irresponsibility.
The problem with a statement like this is what's the alternative.
As a Gen Xer, the only thing I have to say to the President is, "Do you think I am Mrs. Obama?"
Ten Myths about Social Security
Greg Anrig, The Century Foundation, 1/26/2005
Myth #1: Social Security is in crisis and facing bankruptcy.
Myth #2: Social Security is unsustainable.
Myth #3: Social Security’s trust funds are filled with worthless IOUs.
more: http://www.socsec.org/publications.asp?pubid=507
Contributors to the above site are the “economic Experts” of the DNC ! Some from past administrations, some current. Go to the “Experts” page and you shall see.
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.