Posted on 08/29/2011 11:34:13 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is standing firm in insisting that Social Security, the federal government’s insurance programs for retirees and disabled, is a Ponzi scheme designed to deceive the young.
In a weekend campaign stop in Ottumwa, Iowa, Perry, who has surged into the lead in the Republican presidential sweepstakes in at least one major poll, repeated his characterization of the social insurance program that is generally supported by the electorate. He has made the same point before, especially in his book, “Fed Up!,” though at one point his campaign tried to explain that he had softened his language.
“It is a Ponzi scheme for these young people,” Perry insisted. “The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie.”
At a later stop in Des Moines, he also threw cold water on his own campaign’s efforts to portray his position in a more tempered light. “I haven’t backed off anything in my book. So read the book again and get it right,” he said.
Perry’s stand is the type of vintage ferocity that the governor has generated in his Texas political career and even in his limited time as a GOP presidential hopeful. For example, he has suggested that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke would be behaving in a “treasonous” fashion, if he loosened the money supply in a presidential election year.
Despite complaints from some quarters that his choice of words in condemning the Fed was too strong, Perry has stood firm in that area as well, raising questions about when a colorful and forceful position crosses the line into political gaffe.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Well, it IS!
(I just wish I could believe that he really believes the things he says.)Oy.
He’s got the guts, but this may be his downfall.
The TRUTH is the TRUTH! Simple as that!
Social Security is, and always has been, nothing more than a government run Ponzi scheme! Anyone who doesn’t believe that should start a PRIVATE insurance company based on that exact model and see how long it take for them to throw you in jail!
You could be right, but Perry is a canny politician. It may be that he has correctly determined that the public is ready for the truth. We’ll see.
You got that one right. It should be obvious when we see the government owing SS $2.5 Trillion. They use SS taxes for the general fund and spend it all as they get it. If SS is to survive, this has to stop and repay th $2.5 Trillion.
This is a man with the right stuff to defeat Zer0 who is nothing but a team player for the leftist cronies around him.
SS is on a perfectly sound footing, except for the math.
Of course it's a ponzi scheme.
He’s right about that.
Tax payers are diddled out of their money so Congress can appropriate it to buy votes and stay in office. PERIOD!
Bernie Madoff has nothing on our own government......The fact that Perry’s statements are being called “controversial” is more proof of the complicity of the MSM in the destruction of our republic.
Ponzi scheme is correct
You don’t believe that for one minute.
Someone cue ‘Captain Obvious’...
Oh, oh... He let the cat out of the bag.
The truth is the truth. If I had had a private non speculative retirement portfolio and had been required to deposit into it every month I would be getting 2-3 times the return. Rick Perry is right. And Paul Ryan is right about Medicare. It would be a lot cheaper to just pay the insurance premiums for private insurance for seniors and let them choose their own doctors etc. they would get more bang for their buck and it would eliminate the waste and fraud.
I absolutely loathe SS. People should get what they paid into it. They don’t. I like Chile’s system more.
Agree with others that this might be Perry’s Achilles heel for him. The Dems will harp about how Perry is such a meanie for wanting to throw Granny to the curb.
Yet watch which countries the Dem harpies flock to when SS REALLY goes belly up.
In a Ponzi scheme, you get paid something from the people that sign up after you.
It is much worse than a Ponzi scheme.
I have paid into Social Security for 32 years and have yet to a a penny of what I have paid in.
In the statement they send me, it says in effect “this statement is meaningless because we can pass laws at any time that can reduce your benefits or eliminate them entirely”.
In the MSM, the truth is a gaffe.
If these Marxist-loving perverts in the MSM want to stay on this issue, Perry need only ask these scum one question back in response: What’s the current account balance of the Social Security “lockbox”?
I agree with him.
You mean kinda like how the Federal govt gives funds to those at private universities? Where did that get us? A lot of defaulted student loans and colleges overcharging for worthless degrees while propping up their universities with needless arenas and "wellness" centers.
And that someone is running for president. All the others tip toe around this issue, and others.
Not Mr. Resolute, Rick Perry!
I have to give Perry this one, as long as he holds firm on this. Few (or NO) Republicans have the guts to say this. I know even Jim DeMint is still claiming a SS surplus is funding it and so it’s not adding to the debt as Democrats claim.
No I dont like Perry’s Dream Act for illegals. Different subject.
And then what will SS do with the cash? Put it in a lock box and let inflation eat away it's purchasing power?
Or Invest it? And if invest it, then where? Certainly not U.S. government securities, cause that's what we are doing now, and that's one hand borrowing from the other. Maybe Greece government securities? Or Communist China Government securities?
Or perhaps the stock market. SS would depend on the ups and downs of the market and government would own a massive share of corporate stock.
U.S. government securities is the safest place to invest the funds. It does mean that future tax payers are going to have to redeem those securities. But if you put cash away in a lockbox and then drew it out and spent it on SS, you'd be diluting the money supply of the future taxpayers anyway.
If we continue to concede the debate to the collectivist demagogues then we will continue to tax and spend our nation into oblivion.
Now is the time for all conservatives to relentlessly demand an honest, clear-eyed debate on the future of Social Security and Medicare.
Rick Perry seems willing to lead this crusade. If other GOP hopefuls are unwilling to show equal courage on this critical issue then I will withhold my support from them.
Is there any person not a frigging idiot that thinks it isn’t?
It is up to us to help Rick Perry convince the public that it is long past time for the truth.
Yes, the 'Rats will certainly say this. That is where we the people come in.
Hence the “trust fund”. Just as in insurance policies, the current claims are paid out of the fund/reserve that is set aside for that purpose.
However, the language had to be changed from “premium” to tax in order to be ruled constitutional. Since then, the rhetoric has morphed to present it as a “retirement plan”, with people who are perfectly able to work, retiring and drawing the benefit they are “entitled” to.
If the age for benefits is raised(phased in), and the income caps removed, and the formula for calculating benefits is adjusted, solvency for future years can be maintained. Those wishing to retire earlier may do so by saving additional money in 401k, IRAs, etc. for their early retirement.
Medicare is the larger problem, and the first step there should be repeal of Obama care and return the money stripped from Medicare back to the program.
When the U.S. Treasury "buys" U.S. Treasury bonds it is lending money to itself and then spending the money on current outlays.
This is not investment.
It may be obvious, but no other politician has the ‘nads to say it.
Perry, you just pealed your own death knell. Stupid is as stupid does.
When you’ve been as wrong as Rick Perry has been on as many issues as Rick Perry has been, saying water is wet is not going to be the saving grace it would have been if you had disagreed with him on those many issues.
Perry is a national disgrace, if you’re a Conservative.
If you’re not a Conservative, he’s just swell.
Yeah Ricardo, there is no Social Security Trust Fund. Who knew? I’ll sure listen to everything you say from her on out, so I can become better informed. /s
Here we go, another election cycle with pretenders wanting desperately to be the pretender in chief.
“It is a Ponzi scheme for these young people,” Perry insisted. “The idea that they’re working and paying into Social Security today, that the current program is going to be there for them, is a lie.”
Spot on, Governor!
“SS is on a perfectly sound footing, except for the math.”
Hahaha, good one! That was getting me angry, then I just had to laugh at myself...
There are a fair number of people who do not understand the scam that is Social Security.
Some of them call themselves "conservatives" and post on this board.
And of course there are others who simply lie about the fiscal integrity of Social Security either in pursuit of an ideological agenda or for personal gain.
Our work is cut out for us. There is now a candidate for the GOP nomination telling the truth about Social Security. We have fourteen months. If Social Security reform is not a prominent issue in the November 2012 election it will be because we, the conservative American grassroots, have failed to accomplish what our country needs for us to accomplish.
Medicare is a far bigger problem than Social Security in terms of long-care deficits. While both are unconstitutional, Social Security is basically a defined benefit program with Ponzi aspects, and the advantage of it compared to Medicare is that the costs are relatively predictable. Medicare, on the other hand, is going to bankrupt this country in the next 15 years if we don’t address it post haste.
You have to tread lightly on this issue. He can say its a scam, but has to make it clear that he’s not taking it away from anyone currently getting it.
Paul Ryan didn’t market his plan well and the GOP suffered (for a while, they seem to be back up in the R vs. D congressional ballot now) for it.
This is what people will love about him. Hey, he did this in Texas to Bill ‘Elmer Fudd’ White....he’ll not change. This is how he has won all his elections...even when the Bush Clan told him to play nice...he was smart enough to ignore that advise. He won because he did it his way and the way you win elections.
A number of them post on FR.
You are saying he should lie to keep up with the pack?
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