Obama's Social Security Games Make Case For Private Pensions

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 15 Jan 2012 | Editorial

[IBD editorial writer]

Politics: President Obama threatened Social Security checks would be delayed if Congress didn't play ball on the debt ceiling. Once again, he turned pensions into a political football. There are ways to stop this. Americans should know: Social Security payments won't be affected by debt-ceiling talks, and Obama knows it. Still, it's not as if the Social Security system is healthy. In a Page 1 story Monday, IBD's Jed Graham reported that 2013 marks the first year new Social Security retirees will outlive the trust fund. Their benefits will be slashed 25% as the system goes bust in 2033. So much for lifetime "promises," as Democrats always assure at election time, when they aren't making false claims about the trust fund being fundamentally sound. Now there's President Obama playing politics with the same supposedly sound pensions Tuesday, declaring, "Social Security checks and veterans benefits will be delayed" if Congress doesn't raise the debt limit.

[IBD editorial writer]

Democrats enjoy playing Lucy with the football too much with seniors, always threatening their Social Security checks, to ever want to consider privatizing social security. But 'Chilean Model' or 'Galveston-style' privatization is exactly what would take away their fun and games with seniors and allow some real stability for the pensions. Neither Chile nor Galveston have any net debt, either.

[kabar]

The real story here is that the USG must borrow the money to pay SS benefits. SS has been running in the red since 2010, i.,e., it pays out more in benefits than it receives in revenue. This is now a permanent position.

In order to make up the shortfall, SS must redeem the T-bills in the SSTF thru the General Fund. In order to come up with the money to pay the benefits, the GF borrows 42 cents of every dollar spent.

Pelosi and the Dems like to say that SS does not contribute to the national debt, but in fact, it does.

Source: CBO “Combined OASDI Trust Funds; January 2011 Baseline” 26 Jan 2011.

Note: See “Primary Surplus” line (which is negative, indicating a deficit)

[factoryrat]

The Fed will never allow privatization of SS for the sole fact that it would deny them revenue, and take away their political “football” as a social engineering tool. I would be really worried with them taking over private retirement funds, and privately funded pensions (IRA’s, 401K’s, RR, etc.).

[ridesthemiles]

A local Reno station said that when new 2013 paychecks are calculated, that over $200 BILLION would be ‘sucked out’ of the American economy.

Funny how there was NEVER such a story when over the past 2 years that same $200 BILLION was SUCKED OUT of the Soc Sec fund itself. Especially when millions were being dropped off long term unemployment & switched over to SSDI by the Gederal authorities.