Posted on 03/07/2011 7:13:15 AM PST by SeekAndFind
What Samuelson and others are doing is is falsely equating Social Security, a program that forces people to contribute, with welfare a program in which the government gives people something for nothing. The argument he uses is that people who pay into the program all their lives don't deserve anything when they retire and that it is their patriotic duty to let the politicians squander and steal their hard earned money. This is a typical liberal position.
The reason it is changed from the liberal position that social security is dependable and reliable is because the day when the money will run out is coming closer. The liberals are moving to a new set of lies.
Why should we be taking money from struggling young families and sending it to some wealthy geezer who doesn’t truly need it?
Something about fairness...
“The money you and I put in was transferred to our parents and grandparents. They spent it. It’s gone.”
I am still paying into Social Security and will continue to be forced to do so for several years. I’m not sure if I will ever see any payments after I retire.
I am self employed, so I think I had to dish it out in one lump sum. Ouch
Got flamed a while back for saying something similar. The definition of welfare for most is "When someone else is getting the money, and I am not".
ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
Both should be done—the illegals shouldn’t even be here.
But we’ve a crisis, if we don’t deal with it we’ll have a sorely weakened economy and country.
By settled law, SS is a tax, not a retirement fund. That money taken from you and me is a tax.
It has been called such for years, but no one wants to admit it. The money is gone.
Social security worked fine until the medical doctors destroyed the system and made people live longer than 65!!!
Tax the doctors to pay for the shortfall!
Why are we so reluctant to call this administration SOCIALIST?
Obamacare is SOCIALIST!
His tax policy is SOCIALIST!
His regulatory policy is SOCIALIST!
His energy policy is SOCIALIST!
His budget proposal is SOCIALIST!
His takeover of private industry is SOCIALIST!
His theft of corporate assets to reward unions is SOCIALIST!
Ya “Really”!
My employer paid that match as part of the cost of my employment.
If not for SSI, that would have come directly to me in wages.
“....then you’ve been cheated your entire life. “
It is interesting that at the very end of your post, the light comes on and you finally figure it out.
Nah, I’ve known that for a good solid decade. I know I won’t collect a penny of Social Security. I was just making a coherent argument that people who take more out of SS than they put in are not necessarily welfare recipients because there is a time value to their “invested” money. you can blame the government for squandering the money, for spending it on other uses, for paying for people who did not deserve or pay into the system, but you cannot blame those who paid in all their lives and then collect more money than they paid in, but less than they would have collected riding a mutual fund up during the 1985-2000 equities bull market.
That was my point.
As for being cheated, I have known that for years. I am 5 2 years old and plan to retire by 62. Since a flood of boomers will competely tap out SS before that time, the laws will be changed to raise the initial age to collect SS and it will be changed to either deny benefits to those who “are too rich or make too much”, or they will tax those benefits at an exorbitant rate, such as 90%+.
Oops, hit post when I meant “preview”. Continuing...
The government can easily pay out every single penny of unfunded liability for SS AND keep it solvent. All they have to do is tax the SS payments close to 100%. There is your fix. You now have a “funded” liability since everyone collects every penny they were promised, but SS stays “solvent” since most of the money is returned by tax to the government.
Here is an example of what I think may be coming our way:
You earn less than $20,000 = no tax.
$20,000-$30,000 = 10% tax.
$30,000-$40,000 = 25% tax.
$40,000-$50,000 = 50% tax.
$50,000-$75,000 = 75% tax.
$75,000-$100,000 = 90% tax.
Over $100,000 = 98% tax.
Over $250,000 = 99.5% tax
Over $1,000,000 = 99.9% tax
That is your fix to SS. That is how they are going to fix it. They are simply going to institute a tax that allows poorer retires with no income stream to keep their promised amount, while taxing up to the full amount of SS benefits from those who don’t “really need” it.
I am sure my numbers are all wrong, but trust me, this is exactly how the US government is going to have to fix SS.
They can’t break their promise not to pay out the promised benefits without inciting physical riots, so they will. But nobody ever promised you would get to keep the money.
I am not wealthy, but I will be in the 90% tax bracket allowed to keep 10 cents on the dollar of promised benefits.
This is coming. Mark my words. You read it here first.
“but you cannot blame those who paid in all their lives and then collect more money than they paid in,”
I’m certainly not blaming anyone for collecting Social Security, and I’m not sure anyone else is.
I hope the present or hopeful future recipients do not blame me when they are unable to collect what they feel is their due.
We simply cannot pay everyone to the level of their expectations or even to the level of perceived or actual promises to them.
Both fair points.
Ya “Really”!
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
That is what I said...
Not really cause you said you paid 6% and I said your employer paid 6% which means your SO CALLED account received 12% of your pay...6 withheld from you and 6 grabbed from your company.
We don’t call Social Security “welfare” because...”
...I’VE PAID >6% OF MY SALARY INTO IT FOR 40 YEARS!!!
Getting “MY MONEY” back IS NOT WELFARE!
Agreed. So Soc. security is a tax...pure and simple. If only govt. would have let us pull out of Soc Security and have equivalent of Flex Medical Spending Accounts where WE CAN INVEST OUR MONEY AS WE SEE FIT!!!!!!!
You didn’t ‘pay’. It was taken, by force.
If you don’t own it. If you don’t have property rights/titles to it.....it doesn’t exits except in the minds of the lower third.
BTTT!
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