Free Republic

[picture of Robert Creamer] Looks like the Marxist architect of Obamacare also had a major say in putting forth the Iran Deal. Robert Creamer was convicted in 2005 for tax violations and bank fraud. He served time and was under house arrest. While in prison, he crafted the core underpinnings of Obamacare. Creamer is a political consultant who is very close to Barack Obama and is married to Jan Schakowsky, the Marxist Congresswoman from Illinois. While on the inside, he wrote, Listen to Your Mother: Stand Up Straight! How Progressives Can Win. Obamacare was only the first major step in...

The Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program commonly known as Social Security, which celebrated its 80th birthday on August 14, is projected to run an $84 billion deficit this year, according to the 2015 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees. […] During 2014, $646.2 billion in payroll taxes was collected from 166 million working Americans. But that was not enough to cover the $859 billion in Social Security benefits that were collected by 59 million people, including 42 million retired workers and their dependents, six million survivors of deceased workers, and 11 million disabled workers and their dependents....

The actual rates for Part B (which covers the costs of doctor visits and outpatient care) will be announced in October and take effect Jan. 1. The boost may be 15% for all participants [$105/month to $121] or a whopping 52% for some [$105/month to $159], depending on whether Social Security recipients see a cost-of-living raise for 2016.

<p>Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee delivered a strong defense of government safety net programs for seniors at a candidate forum in Florida Tuesday, aiming for retired voters in a state rich with them.</p> <p>While former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have called for raising the retirement age and means-testing Social Security benefits, Huckabee called those proposals “absolutely ridiculous.”</p>

As he gears up for another presidential campaign, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is making a big break with the Republican party on the issue of entitlement reform. Meeting with reporters at a hotel in Washington, D.C. this morning, Huckabee strongly criticized New Jersey governor Chris Christie's proposal to reform Social Security and said he would not sign Paul Ryan's Medicare reform into law if he were president. "I don't know why Republicans want to insult Americans by pretending they don't understand what their Social Security program and Medicare program is," Huckabee said in response to a question about Christie's...

<p>LONDONDERRY, N.H. (AP) - New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is introducing himself to New Hampshire voters in a format he knows well - a town hall meeting.</p> <p>The likely 2016 Republican presidential contender drew a capacity crowd Wednesday to his first town hall in New Hampshire, in Londonderry. He opened the event by talking about his life story.</p>

He told ABC five years ago that he supported citizenship, leaving him with two options now. One: Stick to his guns and give conservatives another reason to treat “Christie” as a curse word. Two: Follow Scott Walker’s lead by pleading ignorance in his earlier views and claiming that he’s since seen the light. Actual quote from Christie: “I have now learned some of the ramifications for all of these things.” What those things might be isn’t clear, but it’d be impolite after such an earnest pander to badger the poor guy for details. He’s trying, Republicans. A for effort? This...

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Chris Christie bills himself as the candidate willing to speak the truth even if his audience doesn't want to hear it. Opening his talk at Beck's Sports Grill, he wastes no time inviting a negative reaction. "The last time I was here was to go to the UNI-Dome," he recalls, referring to the University of Northern Iowa's nearby football venue. "Mary Pat and I are alums of the University of Delaware." At this point, those present drown him out with groans in bitter memory of the Blue Hens' elimination of the Panthers in the Football Championship...

Chris Christie can be Hillary Clinton’s running mate. They’re both liberals, they’re both clueless, they’re both egocentrics. And they’re both wrong. We’ll talk about Hillary another day. Today’s subject is Christie. Specifically, his announced intent to “take on” entitlements. He rightly points out that entitlements consume some 70 percent of the federal budget and are a fiscal and social cancer that is destroying America. Entitlements – the “rights” of the welfare state – oblige the taxpayer to fund a limitless number of people receiving a limitless number of dollars over a limitless series of programs. Entitlements are automatic theft, redistribution...

Republican presidential candidates. who have had to seek contributions from a handful of wealthy contributors, want to cut Social Security. Average Americans love the program; the superwealthy don’t. Something strange is happening in the Republican primary — something strange, that is, besides the Trump phenomenon. For some reason, just about all the leading candidates other than The Donald have taken a deeply unpopular position, a known political loser, on a major domestic policy issue. And it’s interesting to ask why. The issue in question is the future of Social Security, which turned 80 last week. The retirement program is, of...

Source: Source information located at the bottom of column. First the good news. The federal governmentÂ’s tax receipts are coming in at a rate somewhat higher than what was expected a few months ago. That means a shut-down-the-government debt limit stalemate will be pushed back until November or December. It also means that the federal debt will actually decline a bit this year. Now for the bad news. We are experiencing the calm before the storm. The Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday that although our fiscal situation is improving, by 2018 we will snap back to swelling deficits and unsustainable...

Ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and raising the retirement age for Social Security are two causes Republicans tend to favor more than Democrats. But different groups of Republicans are enthusiastic about each idea: very roughly speaking, the base and the establishment, respectively. (There is, of course, some overlap: Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Rand Paul are for both ideas.) These ideas seem to me to have a few things in common. They’re neither necessary nor sufficient to solve the underlying problems with which they are associated (too much illegal immigration and insolvent entitlements); campaigning for them...

This week, America marked two significant milestones in its history. Friday was the 80th anniversary of Social Security, a program that has helped millions of seniors, including my parents, retire with dignity. Saturday is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, when the most violent conflict in human history ended as an American victory. We refer to the Americans responsible for these accomplishments as the “Greatest Generation.” In less than two decades, they survived economic catastrophe, triumphed in a global conflict, and laid the foundation for unparalleled prosperity for their children in what would become an American...

Social Security turns 80 on Friday, and the massive retirement and disability program is showing its age. Social Security's disability fund is projected to run dry next year. The retirement fund has enough money to pay full benefits until 2035. But once the fund is depleted, the shortfalls are projected to be enormous. The stakes are huge: Nearly 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get monthly Social Security payments, and that number is projected to grow to 90 million over the next two decades. And the timing is bad: Social Security faces these problems as fewer employers are...

Some may find this interesting and germane to today's federal budget issues.. it's data from the "Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays, and Balances of the United States Government". Below in my reply are the data and the links. Only the first few lines of the hundreds of lines are shown.

Year after year the American people have been constantly warned of the impending doom that are their Social Security benefits due to fact that there are now more people collecting Social Security than paying into it. While the controversy over the future of Social Security is well known, what has not received much attention is that right now Americans are in danger of having their benefits delayed, and not just their Social Security checks. Veterans who fought for this country, and who are dependent on financial support from the Veterans Administration (VA) to purchase medicine or treatment could also see...

While engaging in the mundane task of gathering financial statements for a “secure retirement” meeting with my husband’s and my adviser, this Baby Boomer stumbled upon documented proof that our nation does not have the guts to confront one of its most serious economic problems. The realization came when I pulled from my files a document statement innocently titled, “Your Social Security Statement.”

While engaging in the mundane task of gathering financial statements for a “secure retirement” meeting with my husband’s and my adviser, this Baby Boomer stumbled upon documented proof that our nation does not have the guts to confront one of its most serious economic problems. The realization came when I pulled from my files a document statement innocently titled, “Your Social Security Statement.” At first glance, the statement did not appear menacing. I was told I could expect to receive a benefit of “about $2,136 a month” upon reaching age 70 — which certainly seems like good news. But...

The annual check-up for Social Security is in, and one program looks more dire than the rest. If Congress doesn’t act, people receiving Social Security disability benefits could see a nearly 20 percent cut to payments at the end of next year, according to the latest version of the Social Security trustees report released Wednesday. The disability trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2016, leaving the administration with enough income to pay 81 percent of benefits, according to the report, which is updated annually. The health of the Social Security program didn’t change by much, and...

The Social Security Administration's latest annual report says what it has been saying for several years now — its disability insurance program will become insolvent in 2016.