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i'd like to see hard facts.
Republicans like to say SS is 'insolvent', but it doesnt seem to be.
I read that they base this on a scenario if every person retired TODAY, then yes, it wouldn't have the budget.
But the fact is, the public doesn't retire en masse in one fell swoop.
Yes we can project that we'll need to direct a greater portion of non-discretionary spending towards SS.
But that's ok.
Government by the people FOR the people.
SS benefits people.
That is the whole point in having government insofar as i am concerned.
You got some heinously bad information if you think that SS is in trouble if only everyone retired today.
Again, I urge everyone here to read up from non-partisan sources because there is a lot of bad information flying around here.
BTW - I *strongly* support Soc. Security. There are lots of ways to fix the temporary crunch it will be facing but the longer we wait the fewer options and more bumpy the landing.
He never said he wouldn't "touch" them. He used, once again, soundbites that are vague, giving people a false impression.
He said Social Security is a deal that he thinks should be kept. So...what does that mean? Apparently, it means that partial privatization and the de-pooling of Social Security is what that means, because that is Trump's position (in writing). Do a google search, or read up in the retirement forum for threads on Social Security and Medicare.
If part of SS is privatized, and the pool removed, the benefits will be significantly decreased, and it will "wither on the vine," as the saying goes.
The SS plan is written up, has been presented to Congress before, and is ready to go as a priority, according to Ryan. So is his Medicare plan, which is a voucher system. His plan is to partially privatize it, more and more, until it's gone.
SS for sure is planned to be partly privatized, causing it to die, since that is Trump's plan. It's unclear what he thinks of the medicare plan. I suspect he'll be bamboozled into that, since he's inexperienced in government, and Ryan is tying it to the repeal/"reform" of Obamacare.
This is a plan. Not an idea that is floating out there.
I would have thought Trump supporters would have checked on his plans. They're sketched out in writing on the internet.
So will this partial privatization be mandatory, as SS is, or voluntary? How many low income young adults are going to do this on their own? Go to broker? Set up a plan when they are making $11/hour? Those who will do this will be making a decent amount of money to begin with.
Over the years, I have opted out of a 401K because I did not make much money, or trust investments. My husband has very small amount in his because we used it to live on when he lost his jobs. You cannot take money out of SS when you are young, but you take it out of 401K.
We went out and bought a safe and for the past 10 years have been putting cold hard cash in that safe. It will not go up, but won't go down unless the dollar is devalued. My Grandma did this back in the 30's before the Market crashed. My Grandpa worked on Wall Street and lost everything except Grandma's hidden stash. She never trusted banks, let alone Wall Street. I probably inherited her distrust.
Given today's world, putting cash "under the mattress" might be a very good idea.
I dont mind paying more into soc sec. Its unfair that only your income up to 118,500 is taxed. If you and your wife make 65,000 each, both of you pay 7.65% on your income. But if your wife doesnt work, and you make 130k, you only pay 7.65% up to 118,500. In both instances the household income is 130k. We are over the limit, so its nice to get that extra money later in the year, but its not really fair.
BOTH PARTIES have been raiding and robbing SS for a long time, especially during the Reagan years.
The baby boomers are the ones who funded SS for the politicians to rob later.
Nobody robbed anything. The law is easily grasped by the intelligent. The 1935 Social Security Act quite clearly states that any excess funds shall be converted to special treasury notes. In 1935, that was literally the 2nd [Series] Liberty Bonds. In other words the excess cash was handed over to the Treasury Secretary who issued special treasury securities in the name of the Social Security Administration and then put the cash in the General Fund. You can read that here...
TITLE II-FEDERAL OLD-AGE BENEFITS
OLD-AGE RESERVE ACCOUNT
Section 201. (a) There is hereby created an account in the Treasury of the United States to be known as the Old-Age Reserve Account hereinafter in this title called the Account. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Account for each fiscal year, beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1937, an amount sufficient as an annual premium to provide for the payments required under this title, such amount to be determined on a reserve basis in accordance with accepted actuarial principles, and based upon such tables of mortality as the Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time adopt, and upon an interest rate of 3 per centum per annum compounded annually. The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit annually to the Bureau of the Budget an estimate of the appropriations to be made to the Account.
(b) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to invest such portion of the amounts credited to the Account as is not, in his judgment, required to meet current withdrawals. Such investment may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States. For such purpose such obligations may be acquired (1) on original issue at par, or (2) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the market price. The purposes for which obligations of the United States may be issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, are hereby extended to authorize the issuance at par of special obligations exclusively to the Account. Such special obligations shall bear interest at the rate of 3 per centum per annum. Obligations other than such special obligations may be acquired for the Account only on such terms as to provide an investment yield of not less than 3 per centum per annum.
(c) Any obligations acquired by the Account (except special obligations issued exclusively to the Account) may be sold at the market price, and such special obligations may be redeemed at par plus accrued interest.
(d) The interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the Account shall be credited to and form a part of the Account.
(e) All amounts credited to the Account shall be available for making payments required under this title.
(f) The Secretary of the Treasury shall include in his annual report the actuarial status of the Account.
I honestly get mixed messages about the solvency of both programs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jman0war
i'd like to see hard facts.
Republicans like to say SS is 'insolvent', but it doesnt seem to be.
Then you need to start reading the free annual reports published by the Social Security Trustees and the Medicare Trustees.
Quote:
The HI trust fund fails to meet the Board of Trustees’ short-range test of financial adequacy. In addition, as in past reports, the HI trust fund fails to meet the Trustees’ long-range test of close actuarial balance.
Should some portions, such as disability, be reeled in and more closely scrutinized, and should Medicare fraud be discovered, and so severely punished nobody would want to try it again, good! We need to have it absolutely prosecuted.
But should ordinary citizens who aren't trying to get something for nothing be worried? Nope!
This. No politician will cross the baby boomers on social security. If Paul Ryan tries, he will be dead in the water.
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