oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

When will you begin to see that all SS taxes paid in along with what the employers have to pay in goes into the General Fund to help fund all government programs. Until the time that Congress determined that there was a surplus taken in every year that they just couldn't stand to see sitting idly by, the program was doing fine. However, they put in to the "lock box" all those IOUs and now can't pay the people back that nearly $4 trillion that they spent.

Of course, with the above situation in effect many people look at SS as an entitlement but is sure isn't. Even Medicare takes in money from everybody, and I mean everybody. Right now I get about $1200 per month for SS but they withhold over $100 to pay into Medicare. I wonder how many non-Medicare people know about this fact. Speaking of Medicare, I paid into it from its opening days so it isn't really an entitlement for me, either.

FarmerBill

The problem as I see it is the goverment made promices that cant be kept. It sucks but you cant pay bills without money. Like Will Rogers said. Congress put imanganiry money in the bank and tries to pull out real money and pay bills with it.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

The Social Security promises could have been kept for a number more years if they hadn't spent all the money that came in from people. They actually owe us about $3.5 trillion because of that. I never liked Medicare but I paid on it from its inception and am still paying monthly with money that is held back from my SS check.

Calling either of those things entitlements makes me very unhappy. They are not such, but then the Congress didn't let SS be as successful as it would have been. If they hand't let people get those tax cuts on SS taxes we wouldn't have been so short now. Of course, they can never pay back the money they spent.

FarmerBill

you are right. But, you used the word "if" twice in your comments. The problem is that congress did do those things. The money was used and it is a goverment sponsered ponzi plan and they dont work. Now the american public needs to get screwed or the american monatory system will go like the German montary system did prior to WW 2

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

Does the illegal actions by the Congress make SS a failed policy? The system and plan have not been called Ponzi till very lately and it would have worked very well, if, it had been applied as it had been intended.

Does what the Congress did all those years make SS a ponzi scheme. I don't see how that works but maybe it does. We should have had well over $3 trillion in a fund to take care of retirees but all we get now is that there aren't enough paying in to take care of us. The surplus, money paid in that wasn't needed to take care of retirees, was there till 2010 when it finally got to where it is now. I don't know how many years we could have gone before all that total surplus money was spent but it was way beyond your and my lifetimes.

FarmerBill

You are like many other folks. You keep trying to place blame without suggesting any solutions. Reguardless of who/how or what is to blame we have a problem. There are 2 choices. Keep printing money like they are doing now and make the dollar worthless or drastically cut benefits.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

Don't I suggest something when I talk about the cutting of our SS taxes for two years just when the surplus disappeared? How about when I suggest that we elect some new Congress critters instead of sending all those establishment people back every e******n?

FarmerBill

The surpluss disappeared before the SS was cut. But, you are right the SStax needs raised not dropped. And also Medicare tax needs raised also. New Congressman will not fix the problem either unless they raise taxes and cut benefits. The problem is out of hand and will not be corrected untill the goverment gets out of the entitalement business.

oldroy Loc: Western Kansas (No longer in hiding)

If you mean to call Social Security an entitlement as left leaners of the Obama cut do, then you and I can never discuss this, at all. Social Security benefits are determined by the amount of money that one has paid in. For instance, my wife gets more than $150 more than I do but she paid in from 1972 to 2011 and I started paying in about 1946 to about 1986 when I got to pay more since I was on self employed rates. I still pay SS tax on my part time job and also get to pay income taxes on my SS benefits.

While I am at it I will have to say that there is a minimum amount one could make since that 47% of non-income tax payers are mostly takers of welfare and don't have to pay any kind of taxes on that money. I guess they do get a minimum SS tax benefit, when they retire.

You mentioned the fact that Obama tried hard to buy v**es with that cut in SS tax for 2012 when he got the Congress to agree to it. It worked pretty well, too, because of the stupidity of our people who didn't understand that the cut would put SS into more trouble. I wonder if the GOP controlled House figured that out after they made the mistake of allowing that.