OT: Big Time OT - Social Security

[Guest guest]

Hey Deb,

 

If we try to turn a systemic problem into a partisan argument .. we

miss the facts.

 

Americans must demand change from their elected representatives .. its

the Congress that makes these laws .. not presidents.

 

The Social Security Trust Fund has not been dipped into to pay other

expenses .. but .. the Congress long ago allowed the interest that

builds up in the Social Security Trust Fund to be diverted to the

General Account.

 

Blaming this or that president .. who have absolutely no control over

the Social Security Trust Fund .. is not going to solve any problems.

 

The Social Security Act operates under Section 553 of Title 5, United

States Code.

 

>> " About Social Security's Future .. (clipped) Unless action is taken

>>soon to strengthen Social Security, in just 11 years we will begin

>>paying more in benefits that we collect in taxes.

>

> This sooooo gripes my a**! No matter what you vote....Clinton left

> office with billions of excess to pay for SS thru 2075. Where has it

> gone? Ask Dubya! I'm soooo pissed about this I can't even talk

> about it! Not only has this admin used it and/or abused it, they

> have slipped laws into place that we're not elbible at 62 and 65 as

> we were. Slipped those laws in and we're screwed! What we did have

> in our notices has drastically reduced to one fourth what is was. We

> now have to work until we're 70 and 77 to draw 75% of what we were

> elgible for at 65!!!!

 

When I reported 65 and 10 .. I was thinking of those born in 1942 .. for

folks born after 1960 .. its 67 now.

 

But .. folks can still draw SS at age 62 .. with some penalties.

 

And .. the law allowing a gradual changing of Social Security age limits

was enacted in 1983.

 

In fact, the age at which people were first eligible for Social Security

retirement benefits was lowered from age 65 to age 62 in 1956 for women

and in 1961 for men. Prior to that it was 65 - period!

 

The changes were made because folks were living longer .. and then

later, Medicare came along .. and many other changes were made .. but

there hasn't been an appreciable amount of SS wages paid in. We can get

copies of the Social Security laws and regulations from the US Gummit at

http://bookstore.gpo.gov/index.jsp Publication Number 05-10035 has lots

of good info.

 

The claim now .. same one used by insurance companies .. is .. the

average male currently aged 65 can expect to live to age 78. While

women can expect to live to age 82. Therefore, the average number of

years an average male can expect to receive retirement benefits after

age 65 is 13 years and 17 years for the average woman.

 

> Folks are not reading their notices or they are conservatives that

> were born with a silver spoon and don't give a dam*!

 

I am a conservative who was born a poor white child .. and I read the

notices .. and I give a damn. ;-)

 

> Their laws have changed to give them bigger and bigger tax breaks and

> not a cent has went to those of us that pay the taxes in the lower income

> brackets!!! If the American people don't wake up soon we will become

> a third world country and there will be nothing but the very rich,

> the very poor and the illegals!

 

The Social Security system is a stand alone system .. has nothing to do

with the General Fund .. monies are not taken out of it to pay for other

things. But .. I agree that there must be changes or we are gonna be in

deep doodoo.

 

>>Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be

>>exhausted. By then, the number of Americans 65 or older is expected

>>to have doubled. (MY NOTE: This might be an underestimation .. if

>>the Gummit decides to include illegals in the system).

>>

>>Visit Social Security on the Net .. http://www.socialsecurity.gov

>>

>>I really wonder why this is not a major area of concern for

>>Americans?

 

I still wonder. We can't get it fixed by waiting for a new president to

take office .. and we apparently can't wait for anyone in Congress to

have the intestinal fortitude to take on this hot issue .. and one of

the reasons is .. its a sacred cow. Any changes cause dissent.

 

>>Are we sitting around waiting for the system to fix itself? As far as I

>>know, this problem is not one we can pin on any particular political

>>party .. it seems to be a systemic problem that the parties don't

>>want to touch.

>

> Again, folks are not paying attention to what it going on with

> secretive laws being slipped into place.

 

There is nothing secretive about the SS System .. the GAO and the

Congress are well aware of the balance and the direction its heading.

There is no conspiracy .. there is an antiquated system that was put

into place 60+ years ago that is trying to function without major needed

changes.

 

> I say throw all of them out of office and begin all over!

 

Not a bad idea .. problem is .. the new ones will also want to get

elected and they will avoid hot issues that upset the public. In the

last 15 years or so, every attempt I have seen to rationally discuss

this subject .. and to educate the public .. has been slammed by the

opposition .. mattered not who the opposition was.

 

>> if the projection above is accurate .. and the problem is not addressed

>> prior to that time its likely that the Gummit will make some rapid changes

>> without a lot of thought then. Many of you will be around 35 years from

>> now .. in 2041, and if you are then eligible to retire (65 and 10 months at

>> present schedule) you will probably have paid into the system at least 40

>> or more years.

>>

>>Am I looking at a problem that is not really there .. or at a problem

>>that is just not getting a lot of attention from American voters?

>

> No, Butch, you haven't missed it, it's bigger than you can imagine!

> The billions, and billions we have spent on Irag, Afganistan,

> Katrina~that never got to Katrina, this is the most corrupt

> government we have had since I've been alive! They are only for big

> biz, we are losing all of our production jobs to overseas markets,

> even our government paperwork is being outsourced, this is the most

> pathetic government that the USA has had in office in decades or

> more!

 

Maybe you're right and maybe you're wrong on the corruption points ..

but they have absolutely nothing to do with the Social Security Trust

Fund .. and the expenses you mentioned (according to a briefing I heard

from the GAO) is peanuts compared to the money spent on Medicare. From

every dollar earned by a worker .. 1.45 CENTS is paid by the worker and

1.45 CENTS (total 2.9 cents) goes to Medicare .. this is a big problem

unto itself.

 

>>Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch

>

> Hard to keep smiling with such going on! You might want to consider

> doing what all of the ex gummit folks are doing...they are living in

> Belize!!!! Sad isn't it?

 

I am an ex-gummit folk .. 30 years in the US Army .. and I can't get the

medical coverage I need in Belize. ;-)

 

> No one wants to get on the band wagon, but if they don't impeach or

> take control of their voting rights in Nov, 2006, we may be worse off

> than we can even imagine. On top of it all, we have millions of

> illegals lowering the minimum price of wages and creating a

> depression like most of us have never seen, only heard about.

 

Not sure who we should impeach in November .. maybe voting is the

easiest way to get those in who we THINK can do it better .. and there

will always be dissatisfaction with wages .. though many need more .. its

also a fact that we want more even when we have more than we need .. but

a depression we are not in now.

 

> The American voter needs to take back their country as Benjamin Franklin

> said it would need to do ever 100 years before goverment corruption

> takes over~or it will be too late.

 

Folks need to vote .. that is for sure. But they need to make demands

on those they vote for .. and they need get their facts in order .. and

support those who push for the proper reforms.

 

> Sleep well everyone and consider what needs to be done to have any

> kind of SS retirement in the good ole USA! And always remember those

> that have the big tax breaks, silver spoons and such don't have to

> rely on SS! But they do have to rely on the lil guy to pay the taxes

> that they are getting by without paying!

 

Our elected representatives don't have to depend on Social Security ..

that is one of the major problems. About the only time we see TOTAL

bi-partisan support for a bill in Congress is when its one that will

raise THEIR benefits .. its not a party thing .. its overall greed.

 

> A most fragrant evening to ya,

> deb

 

Yes ma'am .. and to you. :-) Butch