Is It True?

8 Things to Learn for 2/2/2009 #5

Is it true that social security will take in more than it earns by 2010? The esteemed David Gregory, the new host of NBC's top rated Meet the Press, says it is, and surely, he'd know. Right?

Well, no. I guess not.

You see according to the Social Security Administration ...

The year-by-year relationship between income and cost rates shown in figure II.D2 illustrates the expected pattern of cash flows for the OASDI program over the full 75-year period. Under the intermediate assumptions, the OASDI cost rate is projected to increase rapidly and first exceed the income rate in 2017, producing cash-flow deficits thereafter. Redemption of trust fund assets will allow continuation of full benefit payments on a timely basis until 2041, when the trust funds are projected to become exhausted. This redemption process will require a flow of cash from the General Fund of the Treasury. Pressures on the Federal Budget will thus emerge well before 2041. Even if a trust fund’s assets are exhausted, however, tax income will continue to flow into the fund. Present tax rates are projected to be sufficient to pay 78 percent of scheduled benefits after trust fund exhaustion in 2041 and 75 percent of scheduled benefits in 2082.

What have we learned? We have learned that the SSA will take in enough money to pay benefits without dipping into the trust fund. Then, using the trust fund designed for this very purpose, the SSA will be able to pay full benefits until 2041. If no changes are made, they will still be able to pay 75% of scheduled benefits by 2082. Get that? Full benefits until 2041. At least.

Does this sound like a crisis to you?

Social Security

8 Reasons to Oppose John McCain #4

Social Security is one of our most popular government programs. How does John McCain feel about Social Security? In his own words:

• "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed." This is, of course, how Social Security is intended to work. Would I be out of line assuming that what he is essentially saying is that "Social Security" is a disgrace?
• "My friends, there is only one solution if Social Security commitments are to be honored without breaking the backs of the next generation: bold reform -- genuine reform -- that allows workers to invest some of their Social Security savings, privately, in higher yielding accounts." I wonder, how well would these accounts have done over the last eight years? McCain has been voting for privatizing Social Security since at least 1998. Why stop now?

Republicans have no interest in reforming Social Security. They have drummed up phony charges of a financial crisis with Social Security as a method of privatizing, and then eliminating the program. A vote for John McCain is a vote for the destruction of Social Security.

Social Security

8 Thoughts on the Issues #6

There is no crisis with Social Security. The system is not in trouble. It is not a ponzi scheme. It is not the government’s version of Enron. It is not the absolute disgrace that John McCain has claimed. It is not a "joke" as claimed by that infamous phony, Joe the Plumber. The attempts by the Republican Party, led by the worst President ever, to privatize Social Security is a disgrace and it failed in 2005 and it will fail every single time they try.

First, let's discuss the true reasons behind the conservative attempts to "reform" social security. It must be understood that they are not looking to save social security, but to replace it with a savings program that would amount to a huge giveaway to the Wall Street financial firms that have done such a wonderful job handling our economy. They are, as Dr. Krugman put it, looking to bury social security. These types or large entitlement programs are not compatible with conservative philosophy.

It doesn't matter to conservatives that Social Security has been our nation's most successful anti-poverty program. It doesn't matter to conservatives that Social Security has lowered the rate of poverty among the elderly to a number lower than that of the population as a whole. It doesn't matter to conservatives that the survivor's benefit has saved many families from financial destruction. For a conservative, ideology will always matter more than providing real assistance to people. As Dr. Krugman said ...

Social Security is a government program that works, a demonstration that a modest amount of taxing and spending can make people's lives better and more secure. And that's why the right wants to destroy it.

The problem for conservatives is that Social Security has proven to be the most popular of our government programs. A conservative politician who stands up and says that they hate Social Security is asking for defeat. Instead, they attack it around the edges and will try to chip away at it until it dies off.

In 2005, the American people and our elected representatives from the Democratic Party stood up to the destroyers and handed them a massive defeat. It would be foolish to think they have given up. In the upcoming election, one candidate still believes that we must privatize Social Security to "save" it from an impending crisis. The other proposes to strengthen it. This is just another reason to cast your vote for Barack Obama for President of the United States.