HELLO WORLD
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 1 Published Dec 30, 2010
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2 Published Jan. 10, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3 Published Jan. 17, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3
First, A few personal notes and observations. This is the third message I have put on my Blog and, so far, there have only been two people that have read it, as far as I can tell. It, of course, is possible that others have read and just didn't see fit to send me any comments. Now, I know that starting a Blog really takes a long time to get recognition. However, in this case, there were about 35 people notified on e-mail about it. For that reason, I thought maybe I would hear from someone.
I certainly will keep trying, because this matter of Social Security (SS) is really quite important. Dr. Allen W. Smith, Ph. D. has donated over ten years trying to educate the public about Social Security. In light of that fact, I don't dare get discouraged or give up.
I think I need to make the objective more precise. It is my hope that between now and the time Congress begins to debate SS, which is not going to be very far off, we can have a good representation in numbers. At that time, we can all send letters to our Senators and Representatives and also, in a coordinated way, call them, as well. WHEN THAT TIME COMES THERE WILL BE A SAMPLE LETTER ON THIS BLOG THAT YOU CAN USE OR WRITE YOUR OWN. Please let me hear from you as to your thoughts about this matter.
If, this is the first time you have read my Blog, I'd like to ask you to pull up SS Part 1 & 2 so that this one will make more sense. Also, I encourage you to read Dr Smith's Ph.D. Webpage for more detailed information.
http://www.allenwsmith.com/id7.html
MORE CREDITABILITY ABOUT THE DEPLETION OF THE SS TRUST FUND
During the Presidential campaign of 2000, Al Gore first talked about the depletion of the SS Trust Fund. He pledged to put the SS TRUST FUND IN A LOCK BOX. It was shortly after that, that George W. Bush pledged the same thing. I don't have any quotes from either man at the time of the campaign, but it is common knowledge that they made this pledge. I do have some interesting quotations from George W. Bush, after he became President. These quotations can leave no doubt about the fact that the Government has been using the SS Trust Fund surplus for programs other than SS.
INTERESTING QUOTES OF PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
On
SOCIAL SECURITY
On
SOCIAL SECURITY
2001 QUOTES AS THE BEGINNING TO LAY GROUND WORK FOR
RE-ELECTION.
February 3, 2001 Radio address to the nation.
“My plan will keep all Social Security money in the Social Security system where it belongs.”
February 27, 2001 State of the Union address.
“To make sure the retirement savings of America
March 3, 2001 Radio address to the nation.
“We’re going to keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from raiding (Pres. Bush's own word) the Social Security surplus.”
2005 QUOTES DESIGNED TO PROMOTE PRIVATE ACCOUNTS
February 9, 2005 In a Washington
“The money—payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They’re spent on benefits and they’re spent on government programs. There is no trust.”
March 10, 2005 Speech in Montgomery , Alabama
“The government takes your money and spends it on other things and puts an IOU, a piece of paper, on your behalf, which may be worth something, and may not be worth something.”
March 16. 2005 At a press conference.
“We’re paying for a lot of programs other than Social Security with the payroll tax coming in, thereby leaving a pile of IOUs,”
(Quotations were taken from Dr. Smith's Ph.D. research.)
SOCIAL SECURITY & THE NATIONAL DEBT
The solution to the entire SS problem, as I stated in "SOCIAL SECURITY #2," is a process that does not increase the National Debt. When the government borrows the 2+ trillion dollars, needed to make the SS Trust Fund whole, the corresponding increase to the National Debt is immediately cancelled when that 2+ trillion dollars replaces the Special Government Bonds (IOUs), currently in the Trust Fund. REMEMBER the Special Government Bonds, now in the Trust Fund, are a part of the national debt. Therefore, when the Special Government Bonds no longer exist, the National Debt decreases, which offsets the temporary increase referred to above.
When that is done and Congress stops taking the money from the SS Trust Fund, there is no longer any need to consider raising the eligibility age, reducing benefits or, certainly not, privatizing SS.
However, there is one factor that has occurred, since the plan for solvency was setup in 1983, which needs to be considered. That factor is the severe recession we have been experiencing. Thoughts about how to handle that will be discussed next week. See you then.
Floyd
I want to commend Floyd Bowman for his years of service in trying to alert the public to the great Social Security scam. I have devoted the past ten years of my life, and more than $30,000 in borrowed money, to my mission to raise public awareness to the fact that, for the past 25 years, our government has been “borrowing” or “stealing” money from the Social Security trust fund and using it for such things as funding tax cuts for the rich, two wars, and other government programs. The Social Security Amendments of 1983 imposed a hefty payroll tax hike on the baby boomers. All previous generations had been required to pay only for the Social Security benefits of the preceding generation. But the 1982 Greenspan Commission decided that the baby boomers should prepay the cost of their own benefits, in addition to paying for the benefits of their parents’ generation. The boomers were hit with a double whammy, and they have contributed more to the Social Security fund than any other generation. Still, they are often falsely accused of being the cause of the Social Security problem.
ReplyDeleteThe tax hike of 1983 was designed to generate surpluses for the next 30 years. The surplus Social Security revenue was supposed to be saved and invested in marketable U.S. Treasury bonds in order to build up a large reserve with which to pay benefits to the baby boomers. If that had been done, the trust fund would today hold $2.6 trillion in “good-as-gold” default-proof, marketable Treasury bonds, which the trustees could sell in the open market to raise funds with which to pay benefits. But none of the surplus revenue was saved. It was all spent on general government operations and replaced with IOUs, which are nothing more than claims against future tax collections.
I consider Floyd one of my foot soldiers in the battle to end the looting, and to demand that the government repay the looted money. He is well informed, and a dedicated, patriotic American, who loves his country and wants to help educate the public. I hope that readers will rally around Floyd’s efforts and participate in a healthy and spirited discussion on his blog. I count on people like Floyd to help me bring an end to the looting of Social Security.
Allen W. Smith, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Eastern Illinois University
Again, I want to emphasize just how important it is for readers to post comments and engage in a spirited debate with one another on blogs like the one Floyd Bowman has established. In addition to posting comments, you can ask questions about Social Security. I'm sure that, if Floyd cannot answer your question, he will forward it on to me so that I can respond to it. I have been researching and writing about Social Security funding for the past ten years, and I have published four books on Social Security. I have appeared on CNN, CNNfn ("The Dollans"), CNBC and more than 170 radio talk show to discuss Social Security funding. I invite you to visit my website at www.thebiglie.net to learn more about my crusade and about Social Security.
ReplyDeleteAllen W. Smith, Ph.D.