Social Security & More Part 7

WELCOME TO OPINIONS  BASED  ON  FACTS (OBOF)

                                                             

Name	Published
OVERVIEW	Dec. 28, 2010
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 1	Dec. 30, 2010
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 2	Jan. 10, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 3	Jan. 17, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 4	Jan. 24, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 5	Jan. 31, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 6	Feb. 07, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 7	Feb. 14, 2011
SPECIAL ISSUE	Feb. 18, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 8	Feb. 21, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 9	Mar. 01, 2011
SOCIAL SECURITY PART 10	Mar. 07, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1	Mar. 14, 2011
SS & MORE PART 1A	Mar. 21, 2011
SS & MORE PART 2	Mar. 25, 2011
SS & MORE PART 3	Mar. 29, 2011
SS & MORE PART 4	Apr. 04, 2011
SS & MORE PART 5	Apr. 11, 2011
SS & MORE PART 6	Apr. 18, 2011
SS & MORE PART 7	Apr. 25, 2011

SOCIAL SECURITY & MORE PART 7

IN  THIS  ISSUE

1.  Introduction

2.  Good news

3.  Social Security

4.  Corporations - what they get by with.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

My younger daughter, Teena, sent me a goodies package for Easter and I, of course, sent her a e-mail of thanks.  We continued some back and forth e-mails and in one she said that she looked at my blog once in a while.  She said that she just had to FOCUS on her personal life so much that she just didn't get much time to look at it regularly. 

You know, I hadn't thought about it before, but really that is one reason that I try to put together, the best that I can, these messages every week.  I do realize that most of you do have to focus on your personal life and you don't have the time it takes to find this information, filter it for what you think is true and factual and how it will effect our lives. 

It does take a fair amount of time and I try to summarize, so as to get the point across and yet not so much detail that, sometimes, is not needed to understand the importance of the material.

GOOD  NEWS

One day this past week, "Opinions Based On Facts" held the first three position when using search engine Google and search for Opinions Based On Facts Social Security. I'm told that position on any search is based, in part, on the number of hits a blog or web site gets.  Since we held the first three positions, I am assuming that we have had a number of hits.  This is the first indication that I have had that a number of you are taking a look. 

I truly appreciate knowing this and hope that you will stay with me.  I know that the good or bad job that I do will determine whether or not you want to take a look.  I will try to deserve your time.

                              SOCIAL  SECURITY

Social Security is being bounced all around in Washington.  That statement is made based on the fact that it appears in almost every major newspaper, at least, 2 to 3 times a week and on talk TV almost daily. 

It is more important than ever that we get the public educated as to the background that has brought SS to the point it is today.  Dr. Allen W. Smith Ph.D. Economist of 30 years, has spent his entire time, for the past ten years, researching and then trying to get the word out about the true background and current status of Social Security.

I have worked on it for the past five years, on and off.  Nothing to the degree that Dr. Smith has, but I have worked with him in trying to let the public know about the greatest fraud that has ever been perpetrated on the American people.  I could write pages about the work he has done, but instead I am going to list the events that have occurred that leads us to today's situation.   For some of you, this will be a refresher and for others it may be the first time you have heard this.

To ALL however, get the word out to your friends and family.  Why do we want the word out?  So that more and more pressure can be brought to bear on our Legislators to correct the terrible fraud that Presidents and Congresses have committed. 

NOW  THIS  NEXT  PARAGRAPH  IS  VERY  IMPORTANT

First, and of utmost importance, is to keep saying, and pointing out, what SS is and isn't.  It isn't an ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM.   It is an INSURANCE PROGRAM.  There is a big difference.  The official name is "OLD AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE" (OASDI).  Every official writing calls SS "INSURANCE."  Also, what is referred to as "payroll taxes" relating to SS, is not a tax at all. It is an insurance premium. The official name of that withholding is "FEDERAL INSURANCE CONTRIBUTION ACCOUNT" (FICA).  That means that it is your contribution to your SS account.  DID YOU GET THAT?  YOUR ACCOUNT --not the Government's General Revenue account.  You have every right to expect your account to pay for the benefits, that you have been told, by legislation, you should get at a certain time.

Lets take a quick run down from the beginning that set up the present problem.  In 1982, the SS Insurance program was going to start running short of income to meet outgo.  President Regean appointed a Commission to study the program and develop a plan that would keep SS solvent until 2041, which is when the youngest baby boomer would be 79 years old.

Before the plan they developed, the FICA income was to pay for the benefits of the previous generation.  The new plan would have the present FICA pay for the benefits of the previous generation and the present generation, in other words, a double whammy.  This plan would build up a surplus, so that by 2018 there would be $3.7 trillion available, which is about the time they figured, the FICA money would be less than the needed outgo for benefits.  This would be the case as a result of fewer contributing to the income and also, the baby boomers would be receiving benefits.

Well, this sounded like a very good plan and it would have been except for one thing.  Presidents and Congresses that followed could not stand to see that beautiful surplus just sitting there drawing interest when they could use it for other things. 

It has always been the intention that SS money was never suppose to be used as general revenue.  It finally became law that it was not to be used for general revenue in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.  THAT DIDN'T MEAN A THING TO THE PRESIDENTS AND CONGRESSES THAT FOLLOWED.  They just acted like that law wasn't there. 

The money was used for financing wars, outlandish tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, for making the deficit spending to not look as bad as it was and many other things.  This was the golden egg for them.  BUT, NOW THE STUFF HAS HIT THE FAN.  After taking out $2.6 trillion from the SS Trust Fund the fund is empty and the SS income is not sufficient to meet outgo. 

SO NOW CONGRESS (I should say the Republicans in Congress) wants to cut benefits in the future and raise the retirement age and even want to privatize the program, which would do away with SS entirely.  Privatizing is another subject entirely, which we will discuss at another time.  What our lawmakers have done to us is unconscionable.

Finally, I should mention that when the Government took money out of the SS Trust Fund, it replaced it with what is called Special Government Bonds.  They are nothing more than IOUs and have no dollar value at all.

The Government has had to start making up the difference from SS income and SS outgo, so now, many are saying that it contributes to the deficit.  Actually, it is not contributing to the deficit at all.  The money that has to be put in SS now is nothing more than a slim down payment on the $2.6 trillion it stole from the SS Trust Fund in the first place.

TWO  IMPORTANT  THINGS  TO  REMEMBER

1.      SOCIAL SECURITY HAS BEEN,

AND IS, A   SELF SUPPORTING PROGRAM.  IT IS THE MOST SUCESSFUL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM THAT HAS EVER BEEN

PUT IN PLACE

.

2.      GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR

          STEALING THIS $2.6 TRILLION AND SHOULD HAVE TO REPLACE IT SOME WAY WITHOUT MAKING THE TAXPAYERS PAY AGAIN.  ONE WAY WOULD BE TO TAX THE WEALTHY, WHO GOT A GREAT BENEFIT, FROM THIS $2.6 TRILLION, TO BEGIN WITH.

CORPORATIONS

WHAT  THEY  GET  BY  WITH

Senator Bernie Sanders is an Independent from Vermont.  He votes with Democrats.  I have seen him a number of times on MSNBC.  He is truly our friend.  I thought you might find the following interesting.  I sure did.

Well, I have ran into a problem.  This information was in a beautiful picture form, but it won't transfer over to my blog.  So, I am going to type in the information.  Senator Bernie Sanders, and staff, research and put this together.

1.  EXXON MOBIL's 2009 profits totaled $19 billion, yet according to its SEC filings, the company received a $156 million rebate from the IRS plus, it didn't pay any federal taxes.

2.  BANK OF AMERICA made $4.4 billion in profits last year.  This was after it received a $1 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Dept., and a $1.9 billion tax refund from the IRS.

3.  GENERAL ELECTRIC has made $26 billion in profits in the United States over the past five years.  It's also received a $4.1 billion taax refund from the IRS.  GE has cut a fifth of it's American jobs in the past nine years, and is boosting jobs overseas - - where tax rartes are lower.  And where it can continue evading U. S. taxes. 

4.  CHEVRON'S IRS refund last year totaled $19 million, but it's 2009 profits came to a whopping $10 billion.

5.  CITIGROUP profits last year totaled more than $4 billion.  But it paid zero dollars in federal income tax, and received a $2.5 trillion bailout from the Federal Reserve and U. S. Treaskury Department

If all the above were corrected our deficit problem would not be so great.

Next week I am going to talk about the deficit reduction plans, that are being developed and about the National Debt.

See you next week.

Floyd