Democrats would like you to believe that all of money taken out of your paycheck to fund Social Security is in a trust fund. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s more like a slush fund politicians use to pay for other spending.
The Washington Post has a fairly long piece explaining how Social Security has gone “cash negative” faster than anticipated. One thing noted is President Obama’s cuts to the payroll tax, which is supposed to fund the program. (Isn’t it funny how the only tax he wants to cut is the one that funds one of his party’s favorite programs? It’s almost like he wants it to go broke faster.) Oh, and of course, there are the politicians who don’t have the political courage or the will to take the steps to shore up the program.
Social Security is hardly the biggest drain on the budget. But unless Congress acts, its finances will continue to deteriorate as the rising tide of baby boomers begins claiming benefits. The $2.6 trillion Social Security trust fund will provide little relief. The government has borrowed every cent and now must raise taxes, cut spending or borrow more heavily from outside investors to keep benefit checks flowing.
Many Democrats have largely chosen to ignore the shortfall, insisting the program is flush, citing the existence of the trust fund. They argue that fixing Social Security can wait, perhaps for years.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who is fighting to maintain control of the Senate, has been particularly outspoken. In March, as a bipartisan group of six senators was gaining attention for a push to draft a debt-reduction plan that included a Social Security fix, Reid summoned hundreds of activists to a rally on Capitol Hill. Fresh off a tough reelection campaign that turned in his favor after he accused his tea party opponent of wanting to “wipe out” Social Security, Reid exhorted policymakers to “leave Social Security alone.”
Read the whole thing. Social Security was never meant to fund decades of retirement. It was set up when people only lived to be about 65 years old. Now 65 is the new 45, with many people living into their 90s. If nothing is done soon, what will be left for the children who are stuck footing the bill?
Speaking of which, remember when Democrats cheered because they blocked President Bush’s efforts to reform Social Security? No, well, (thanks to Gateway Pundit) here’s the video. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
Update: Linked by The Week and Moe Lane!
Tags: Bush, cheered, deficit, Democrats, operating, slush fund, Social Security
Politicians on both sides could have set payroll taxes aside in account that could have earned interest safely but they used it to buy votes.
What are the x generation and younger going to do when the “trust” goes bust and the government can’t pay. Remember this video when it is time to collect.
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When I was still in high school I remember my dad telling me “you better save your money because there won’t be social security when you retire”. He wasn’t kidding. Now I tell him to spend my donations to social security carefully.
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[...] above video (via The Lonely Conservative) is from that infamous moment during George W Bush’s 2006 State of the Union address where [...]
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[...] has a problem: “Social Security was never meant to fund decades of retirement,” says the Lonely Conservative. When the program was set up in the 1930s, people only lived to be about 65. But today, “65 [...]
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[...] has a problem: “Social Security was never meant to fund decades of retirement,” says the Lonely Conservative. When the program was set up in the 1930s, people only lived to be about 65. But today, “65 [...]
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[...] has a problem: “Social Security was never meant to fund decades of retirement,” says the Lonely Conservative. When the program was set up in the 1930s, people only lived to be about 65. But today, “65 [...]
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If you don’t know what a trust fund is, this article explains it very well.
http://explainlikeakid.blogspot.com/2011/10/what-is-trust-fund.html
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