Social Security Now Takes More Than it Gives

But it is now official: Social Security is a lousy investment for the average worker. People retiring today will be among the first generation of workers to pay more in Social Security taxes than they receive in benefits over the course of their lives, according to a new analysis by the Associated Press.

Nothing quite like investing in failure.

Link

Imagine me coming to your home with a ridiculous business plan designed to fail like squirrel meat tacos wrapped in acorn flatbread sold for $50 a piece and put a gun to your head demanding you find it.

At first I'd have to at least lie to you to make you feel a little better about it. Saying things like "I'll help support you when you're old and decrepit". Let me get away with it long enough and I'll lose the drive to lie to your face and simply state "you wont see any of this money ever again" yet the gun remains to your head and you'll pay up. Not only will you pay up but you'll defend the robbery to all your friends, family and neighbors and chastise them for not eagerly paying forward to fund my squirrel meat food truck.

But today there are just 2.8 workers per Social Security recipient and that number will fall to 1.9 by 2035, according to the Congressional Budget Office. People no longer routinely die at 65 but live well into their 80s. To compensate, payroll taxes that were just 2% in the 1940s have risen to 12.4% today (half paid by your employer), which is another reason that you stand to collect less than you paid.

On my next tax return i will deduct the entire amount ive paid into social security as a theft. Hmmm..

It's a tax, just like Obamacare is.
We are now a Communist Nation!

Just live your day.

Not like you see it anyway.

Even from your paycheck.

I never look at mine.

If you want something to change then do it yourself.

Besides, why bother looking at the numbers when you already know know your screwed?

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Don't fall for the propaganda that Social Security is the ill of our government debt!!

Another argument made by Social Security opponents to raise fear about the national debt is how much our government has borrowed from China. They never mention how much our government has borrowed from Social Security. In fact, the government has borrowed more from the Social Security surplus than it has from any other source in the world, including China. As a result, Social Security now "owns" nearly 18 percent of the federal debt, making it the largest single holder of US debt. The government owes almost twice as much to Social Security as it does to China and Hong Kong.

Why aren't the opponents worried about paying back Social Security -- why aren't they talking about repaying this debt to the American people?

According to the U.S. Treasury Department's "Monthly Statement of the Public Debt of the United States" (9.30.10), the total debt was $13.562 trillion and was held as follows:

US Holders of Debt
42.1 % -- US Individuals and Institutions
17.9 % -- Social Security Trust Fund
6.0 % -- US Civil Service Retirement Fund
2.1 % -- US Military Retirement Fund

Foreign Holders of Debt
11.7 % -- Oil Exporting Countries
9.5 % -- China and Hong Kong
6.3 % -- Japan
1.4 % -- United Kingdom
1.3 % -- Brazil
1.6 % -- All other foreign countries

Source

This is just more Divide, Manipulate, and Control to make us blame those other than the ones who are stealing us blind! Our own Government!!!

Notice how the ones really fighting to end Social Security are those who are the FAT CATS on Wallstreet???

Reply to post by seeker1963

It's my property being taken from me.

It'd be stupid to rail against SS yet ignore other expenses. As fas as I'm concerned I'd like to wake to a morning with no thieving, threatening government at all.

Are the "fat cats" pushing to end it? They don't even pay into it. Once you make a certain amount of money you are exempt from SS so why should they care at all?

I'd like to see all forms of government extortion end. There is nothing righteous about threatening my life and liberty for my property.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

It's my property being taken from me.

It'd be stupid to rail against SS yet ignore other expenses. As fas as I'm concerned I'd like to wake to a morning with no thieving, threatening government at all.

Are the "fat cats" pushing to end it? They don't even pay into it. Once you make a certain amount of money you are exempt from SS so why should they care at all?

I'd like to see all forms of government extortion end. There is nothing righteous about threatening my life and liberty for my property.

Your damn right! It is your money! But to reply to your OP as to Social Security being broke, it isn't about Social Security! It is the fact that our corrupt government has stolen the money from it and it will NEVER be payed back!

As far as the fat cats not getting Social Security checks upon the millions in their private bank accounts??? I beg to differ with you on that one my friend. They absolutely payed into it, and on top of the millions they already have, they still get their monthly check.....

The problwm with SS is that instead of the original untouchable fund, which was the way it was originaly set up, the money is put into a general fund which the politicians raid on a regular basis to fund their pork barrel projects.

They changed the law in order to steal from us all. Had the funding been left alone there would be more than enough money in the system for everyone. Politicians = theives. They've never seen the peoples money that they didn't want for themselves.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Reply to post by seeker1963

 

It's my property being taken from me.

It'd be stupid to rail against SS yet ignore other expenses. As fas as I'm concerned I'd like to wake to a morning with no thieving, threatening government at all.

Are the "fat cats" pushing to end it? They don't even pay into it. Once you make a certain amount of money you are exempt from SS so why should they care at all?

I'd like to see all forms of government extortion end. There is nothing righteous about threatening my life and liberty for my property.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Alright, so you want to stop paying for the military too, right? Because they're thieving away more money from you than anything else.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
Reply to post by seeker1963

 

Are the "fat cats" pushing to end it? They don't even pay into it. Once you make a certain amount of money you are exempt from SS so why should they care at all?

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

That's a ridiculous statement. There is a cap on income that is taxed the SS tax. I don't know what it is exactly, but somewhere around $150,000. So you pay SS on the 150k, but not on anything beyond that amount. It's not a total exemption.

reply to post by cetaphobic


well when we are paying 54 % on military even in times of peace I'm pretty damn sure there is some wiggle room in there to STOP making AND storing WEAPONS and setting up false flags and allowing the fed to support both sides of the war so wars can last for years on end, plus with the amount of do nothing people in all forms of government from DMV to the Manchurian candidate president we got, stop allowing politicians to double dip in pension systems getting 2 3 4 sometimes even 5 different positions at same time(consultants) accruing 230% more than they should have in any term, if we weren't paying out ridiculous amounts of pensions to these scum bags , we would have plenty of money

Originally posted by tvtexan
It's a tax, just like Obamacare is.
We are now a Communist Nation!

I'm glad I don't get the Obamacare tax, because I pay exhorbitant fees for health insurance. So far I haven't met anyone who does. However, a portion of the taxes and health insurance I pay do go to provide emergency room services for people with no insurance every time they get the sniffles. That I could do without.

- Have been out of the USA for 8 years and...
- Haven't paid USA taxes in 8 years
- Haven't paid Social Security or other welfare/nanny state programs in 8 years

My advice to you is to stop paying taxes, move out of the USA, and stop worrying about things the Gov. says you must do. It's a much more enjoyable and free life to live how you please without someone/something telling you what you must do in YOUR life

Originally posted by Philippines
- Have been out of the USA for 8 years and...
- Haven't paid USA taxes in 8 years
- Haven't paid Social Security or other welfare/nanny state programs in 8 years

My advice to you is to stop paying taxes, move out of the USA, and stop worrying about things the Gov. says you must do. It's a much more enjoyable and free life to live how you please without someone/something telling you what you must do in YOUR life

I wish I spoke Portuguese. I would be in Brazil loving life with all them beach hotties.

"Nothing quite like investing in failure."


Hey dude this ain't about supporting you yet. This is about supporting the elderly, the poorest and the least able of us. Now there is something we can hate isn't it F***k granny. let her eat out of dumpster. Should have saved for her old age, the bitch. Come on folks is this really how we really want to live? Old people don't live on farms any longer with extended families. Nor are most the happy ones with the a financial adviser we see on television advertisement. Quite a few are broke after years of hard work with little pay, and have very little. We have an obligation as the most prosperous nation on the planet. to put a little back. Get off you high horse. So your not going to get it all back. You are not going to get your property taxes back. And you income taxes went to pay for all these wars, lots of people made lots of money of that. It's a tax, it goes for a very good cause. I know you have a mother. I know you have a grandmother. I'm not so sure you have a heart.

Originally posted by solarstorm

Originally posted by Philippines
- Have been out of the USA for 8 years and...
- Haven't paid USA taxes in 8 years
- Haven't paid Social Security or other welfare/nanny state programs in 8 years

My advice to you is to stop paying taxes, move out of the USA, and stop worrying about things the Gov. says you must do. It's a much more enjoyable and free life to live how you please without someone/something telling you what you must do in YOUR life

I wish I spoke Portuguese. I would be in Brazil loving life with all them beach hotties.

Language is a barrier depending on where you would choose to live. In the Philippines some places speak English better than the national language of Tagalog. To clarify, where I live speaks a different language and knows English better than Tagalog because they don't like the lowland city folk, and English is better for them to know.

Brazil can be a bit too dangerous for my taste, and I'm not sure about the language barrier in the province there, but from what you say it probably is portuguese and mixed tribal languages/dialects

Seeker1963's post is excellent....and ~widowmaker~ brings up a valid but largely unknown truth...

Here are some additional points to consider:
6 Facts about the Social Security Trust Fund

Notably, is not the Trust Fund itself which is borrowed against, except in the case mentioned in the above article, to compensate for the temporary payroll tax reduction...this was done to help ease the burden on those working and those out of a job right now with maybe just one breadwinner in the household. And those funds are supposedly already returned to the Trust Fund proper.

What is borrowed is the INTEREST that the Trust Fund earns through investments.

Investment income. The trust funds earned $114 billion in interest in 2011, an effective annual interest rate of about 4.4 percent. Assets held in special issue U.S. Treasury securities grew to $2.7 trillion in 2011 and are expected to continue growing to about $3.1 trillion by 2021.

If congress quit borrowing against the interest earned in order to finance these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other military expenses, then there would be MORE THAN enough for generations to come...no worries at all.

The issue is caused by the high expense of these two wars because they are paid for not out of the defense budget or any other category in the federal budget...war is paid for these days not by raising taxes or selling war bonds as in the world wars, but by BORROWING.

Politicians may be padding their pockets but it isn't directly through skimming off the top of the SS Trust Fund...that is all being used to fund WAR.

costofwar.com

The problem seems big and solutions seem complicated:

Changes needed. The trustees suggest several changes that could restore the program to solvency for the next 75 years. An immediate payroll tax increase of about 1.3 percent for both workers and employers would correct the projected deficit, as would immediately reducing benefits by 16.2 percent, or some combination of these two approaches. “Lawmakers would have to make significantly larger changes for future beneficiaries if they decide to avoid changes for current beneficiaries and those close to retirement age,” the report cautions. “If lawmakers do not take substantial action for several years, then changes necessary to maintain Social Security solvency will be concentrated on fewer years and fewer generations.” If Social Security changes are deferred until the trust funds become exhausted in 2033, it will then require a tax increase of 2.15 percent for both workers and employers to continue paying out benefits at current levels. Alternatively, benefit payouts would need to be reduced by 25 percent in 2033 if no tax increases or alternative revenue sources are implemented.

Actually, the answer is simple: END these WARS.

reply to post by seeker1963


I am glad you made this point because after reading the first post in this thread what you posted was my first thought. The US government owns the American people and not the other way around when it comes to social security. The people pay into social security expecting the government not to mess with it. It was designed for only the America people to dip into once they retire. The government abused that trust and how it owns the people of America a lot of money. I think the better argument to make about S.S.I. benefits is that the common people overwhelmingly support social security as a methods of evolving human society and the government messed it up. So, now we have every right to demand they pay us back and get rid of the debt currently being held by social security.

[color=hotpink]We need to STOP the wars and stop building a GAZILLION BASES all around the world. Thats where we need to cut, PERIOD.

Then, if we need to go further (HIGHLY UNLIKELY) then we can go after the politicians benefits/entitlements/etc/etc which are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY [color=gold]lavish for even a KING.

For the horrible jobs politicians have been doing, [color=limegreen]they deserve NO MORE than MINIMUM WAGE and NO benefits or retirement package whatsoever. They can eventually make more than minumum wage once they demonstrate that they are CAPABLE and WILLING to start DOING THEIR DAMN JOBS for a change.

If we must make benefits/entitlement cuts, its only FAIR that we go after [color=limegreen]those in this country whom dont do their DAMN JOBS and dont deserve any benefits anyways.

If cuts need to be made, CUT the LAVISH ROCK-STAR-like benefits of the FAILURES in this country whom we call POLITICIANS.

It's funny how people complain less about paying Social Security as they get closer to retirement age. Thirty years ago I hated paying for Social Security, but now I am glad it's there.

A lot of us will find as we get close to the golden ages that our expected huge retirement savings won't be there due to corporate mergers, layoffs and downturns in the economy. Those retirement funds get spent just trying to survive between jobs. The days are long gone where the majority could work for one or two companies and save for their retirement. Social Security is needed more than ever due to Americans being seen as disposable by companies today.