Social Security: a moment of clarity

So this morning I was awoken by my clock radio which I have set to a local talk station. The first thing I hear is a man with a concerned voice, with a bit of panic state the following. My wife and I just turned 50, is social security going to be there for us? If not I will sue, you know one of those class action lawsuits.

To which the supposedly sage host responded, oh don't worry it's only if you are 25 right now that you have to worry about that, social security isn't set to go broke till like 2025. You don't want to do a class action suit, you will get 3 dollars and the lawyers will get the rest. You know they will raise taxes soon and fix it. At this point the man obviously relieved says thanks and hangs up.

Several thoughts ran through my head immediately, first shut this crap off now. Second, my god we are screwed even the financial gurus the dumb public counts on are clueless or liars. Third, OWS must be having an effect, this caller is suddenly terrified about his financial future and is already coming up with wild ideas about how he will save himself from being screwed. Forth holy crap people are not even remotely prepared for what is to come, it really is going to be Mad Max like. Fifth, wow neither the host or the caller can do basic math - 2025 is 14 years from now when the caller is 64.

For those that don't know much about the situation with social security let me give you some info. You know that national debt everyone is always talking about, well about 4 trillion of it is the IOU's that represent the Social Security fund. Social security was about the only thing running a surplus till last year, but our government has been borrowing from it for years to pay for other stuff like wars, foreign aid, spying on us, buying their autobiography, you know generally taking real good care of our retirement accounts.

So first off social security is already broke - Now. Almost nobody realizes this because the checks are still going out. The population is aging quick, meaning the portion of people paying into SS is growing smaller, while the portion taking benefits are getting larger. The only thing allowing those checks to still go out is our nations ability to borrow, and we are getting very close to the point where that will no longer be a possibility. Greece although not exactly the same situation is an example of what happens when the bond market decides it no longer wants to lend - this is exactly where the US is headed.

Second the unemployment is way higher than any government projections ever took into account,and their is no reason to think that will change anytime soon.

Third our national deficit has gone up every year but 2 in the last 50 years, and even the tea party does not want to actually cut real spending. Our tax base is shrinking, and our spending keeps increasing. This shows not even an attempt by our politicians to make Social security solvent.

Fourth, when the banks explode, and they will, pension funds are going to be exposed as lacking huge amounts of funding for what they have promised, and the government will have to pay out trillions in bailouts/FDIC payments. This will make our already horrible debt situation many times worse.

Fifth Medical costs are rising 7 percent a year and already account for nearly forty percent of our national budget. This again is only getting worse as our population's age rises. Again do the math here - if that continues the entirety of tax collections will be needed just to pay for medical expenses in only 15 years. That obviously cannot happen.

Sixth, this should be obvious, but it apparently is not to many people, you cannot collect money from someone or something that is broke. Assuming you even could sue the federal government, you only can if they let you, they are not an endless store of wealth. The only wealth they have is the ability to tax the productivity of it's citizens - it IS finite. Sure you can say the gov can just print money, but they are not creating wealth when they do that, they are taking away the value of money from everyone who holds it. That too has a limit, because it is a tax, just like you can't tax people at a hundred percent and have a functioning economy, there is also a limit on the ability to print without destruction of the currency. Even if they do print and continue to pay benefits it will have a fraction of the purchasing power it does now.

In summary, no politician will ever tell you this, but I am convinced it is true. If you are counting on social security being around in it's present form even five years from now you should think again. Everyone still working needs to plan on it not being any more than 50 percent at best of living expenses. The same thing goes for medical care - our government simply will not be able to come close to meeting the obligations it has made. No amount of denial can change the math.

Restore and bring back jobs in America for Americans and guess what? As long as we have that SS will not ever go broke nor die. Keep on starving the nation and not allowing new job creation and SS as well as any other social prog will die.

For those of you who would like to understand how the money for Social Security is accumulated and paid out...please read this:

www.ssa.gov...

First SS is insurance and not a guarantee, second you do not have to pay into SS, I never have, SS is a retirement account nothing more, so go open your own ROTH account and control your own future. SS sets the age and every time you turn around they up the age of collection so most will have to work till their 70 plus in order to collect a dime you have no control over it.

Time to take back control of your own life and stop relying on others, until people are ready to stand up and take personal responsibility for their own actions nothing will change. If your ready to truly be free from the madness and lawfully take control of your own life then start learning the law. I have several threads on that topic that will truly set you free from the defacto system of private law, no more benefits, no more statue laws will apply to you such as traffic to mention just one, and no more paying of Federal taxes. This is total common law freedom as the Constitution intended it to be. You will no longer be a 14th Amendment citizens, and no longer need permits ie permission from mommy and daddy big brother government for anything.

The choice is yours and no one else's, remain a slave to the system or be totally free for the first time in your life, start your studies today.

www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

This is just a few of my links complete with pdf's and law links to prove every statement within.

reply to post by drmeola


Exactly it is an insurance policy and not an entitlement program! When will people learn this?

FYI:

- FICA Tax Rates
Generally, FICA taxes are collected at a rate of 7.65% on gross earnings - earnings before any deductions.
The breakdown of FICA is 6.2% for Social Security (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance or OASDI) and 1.45% for Medicare.

2011 FICA Tax and Social Security Limits
•FICA Tax Rate = 7.65%
•Social Security Limit = $106,800
•Maximum Social Security Contribution = $6,621.60 (employer) / $4485.60 (employee)



in Jan 2012, SS recipients will receive a 3.5% Cost of Living Adjustment
also the Medicare Premium will be $3.50 higher ($100. per month for low benefit recipients)


the Budget or Deficit super committee will soon announce their decade long Austerity bill,
i might cut some defense, but the focus is on cutting benefits and delaying benefits to approaching retirees...

i suspect that the SS limit of $106,800 will go on up to $250,000
and contribution limits will also increase, as those fortunate to be gainfully employed might be contributing up to 10% of their weekly pay into the SSA (this is on top of the wage withholdings for income tax)





reply to post by proximo


yeah, you got a good grasp of the situation

Originally posted by TheImmaculateD1

Exactly it is an insurance policy and not an entitlement program! When will people learn this?

Yeah, now Food Stamps is an entitlement, and unemployment too (as it is entirely paid by premiums from your employer) ~

(although, it could be reasoned that the person hiring you factored in the unemployment $ in determining your starting wage)