Social Security: America’s Bad Habit
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Since the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the advent of his Social Security program in 1935 Americans have been addicted to the false sense of security that the program provides. Social Security has given Americans the false perception that they and their families are insured against the economic woes inherent of things such as old age or disability. They have been duped into the belief that each month they make contributions to a trust that will one day be paid back to them or their families.
The reality of Social Security is far different than the one perceived by many Americans. Social Security was first passed into law in 1935. The federal government began collecting taxes to fund social security in 1937. They also paid out one lump sum payment in the same year. Regular monthly Social Security payments began in January of 1940. There is only a three year gap between the time they began collecting taxes for Social Security and the time that they began making regular monthly payments. This short time period made it impossible for the amount of money being paid out to those collecting Social Security to have been properly backed by the money that the same individuals paid in. As a result, the money that one generation pays in is immediately paid out to the older generation that is collecting Social Security, and on other government expenditures. An interest baring IOU is put into a “fund” in place of the money that the younger generation is paying in. The debt and interest from these IOU’s continually accumulate, and given that most if not all funds paid into social security is immediately spent, the debt and interest is never paid. This debt has ballooned, and like all pyramid schemes it will eventually come crashing down; which will be a disaster for this country. The US federal government has mislead many unwitting American’s into believing that they are putting away their own money for the future; but this is simply not true. If something is not done, the Ponzi scheme that is Social Security will cause another and far more damaging economic meltdown in this country.
The major problem with weaning the country off of Social Security is that no one wants to give up the money that they have paid into the system over the course of their careers. Many Americans have this sentiment: ”I’m collecting Social Security when I retire, I’ve been paying into all this time. I want my money back.” This attitude is more than reasonable. Who can blame them? Who would want to give up money they have been saving all of their lives?
So lets try looking at Social Security in a different light. Obviously, any money that you paid into social security was paid out to someone else. So, essentially you have been stolen from all of your life. Also, any money that you draw from social security will be money paid in by someone else. So, essentially you are taking someone else’s money against his will.
Now, maybe drawing social security seems justified to you because you have been stolen from all of your life, and now it is your turn to be paid back. Sounds reasonable doesn’t it? But is it really? Well, imagine that you are a bank owner, and everyday that your bank is open for business masked gunmen come in and rob it. They don’t steal all of your money though. They just take a little bit everyday. One day you decide to get out of the banking business, and you want to get back all of the money that was stolen from you. Is it then justifiable for you to go and rob other banks in order to get your money back?
I would hope that you answered no. In that same vain. It is not justifiable for any man to steal from younger generations even if he has been stolen from by older generations. Theft cannot be justified in any capacity. The time has come for us to accept our duty to preserve liberty and prosperity for future generations. We must not leave debt to be paid by our children and grandchildren. American’s must make the difficult decisions now, so that future generations will have the same opportunities that we did. This is the duty of every generation.
“The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
-Thomas Jefferson, 1816
Woes is not spelled whoas. Unless you need the horse to stop.
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America's Addiction To Social Insurance | Legal News - Your Source for Legal News and Advice
Ha, dually noted and changed. Late night posts result in stupid mistakes. Thanks for the correction
Now the chicken come home to roost – this is the beginning of inevitable sovereign default and bankruptcy, after which even these IOUs are worthless. Siphoning money out of Social Security via these IOUs in effect will just mean you were paying a higher, non-redeemable income tax all those years.
I’ve heard some quotes from FDR where he says that the Social Security tax was implemented to ensure that his Social Security plan could not be changed
Senioritis – The American Pandemic
A few facts supporting that headline. When seniors of today purchased their first stock, the stock market was around 500; over their lifetime it went to over 14,000. They purchased their first home for around $10,000; over their lifetime the value increased to around $200,000. Through their vigil of silence, and wanting to protect their entitlements, they blessed political pilfering of excess Social Security tax contributions that were to be saved and invested. This blessing allowed politicians to turn 2.5 trillion dollars of Social Security trust fund assets created by hard working Americans, into 2.5 trillion dollars of Social Security IOU debt, those same hard working Americans and their families will have to pay again, plus interest. Additionally excess Social Security payroll deductions denied millions of average working Americans the means to save and invest for their own retirement; senioritis can be costly, can’t it?
Then seniors became card carrying members of AARP, and used their collective lobbying clout to run up their children and grand children’s credit card debt from 2.87 billion to 12.6 Trillion over their lifetime; senioritis is addictive, isn’t it? At age 65, their children and grand children subsidize their health insurance costs through Medicare, lowering their health insurance premiums from something around $500 per month, to in some cases no cost per month at all, if they’re enrolled in a Medicare advantage plan. History suggests current seniors have had a pretty nice ride, wouldn’t you agree?
Then to add a little more salt to an open financial gash, they feel they’re entitled to senior discounts for meals, airline tickets, or whatever else they can have at the expense of their children and grand children. Senioritis has put America on a glide path to our financial demise, and if a cure isn’t found, the next generation will create 250 trillion dollars of Social Security IOU debt, and another 52.9 quadrillion dollars of credit card debt, and the annual Medicare costs will be astronomical; senioritis – it’s contagious.
Those were facts, now an opinion. With all due respect seniors, and they do deserve some, here’s a news flash, You are the last best hope for future generations, and you have an obligation to give up a little of your leisure time to be part of a solution, but first, your day in the sun at the expense of future generations has got to come to a screeching halt. Having one more party, supporting a party, or a political party’s politician isn’t a solution; if it were we wouldn’t be in this mess. The real solution resides with that person looking back at you in the mirror; it’s time the two of you had a heart to heart regarding “me thinking” and “we thinking”. The current “all about seniors” AARP plan needs to be replaced with an “all about us” American plan. This will open the door for a constructive intra-generational dialogue, focusing on real solutions that best serve this & future generations; our children and grand children are entitled to that conversation at the very least. Now take the energy, and the emotions you feel after readi0ng this, and join us in a no finger pointing, no name calling, no sign carrying, no appointing blame, “we thinking”, stamp out senioritis dialogue, by going to http://www.americaretoday.com and activate your voice on behalf of the next generations
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