Social Security Expected to Dip Into Its Reserves This Year

That is all a gross misrepresentation. FROM THE BEGINNING, BY LAW, any excess remaining in the S.S. system had to be invested. The decision was made to invest it in Treasury securities that could not be looted and sold on the open market. And like ALL purchases of Treasury securities, the proceeds from the sale went into the general fund. To think those funds should have just been left as dollar bills in a vault is absurd, of course. So they were invested in the safest, most stable investment known.

To call the sale of Treasuries to the Trust Fund "looting" is playing very, very loose with words.

The Trust Fund is definitely NOT "sitting empty". It has $2.8 trillion in Treasuries in it.

 

"In actuality the assets are probably..."??? So you admit you don't know. Then go look into it!

 

They're YOUR BLINDERS!!! The S.S. system has almost nothing in common with a Ponzi scheme. In the first place, a "Ponzi scheme", by definition, is one whereby the person who starts the scheme collects the money and others who join in lose all their "invested" money. That is not happening with S.S.

 

And your use of the term "Invest" is at least as disingenuous as you accuse me of being. IF SS is so solvent, why is it being cut and tampered with?

 

That's exactly what we have!!! LOL!!!!

 

"Invest" is the proper term. Millions of people in the USA and in other countries "invest" in T-bills. Very successful and wealthy people "invest" in them. Pension funds "invest in them.

And tell me what is being "cut and tampered with".

 

Yes, SS is a ponzi scheme....

 

Bluesguy, the best managed and most successful pension fund in the world is the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan, thus, study the best; how it was structured, managed, and diversified, and KODE, you do the same.

 

I guess we can start with this year.


Cutting Medicare by $266 billion
The Trump budget document, titled “An American Budget: Major Savings and Reforms,” proposed cutting a net $266 billion under the category, “Medicare: Eliminate wasteful federal spending.” Among other things, Trump’s budget proposal changes the way patients are reimbursed for post-acute care, making it harder for physicians to refer patients to other providers, and “limits hospital payments associated with early discharge to hospices.”

Cutting Medicaid by $1.1 trillion
The Trump budget proposes cutting Medicaid, under the simple guise of “reforms,” by $1.1 trillion over 10 years. The goal is to encourage states to transition away from the Medicaid expansion that Obamacare allowed, in part by imposing a “Medicaid per capita cap and block grant with the Consumer Price Index.”

Cutting Social Security by $72 billion
The full budget document proposal lists “Reform disability programs” in line for a $72 billion decrease over the 10-year budget window. This includes explicit cuts to Supplemental Security Income programs and Social Security Disability Insurance programs, both managed by the Social Security Administration.

 

Military spending accounts for about 16% of total federal spending. Social programs (SS, Medicare, Medicaid, ObamaCare, Welfare, etc.) accounts for over 60% of total federal spending.

Go to the following link and scroll down to "All Federal Spending"...
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/spending/

 

We're discussing the Socials Security retirement funds in the Trust Fund

We're discussing the Socials Security retirement funds in the Trust Fund

Well, everyone knows that the Republicans have wanted to dismantle S.S. since its inception and they would do it by a death of a thousand cuts. And you just quoted and linked to a proposed REPUBLICAN budget.

 

Social Security was a good idea, but its is a bad deal. Those who plan for retirement should be able to opt out. Every dollar represents part of my life I spent working instead being with my kids. If I should get squished by a truck before retirement, I would want that money to go to my family. They are the reasons I work hard in the first place.

How about "If you like your SS, you can keep your SS!"

 

Quote: "Block grant with the CPI"

Many central governments have already restructured their block grants with a CPI adjustment clause, and according to my research, the States ended up paying a larger portion of the pie.

 

A well managed Social Security is a damn good idea. The problem with Uncle Sam's SS is it was poorly managed, and I blame both Repubs and Dems.

 

The early stages of a Ponzi scheme failure.

 

Yes, it doesn't matter if there is a D or an R by their name; our labor is just not respected. Its my money and I should be able to decide how to invest in retirement. I would never invest where 100% of my money is forfeited if I should die before retirement age.

Q: What do you get when the government benefits from your early death?

A: Obamacare!

 

If this doesn't sicken you then you are human filth.

 

Yes but 3% of my check is specifically set aside for social security and is labeled as such. My employer also has to set aside those funds for social security. That money should only go to social security. The same happens to medicare. If the the republicans want to lower the social services spending, they need to lower the 3% social security tax and medicare tax NOT the personal income tax, NOT corporate income tax, and NOT the gains tax. If the republicans lower medicare and social security spending to compensate for a lower corporate, business, and personal income tax that is a misallocation of funds and it is government corruption.

The income tax is used for government, entitlements, military, research and non-profit institutions, foriegn aid and emergency relief.

 

I don't want to be forced to participate in SS or Medicare.

 

The surviving spouse can get the deceased benefits. But of course you don't know this because you want to paint your narrative.

 

What “reserves” are you speaking of?

 

It's not supposed to be a "deal".

You're not thinking it through. People may plan very well for retirement but an unanticipated medical need means they either watch their spouse or child die, or they raid their retirement account to pay the medical bills. Others get trapped by a decision that turns out to be the wrong one and lose their money in an investment or market crash. There are many pitfalls that will and do trap occasional people and no one knows who they will be. So we need a minimum, fall-back position and that is S.S.

S.S./Medicare/Medicaid provides for them, too. But if you want better coverage, most people buy life insurance.

I think you know it can't work optionally. That would be a way to kill the whole program.

 

The one's we've been discussing.

 

Nice strawman. I'll answer your question with a question. Are there any debt instruments whose return is another debt instrument?