Social Security solvency - time to get rid of this pyramid scheme now!

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Looks like the solvency of SS is much bleaker than was thought. I haven't received my annual statement yet, but according to the this article it is clearly stated in our annual statements that SS will be in a deficit come 2018, not 2030 and beyond as most politicians would have us believe. Last time I heard it currently takes to workers to support 1 social security recipient, and by 2025 it will take four workers. Well, it looks like it's going to take a lot more than that, and with the general aging population (our population is on a downward trend) in this country, I just don't see how we can keep playing this game.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
74,949
6,796
126
Maybe if they borrow against it to pay for the war things will work out.
 

cpumaster

Senior member
Dec 10, 2000
708
0
0
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...
 

BaliBabyDoc

Lifer
Jan 20, 2001
10,737
0
0
We could just kill off all old people without money. Those with money can pay us not to kill them.
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...

Except he is not giving a SS tax cut, he is only giving federal income tax cut, so if you just pay SS payroll taxes, you are SOL.
 

MonkeyK

Golden Member
May 27, 2001
1,396
8
81
We could also just attack and annex countries to fulfill the required number of workers paying into social security!

We could draft a national social security policy around this, delineating victim selection criteria.
 

CADsortaGUY

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
25,162
1
76
www.ShawCAD.com
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...

Except he is not giving a SS tax cut, he is only giving federal income tax cut, so if you just pay SS payroll taxes, you are SOL.

I'd like to know how a person(with a JOB) only pays SS tax.
rolleye.gif


CkG
 

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
13,293
1
76
Social Security has a huge surplus built up. I don't know if the date of 2018 is right, but that is the date when Social Security might need to start spending the surplus, not a date when Social Security runs out of funds. The surplus was created deliberately over the last 20 years to meet the needs of the baby boomers.

The problem is the politicians have been using this surplus to pay for other spending and now it will take some discipline when it's time to reimburse Social Security. This is the real reason for the deliberate attempt to make people think they can't count on Social Security. The real thing you can't vount on is politicians. They want to scare people into letting them get away with the missappropriation of Social Security funds that has gone on, much of which is the direct result of tax cuts and big deficits.

As for the rest of the article, think about going back to 1928 and what the economic experts could have told us about what would happen in the next 75 years leading up to today.

In other words, it's a silly exercise to try to predict the economy for 75 years, and the real motivation is to steal the Social Security surplus.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...

edit: nevermind, posted without fully realizing what you were trying to state.

 

BaliBabyDoc

Lifer
Jan 20, 2001
10,737
0
0
Social Security has a huge surplus built up. I don't know if the date of 2018 is right, but that is the date when Social Security might need to start spending the surplus, not a date when Social Security runs out of funds. The surplus was created deliberately over the last 20 years to meet the needs of the baby boomers.

It's not a surplus. It's an intergenerational transfer of wealth . . . it's basically inverse inheritance.
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...

Except he is not giving a SS tax cut, he is only giving federal income tax cut, so if you just pay SS payroll taxes, you are SOL.

I'd like to know how a person(with a JOB) only pays SS tax.
rolleye.gif


CkG

A lot of people get most of their income taxes refunded or have deductons, but pay mostly SS payroll taxes.
 

Tom

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
13,293
1
76
"It's an intergenerational transfer of wealth "

Just for the sake of argument, assuming you are 25 years old or younger, who paid to build the roads you drive on? The schools you attend ? Built the country you live in ?

That is intergenerational transfer of wealth, and it doesn't go in the direction you think it does.
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
Rethinking Social Security
  • In the 2002 elections, pro-reform candidates were victorious in every campaign in which Social Security was a major issue. An examination of public opinion shows that the American people support Social Security reform, including individual accounts.
More...
 

CADsortaGUY

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
25,162
1
76
www.ShawCAD.com
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Maybe it's a good time to have a tax cut then, the way me and Bush figure it, instead of having to wait till I'm 55 to get my SS benefit and by that time maybe no money has left, I'll just take it now and put them in the bank ...

Except he is not giving a SS tax cut, he is only giving federal income tax cut, so if you just pay SS payroll taxes, you are SOL.

I'd like to know how a person(with a JOB) only pays SS tax.
rolleye.gif


CkG

A lot of people get most of their income taxes refunded or have deductons, but pay mostly SS payroll taxes.

So they really aren't SOL then are they;)

CkG
 

LunarRay

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2003
9,993
1
76
Simply adjust the phase out of benifits down until we reach equilibrium with the fund... so in a subsequent year the amount of SS paid to an individual would decrease/increase based on the AGI of the previous year... say an individual retired age 65 earns 10000 has interest/dividend income of 15000 and other retirement of 10000 along with SS of 15000 his SS would be adjusted down to consider his total income... also if we wanted to we could evaluate wealth... all these old people sitting on paid off homes and drawing SS... Let them eat cake... catfood and saltines.... cut their SS... Make young people pay more into the fund... and match at 1.5 times by the Er. or even two times... Who cares if a quarter pounder costs more... not me...
 

SuperTool

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
14,000
2
0
Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
"It's an intergenerational transfer of wealth "

Just for the sake of argument, assuming you are 25 years old or younger, who paid to build the roads you drive on? The schools you attend ? Built the country you live in ?

That is intergenerational transfer of wealth, and it doesn't go in the direction you think it does.

I believe they also transferred us the debt for all these things as well ;)
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,862
6,396
126
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
"It's an intergenerational transfer of wealth "

Just for the sake of argument, assuming you are 25 years old or younger, who paid to build the roads you drive on? The schools you attend ? Built the country you live in ?

That is intergenerational transfer of wealth, and it doesn't go in the direction you think it does.

I believe they also transferred us the debt for all these things as well ;)

I think the National debts of Canada and most of Western Europe can be attributed to Social Policies, but for the US I would think that Military expenditures probably make up the better part of it's debt. A Google Search might turn up something. :)
 

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
- inequitable drain on working families and their children, with little offered in return -
  • The Federalist Papers of 1787 documented the four principal reasons for government in our Constitution - - national defense was number 1, and. social entitlements were not mentioned. Yet today, the sum of social security and medicare spending is twice as much as defense spending, and defense spending ratios are at a peace-time low - and, its the social 'entitlement' programs that are in trouble. Our founders left out of their principals social entitlements - with good reason.
 

charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
17,033
1
81
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: SuperTool
Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
"It's an intergenerational transfer of wealth "

Just for the sake of argument, assuming you are 25 years old or younger, who paid to build the roads you drive on? The schools you attend ? Built the country you live in ?

That is intergenerational transfer of wealth, and it doesn't go in the direction you think it does.

I believe they also transferred us the debt for all these things as well ;)

I think the National debts of Canada and most of Western Europe can be attributed to Social Policies, but for the US I would think that Military expenditures probably make up the better part of it's debt. A Google Search might turn up something. :)

Overspending across the board is the reason for our debts. To blame all the debt on aa single item in a budget is foolish.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
SS is a really nasty (15%) TAX which is difficult to avoid unless you work for a 403b or are self employed and only pay yourself with loans. Avoid it at all costs since you'll never see it since they suck it dry for other BS.


From Onerys Link people should be going ape:

"Unlike private pension funds, the trust fund holds zero marketable assets as a result of past paid-in surpluses by workers, just non-marketable bookkeeping IOUs for which no budget commits their play-back and no cash interest is paid. Last year the trust fund took in $596 billion from workers payroll deductions, and paid out to seniors about $456 billion - - meaning a cash surplus intake of $140 billion - - but every penny of that was siphoned-off and spent on non-pension stuff - - and more meaningless IOUs issued."
 

cpumaster

Senior member
Dec 10, 2000
708
0
0
Originally posted by: Carbonyl
SS is a really nasty (15%) TAX which is difficult to avoid unless you work for a 403b or are self employed and only pay yourself with loans. Avoid it at all costs since you'll never see it since they suck it dry for other BS.


From Onerys Link people should be going ape:

"Unlike private pension funds, the trust fund holds zero marketable assets as a result of past paid-in surpluses by workers, just non-marketable bookkeeping IOUs for which no budget commits their play-back and no cash interest is paid. Last year the trust fund took in $596 billion from workers payroll deductions, and paid out to seniors about $456 billion - - meaning a cash surplus intake of $140 billion - - but every penny of that was siphoned-off and spent on non-pension stuff - - and more meaningless IOUs issued."

I agree with the statement, govt always doing stuff like that, they try to find money/cash from any sources they could, even the one they not suppose to touch, and when they shift it to their pet project, they just replace them with IOU=pass the burden of paying back to next generation and let the next politicians that come along try to explain that :)
where do you think this tax cut money will come from? part of it will no doubt be coming from the SS fund...Bush just gonna put IOU in it as if nothing has really change...
 

CADsortaGUY

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
25,162
1
76
www.ShawCAD.com
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Originally posted by: Carbonyl
SS is a really nasty (15%) TAX which is difficult to avoid unless you work for a 403b or are self employed and only pay yourself with loans. Avoid it at all costs since you'll never see it since they suck it dry for other BS.


From Onerys Link people should be going ape:

"Unlike private pension funds, the trust fund holds zero marketable assets as a result of past paid-in surpluses by workers, just non-marketable bookkeeping IOUs for which no budget commits their play-back and no cash interest is paid. Last year the trust fund took in $596 billion from workers payroll deductions, and paid out to seniors about $456 billion - - meaning a cash surplus intake of $140 billion - - but every penny of that was siphoned-off and spent on non-pension stuff - - and more meaningless IOUs issued."

I agree with the statement, govt always doing stuff like that, they try to find money/cash from any sources they could, even the one they not suppose to touch, and when they shift it to their pet project, they just replace them with IOU=pass the burden of paying back to next generation and let the next politicians that come along try to explain that :)
where do you think this tax cut money will come from? part of it will no doubt be coming from the SS fund...Bush just gonna put IOU in it as if nothing has really change...

Maybe we should see if Gore still has that lock box! :p
rolleye.gif
I just don't want to know what he's been keeping in it since the election;):p

CkG
 

charrison

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
17,033
1
81
Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Originally posted by: Carbonyl
SS is a really nasty (15%) TAX which is difficult to avoid unless you work for a 403b or are self employed and only pay yourself with loans. Avoid it at all costs since you'll never see it since they suck it dry for other BS.


From Onerys Link people should be going ape:

"Unlike private pension funds, the trust fund holds zero marketable assets as a result of past paid-in surpluses by workers, just non-marketable bookkeeping IOUs for which no budget commits their play-back and no cash interest is paid. Last year the trust fund took in $596 billion from workers payroll deductions, and paid out to seniors about $456 billion - - meaning a cash surplus intake of $140 billion - - but every penny of that was siphoned-off and spent on non-pension stuff - - and more meaningless IOUs issued."

I agree with the statement, govt always doing stuff like that, they try to find money/cash from any sources they could, even the one they not suppose to touch, and when they shift it to their pet project, they just replace them with IOU=pass the burden of paying back to next generation and let the next politicians that come along try to explain that :)
where do you think this tax cut money will come from? part of it will no doubt be coming from the SS fund...Bush just gonna put IOU in it as if nothing has really change...

Maybe we should see if Gore still has that lock box! :p
rolleye.gif
I just don't want to know what he's been keeping in it since the election;):p

CkG

I wonder why 1 lockbox is good, but many lockboxes(personal accounts) are bad?
 

CADsortaGUY

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
25,162
1
76
www.ShawCAD.com
Originally posted by: charrison
Originally posted by: CADkindaGUY
Originally posted by: cpumaster
Originally posted by: Carbonyl
SS is a really nasty (15%) TAX which is difficult to avoid unless you work for a 403b or are self employed and only pay yourself with loans. Avoid it at all costs since you'll never see it since they suck it dry for other BS.


From Onerys Link people should be going ape:

"Unlike private pension funds, the trust fund holds zero marketable assets as a result of past paid-in surpluses by workers, just non-marketable bookkeeping IOUs for which no budget commits their play-back and no cash interest is paid. Last year the trust fund took in $596 billion from workers payroll deductions, and paid out to seniors about $456 billion - - meaning a cash surplus intake of $140 billion - - but every penny of that was siphoned-off and spent on non-pension stuff - - and more meaningless IOUs issued."

I agree with the statement, govt always doing stuff like that, they try to find money/cash from any sources they could, even the one they not suppose to touch, and when they shift it to their pet project, they just replace them with IOU=pass the burden of paying back to next generation and let the next politicians that come along try to explain that :)
where do you think this tax cut money will come from? part of it will no doubt be coming from the SS fund...Bush just gonna put IOU in it as if nothing has really change...

Maybe we should see if Gore still has that lock box! :p
rolleye.gif
I just don't want to know what he's been keeping in it since the election;):p

CkG

I wonder why 1 lockbox is good, but many lockboxes(personal accounts) are bad?

Now, Now ;) It really isn't "OUR" money -it's the governments;)

rolleye.gif


CkG