150 Million wage earners

Gas tax?

We even heard about that on the news. Good place for it.

makes

"invested" in

towards

revenue to

panhandlers,

SS

Really now. Check this and see if you still want to say that:

:-))

other

to that

qualifies

the

Here, Fred, is just how much went into the "trust fund" by year. Notice how much it is compared to receipts and payments. That is the amount = that would be "earning interest". Calculate just how much that would help pay your benefits someday.

See also:

?-)

other

to that

qualifies

you

ripping the

Ahh. But that IS exactly what it does. Actually it does worse, treasuries normally pay less than inflation. And that is what that pittance is "invested" in.

?-)

Try setting it to 1990 to 2011 and look again please.

Try setting it to 1970 and you'll see that there is only one time where the number of employed got reset anything close to a decade. Go back as far as it goes (1939); same story. The slope is relatively constant (~growth) until

ment

You said Obama was a jerk for suggesting SS checks might not go out next month. I pointed out that not only does he have the revenue, but he's also got several years' worth in their "lockbox" to smooth things over, until the budget thing gets decided.

Right, it's a tax. FDR argued that before his Supreme Court, not me. They agreed.

Only if they pass a new law. Good luck.

Here's Obama saying it's not a tax... (starting about 3:50)

Stephanopoulos: Do you reject that it's a tax increase? Obama: I absolutely reject that notion.

(That was painful. He's embarrassing.)

They didn't do it with SS because they couldn't legally force Americans to buy retirement insurance. But, the USSC held Congress did have the power to tax as long as it was only a tax. That's the significance of "not earmarked in any way" in their decision.

Good luck with Carmageddon.

--James

hat

ay

Excellent link.

That plainly shows that virtually all the money paid in has been going right out the door for at least the last 54 years.

o It's not saved. o The accumulated interest on the small fraction that remains is insignificant. o Your money was spent the moment you sent it in. It's gone. If you're getting benefits, you're getting someone else's money.

I know it's ugly but don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger.

-- Cheers, James Arthur

Done.

--James

re

ice

that

pay

Fred should tell Obama to (1) stop scaring people about debt default, and (2) to avert the "draconian" cuts proposed Paul Ryan, simply pay SS recipients out of the trust fund. lol!

Sure, the checks can go out. Just use that "trust fund." So funny.

otice

nt that

lp pay

Maybe that's what has them scared--they'd rather not have people paying attention to what's behind that sacred cow's trust-fund curtain. It wouldn't look good for the party who's imposed it on us all these years, or for their free-lunch economic model in general.

We ought to honor what we promised, but the program's based on a lie. That has to be fixed.

Meanwhile the President sounded pretty good on NPR this morning. He said we need to work together to rein in out-of-control spending. (His, one presumes.) He talks like a Tea Partier. OTOH, his actual proposal is to spend more, not less. He wants another "stimulus."

Any increase in the debt ceiling is an increase in tax, naturally-- every cent they borrow comes out of our hide eventually. The cool thing about borrowing it for the Prez is that the Prez doesn't get blamed for his own spending. Someone else does. Later. We pay.

-- Cheers, James Arthur