Social Security v. Ponzis R Us : It’s Your Future. You Decide

[McCamy Taylor]

I. The Lies
The message from Washington: “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

“No one under the age of 50 will ever see a dime of the money they have invested in Social Security. If you do not want to be homeless, digging food from garbage cans in your old age, you must tell your Congressman that you want to stop paying into Social Security and start giving your money to Goldman-Sachs, J.P. Morgan and the other subsidiaries of Ponzis R Us”

II. The Facts

Social Security is solvent. More than solvent. It is making money, despite the downturn in the economy. Private pension plans with Ponzis R Us are not doing quite so well.

In 2008, we learned that 20% of the value of U.S. pension funds---$3.3 trillion---had evaporated, thanks to the banking crisis.

http://www.oecd.org/document/58/0,3343,en_2649_34853_41843376_1_1_1_1,00.html

The banks were guilty of operating a massive ponzi scheme. They sucked in our money with promises of huge returns, but in fact they sold us worthless mortgages---while secretly betting that their own investments would fail. The only thing keeping these ponzis afloat was the constant infusion of more money from suckers----sorry, investors, like retirement funds.

In 2010, because of the recession (high unemployment, low wages) Social Security had its first deficit in 17 years----$49 billion, excluding interest income.

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/index.html

This last statement is somewhat misleading, because it excludes interest income. According to another government report:

For 2010 and throughout the remainder of the short-range period, cost will exceed non-interest income but will be less than total income, including interest earned on trust fund assets. Trust fund assets are projected to grow more slowly than cost, which causes the trust fund ratio to decline, as shown in figure.

http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2011/II_D_project.html

So, what Social Security is really experiencing in a slowdown in growth, which is attributable to the recession caused by the mismanagement of our private money by the banks---private retirement money which has been flushed down the toilet, never to be reclaimed. Thank god most of us have our Social Security to fall back upon...

III. The Payoff

Why are so many politicians in Washington telling us Lies instead of the Truth? Because, they have been paid to lie. In 2010, banks gave more than $18 million to candidates.
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=f03

In addition, banks donated to the so called “Super-Pacs”, political action groups which support candidates but which are not required to disclose their spending or contributors. Such groups funneled $65 million to candidates.

http://industry-news.org/2011/04/11/super-pacs-are-using-corporate-money-to-support-conservative-politicians-infographics/

How is this different from the old stereotypical suitcase full of cash? It isn’t, except that this form of bribe is legal according to the Supreme Court.

Thanks to the bailout orchestrated by the Bush administration, the banks are sitting on billions of our tax dollars which can be used as a political slush fund to keep the secretive Super-Pacs flush with cash. Everyone in DC---Republicans, Democrats, the President---knows this, and all of them want some of that money.


IV. The Future

If Ponzis R Us has its way, Congress will pass a law that will encourage American workers to hand their Social Security retirement investment money to private banks. The mainstream news media and the banks themselves will bombard us with promises about huge returns on our investments. Every one of us will retire a millionaire. We will vacation in Hawaii and dine on lobster seven nights a week---

When the banks orchestrate another huge swindle, they will come running to the federal government. This time, it will not be the economy they want to save. This time it will be Mom and Pop’s retirement funds. “Oh please, Big Brother Washington, give us billions---no, trillions---so that American workers will not have to sleep on the streets and dig through garbage cans for their food.”

Washington will reply “We can’t have our seniors sleeping on streets and digging through garbage cans.” And it will pay a second bailout. Then a third. And each time, the money will come from our general tax revenues, and the debt will rise and social programs will be slashed. And in the end, we will retire with less than we would have received had we continued to invest in Social Security, even though we will have paid three or four times as much. And there will be no Food Stamp program to help make up the difference. There will be no property tax abatement for seniors. No Medicaid to help pay for our drugs. We will be out on the streets, digging through trash cans to find our food----

While a bunch of corporate fat cats who are already as rich as sin will be three times and rich.

[HockeyMom]

1. At 62, my future is NOW

Although the 403B brokers still don't get that. No, I don't need to invest in my "future".

[TexasProgresive]

2. I'm 61 and I first heard those same lies in 1973

along with the one about flat income tax. The only thing I can see wrong with SS is that the ceiling hasn't been raised in years.

[avaistheone1]

5. I agree and I would add

that the COLA is unrealistic and does not reflect the rising cost of essentials that most seniors must purchase like food, utilites, and gas etc.

[TexasProgresive]

8. That too

The COLA for SS should be based on food, energy and shelter costs not the price if the IPAD 2.

[avaistheone1]

9. Crazy.

How to these legislators ever get their crazy COLA past the American people?!

[sarcasmo]

3. Back to the top.

[a2liberal]

4. K&R (n/t)

[avaistheone1]

6. Shout out to McCamy

Thanks for the all the great threads on Social Security and the bogus debt crisis.

k&r



:kick:

[Blecht]

7. Great stuff

Depressing, but that's not your fault -- it's simply the truth.

[truedelphi]

10. Problem is, the Powers that Be get what they want.

When ten million people who understood that the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" meme was a Big Fat Lie, well, we all marched and shouted, and phoned and faxed Congress.

And yet, the War on Iraq still happened.

How is this any different?

Obama's spokesman said yesterday that "The American people want compromise."

No, we don't.

But Obama is backed into a corner - he cannot very well come out and say "Gee, boys and girls, if I just hadn't continued the wars, and allowed for the extension of the Bush tax cuts, we wouldn't be here now."

Nor can he admit that his Monetary Chief, Tim Geithner, was totally complicit in the criminal activity of Goldman Sachs/AIG in the Fall of 2008.

And the nine to thirty trillion bucks that have gone from the Federal Reserve/Treasury to the Bigger Finanical Firms during the last few months of George W, and the first ten months of his Adminsitration, he really cannot start talking about that now either.

So basically, We the American people are screwn.

[McCamy Taylor]

12. This is different, because Americans are predisposed to like war as long as it is over fast

and we can claim victory. Bush promised this but did not deliver. On foreign policy most Americans are hawks.

When it comes to domestic economic policy, Americans are much more liberal. Americans want their S.S. and their Medicare. They want universal health.

[truedelphi]

13. I feel

very sad reading what you have written, but all of it does ring true.

[ooglymoogly]

11. 0 is telling us....Here are your choices

get your head chopped off by the pugrats plan;

Or get your hands and feet chopped off by the 0 plan.