Comments on: The Mainstream Media Won’t Tell You , But I Will

By: Pa-Pilot

Pa-Pilot — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:47:43 +0000

Umm.. you obviously don’t know how social security funds are handled, do you?

First, there is no Social Security “trust fund.” That is a mythical creation.

The fact is that every single dollar of Social Security receipts that is not used to pay beneficiaries is immediately borrowed by the federal government and replaced with a bond.

So, for every dollar in the “trust fund,” there is a dollar in the national debt. Every dollar in the “trust fund” is owed to it by the fed. Nice, isn’t it? So, if the federal government becomes insolvent, that “trust fund” disappears.

If you go look at historical budget data from the CBO, you can see that social security surpluses are used in calculating the overall budget deficit or surplus. Clinton never had a real surplus without using the Social Security surplus to offset the operating budget deficit.

It is all a big game. One day, the social security system will not take in enough money to pay out all of the liabilities, and the government will have to either cut benefits or raise taxes to make up the shortage.

This is what they always talked about when they used the term “raiding the social security trust fund.” In reality, there is no trust fund at all – just a pile of worthless IOUs from the Treasury.

By: kimberley

kimberley — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:10:29 +0000

yes i have the same problem my son is 12 and it took a few years to get it and i asked his worker about what you can use it for .she said an in home nurse ok don’t need that, a wheel chair ramp dont need that either,and training,and education well i guess it sit’s there, and i thought it would be given to them when they turn 18 no she said the same rule’s apply well it seems they will never get their money until they are old and need something of the sort .well if you did not have such a backpay you could spend it how you wanted she said its the amount of money that changes that to a dedicated account i said thanks ..well thank you for your input its frustrating !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: jc

jc — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:49:03 +0000

you right social security is not broke i have given proof of that.

By: jc

jc — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:40:27 +0000

what about the ssi back pay payments that the social security office keeps in what they call a DEDICATED ACCOUNT? for children with disabilitys that parents/payee’s can not withdraw andless they speak with a social security represenative? thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars sitting in these Dedicated accounts, the process to withdraw your childs backpay out of these dedicated accounts are beyond frustrating, i find it disturbing that a childs disability benefits that is there benefits the parents/payees can not withdraw without permission and when you do say oh i’d like to take 200 dollars out they say go to your school and your doctor for your disabled child get documents that say what you want to buy and will it fit his special needs all need to be documented by the doctors and teachers. wanting to get educational materials for my child it’s been 3 months to get a yes or no from social security office we have access to this account i do not dare take out without permission its the policy…. why should we have to go through a LONG process like this i know what my son needs i HAVE TO GET PERMISSION!!!!!!!!!!! its my sons DISABILITY benefits…but accordning to social security any need you have for your disabled child you have to go through them first to recieve the amount your asking for… Large sums of money sit in these dedicated accounts and accumilate more and more because social security makes it almost impossible to withdraw your childs money out for the childs disability. were not talking a few thousand dollars that sit in these dedicated accounts were talking 24,000 + in thousands of disabled childrens Dedicated accounts. just not right, that is my responsibility as his parent to determine what he needs for his disability. very frustrating. When I spoke with the school administration the principle looked at me like why are you asking me about if i think what your asking for is appropriate for your sons special needs!!!!!!!!he commented and said that is just odd and laughed about it. it was humilating as a parent to have to go ask a principle like i’m not a responsibile parent. to much hassle so benefits thousands sit and accumilate over time.so the money sits helping the economy not one bit.

By: karen

karen — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:35:59 +0000

This is all so sad. Damn all these thieves to hell.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:06:21 +0000

THANK YOU for this very informative and reassuring article! This should be posted NOW in every major newspaper throughout the country BEFORE Axelrod, et al decide to rob us blind once more! I will be applying for SS in Sept., but it is the next generation I am truly worried about. Once again, thank you, and please try to get this info out beyond the No Quarter readers.

By: bert

bert — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:56:34 +0000

Karen, they are saying it is broke so that they can raid and steal the monies to give to themselves and their Wall Street buddies.

They say the fund is just paper and is broke, yet they plan to spend it on the stock market and broker fees when the system is privatized.

How can they say the system is broke and has no money and then want that money in a very bad way?

That is the tip off that the “broke” meme is phony. Why would they want to divert “just paper?” It is not just paper. It is real money.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:48:10 +0000

The reason why they want to identify SS as a problem is that Congress spends the yearly SS surplus in the general budget. Every extra dollar out in payments is a dollar that need to borrow for their pork. There is no SS trust fund but the analysis that the payments into SS are greater than the outflows is correct. In truth SS is nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme.

By: TexasBuckeye

TexasBuckeye — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:05:17 +0000

They’ve already stolen the money and replaced it with non-marketable IOUs. There isn’t a big SS savings account sitting in Washington. The money was spent before it came in and will continue to do so. That said, privatizing SS is as risky as what we have now.

By: TexasBuckeye

TexasBuckeye — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:00:17 +0000

Exactly …

“The SS Trust Funds, and all federal trust funds, are merely an accounting entry on the Treasury’s balance sheet representing money that has been collected in taxes but not yet spent for the purpose prescribed by law. But the dark secret that nobody in Washington will admit is that all federal trust funds, whether for SS or Medicare or Interstate Highways, are a financial fraud, an act of fiscal criminality perpetrated on the American taxpayer by both political parties.

By law, no private company can invest pension funds in its own debt, but it’s okay for Uncle Sam to steal surplus SS payroll contributions, gasoline taxes or any dedicated tax where funds raised in a given year are not immediately spent. Thanks to the duplicity of FDR, when Americans make SS contributions, many believe that they are saving money for their future retirement. But the reality is that, because today’s surpluses are “invested” in the Treasury’s own debt, the Treasury’s ability to make SS payments in the future is entirely dependent on its ability to borrow in the markets and/or tax future generations.”

By: harper

harper — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:49:37 +0000

while SS may be solvent and keep paying in the future (under any number of assumptions that may/may not be realistic), I wonder about the purchasing power of those benefits in the future. Given the trillions of $$$ circulating with all the bailouts, if we have high inflation later the value of those benefits may not be enough to sustain people above poverty.

By: bert

bert — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:30:51 +0000

Great points all, Calypso.

However they will, and have many times told us citizens that OUR Trust Fund has been spent…..

As you know, but so many don’t, that is exactly how you know they are lying, becasue they would never tell China that. And so you know there are ulterior motives.

By: bert

bert — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:26:28 +0000

Bush and Cheney said that in 2005. Said the Trust Fund was just IOU’s and paper, not cash. They said there was no money in the trust fund.

This is what zFacts.com had to say about that:

Hey, wait a minute!
• What about the Federal Pension Trust Fund? It’s just the same—all $800 billion of it. You mean there are no military pensions?!
• What about the $280 billion in Medicare Trusts—are those fake?
• And, the highway trust and all other government trusts? $3.1 trillion all told.

And what’s their problem with “paper”? A thousand dollar bill is paper, the check I write, my stock certificate, my government bond—all paper. Did they expect the trust would be made of diamonds?

What of the millions of Americans who own Treasury bonds, all paper? Seven trillion dollars of national debt has been spent on government programs, and there is “nothing left.” Has the US of A defrauded the world of $7 trillion?

When you put money in the bank you get paper, and they lend your money to someone who spends it. Your cash does not stay in the bank

Neither is the SS Administration gambling away the money. That would be privatization of SS monies. Based on all the crooks, schemers, and ponzi schemes on Wall Street these days – now that is a gamble.

By: TexasBuckeye

TexasBuckeye — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:21:59 +0000

Technically, there is no real money in the trust fund. It’s a set of IOUs from the U.S. Treasury.

“In reality, the Trust Fund’s holdings simply measure that one part of the government–the Treasury–owes money to another part of the government–the Social Security Trust Fund. Indeed, the best possible interpretation of the Trust Fund is that the IOUs are a measure of how much taxes will have to be raised in the future.”

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:19:42 +0000

Excellent investigative piece bert. Thank you so much. This is so important; everyone should know about it and pay a lot of attention to what is being said
about SS and Medicare.

I have heard Obama & his inner circle ramblings about SS and I am convinced he will push for privatization… I have feared this since before the election…

Thanks again. Great post !