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Considering the state of the economy, I would be willing to forego the COLA increase to my Social Security payments for 2012.
I'm certainly not a Warren Buffett, but, because we've been fortunate in life many of us (retirees), could afford to "take a pass". It's not just the very rich that can contribute to our economic recovery.
The Social Security program is self-funded, independent of the rest of federal government budget problems. Besides, it is Medicare that needs to be restructured and that almost certainly will result in higher costs for many seniors.
Often wondered how many times and how much money the federal government has filched from the social security fund and why there is never any mention about returning those funds. There should never had been a problem with social security if the government had kept it's fingers out of the cookie jar.
The SS Trust Fund is alive and well with every nickel accounted for and drawing interest. The Fund is invested in special-issue U.S. Treasuries and is available as needed to pay benefits.
Say, JamVee -
You are to be commended for your careful, considerate offer to "pass," but SocSec doesn't just support comfortable retirees like you and me. Folks who are absolutely dependent on those benefits include survivors, those on disability, and those whose retirement has been ruined by one big-business fraud or another.
For those just scraping by, it seems like the cost of life (or bread, or beer & smokes, or housing, or heat, or television, or telephone) has inexorably crept up during these last few wondrous years of "low inflation."
Whether SocSec is supposed to cover all those living costs is, I guess, an entirely different discussion.
Agree Part D drug benefit is the real problem with the Medicare program......am appalled at Bush for letting big pharma run it........almost like he planned it that way to break the back of the entire system...???
It might be self funded but certainly not independent. The program is used as a piggy bank.
Everyone knows that prices increased last year and the year before, and that Obama must have told the Secretary of Labor to make the Bureau of Labor Standards issue a flat and false CPI, which kept the Social Security COLA from increasing. And the only reason there was no increase in Social Security is that the fund is broke. Congress illegally took money from the fund, which was never replaced, and there has been an over abundance of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, which has depleted the fund. And Bush did the same thing for the same reason just before he left office.
The Bureau of Labor Standards refuses to provide their consumer prices data sources, claiming they are proprietary. They do so, so that they can't be caught falsifying the CPI. AARP has 50 million members and most of them receive Social Security. If the AARP Membership were to initiate a class action lawsuit against the Bureau of Labor Standards to force them to provide their data sources, I am sure that they would prevail and those responsible for falsifying the CPI could be prosecuted.
I track my own price increases in a limited way, and believe that prices increased about 8.0% last year and about 8.2% the year before. And this year it should be about 8%. Those receiving Social Security could certainly use the money that was stolen from them. But since the Government is broke, as a result of their personal greed and stupidity, payments would have to be added to the National Debt. And according to the Government, prices have only increased about 3.6% during the last three years. I really want to know where they shop.
By the way, we really need to vote out every incumbent who is running in the next election to let them know we've had enough.
"Vote out every incumbent" is an excellent idea. That would break up the political gangs and force them to work together to do their job. Career politicians should be banned, term limits anyone?
The politicians don't have a clue of how it feels to live life on a budget. I have been getting Social Security Disability for 3 yrs. After being carjacked and run over and dragged down the road, left me with many, many injuries, and disabled. Now I have not seen a penny raise in that 3 yrs. I don't really think that the $30.... something I'll get will really go very far. It will all go to the grocery store. As for clothing I haven't bought myself anything in so long I don't know how it would feel anyway... I don't think the Social Security would be in the dire straits if the politicians would stop taking money out of it to pay for other things. That's what got us into this mess in the first place.
The govenment is not taking money out of SS to pay for other things. The SS Trust Fund does invest its' excess payroll taxes in special issue Treasuries so that the money collects interest.
Social Security is just a convenient scapegoat for every problem that comes up...SS has never been broke and never will be.......Medicare is the problem....we need a public option and it needs to be Medicare.
Kathryn: Agree.
Dragon - I am shocked.......oh....I almost forgot......I am amazed too!.....Oh by the way.....please tell the DNC to keep Joe Biden on the ticket for 2012!.......no matter what he says......ever!.........Do you really post on these blogs at 8:28 in the evening?.......Don't you have any kind of life at all?
Peter17,which branch of the government are you employed by?Their "special issue treasuries" as you call them is just another word for IOU!If I walked into a bank & took money the same way they do it,I know where I would end up,and I would not have to pass go to get there!!
Funny, but not funny. Only a out of touch Lib can claim SS is alive and well.
Only an ignoramus believes it's not.
Then who really got the raise the recipients or Medicare? Our elected public servants really think "we the people" are stupid!! So the recipients will have to pay taxes on the raise they did not get to spend the way they wanted to spend!!
Sorry...but money has been taken from social security to fund non-social security programs with no mention of every paying it back.
http://ppjg.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/social-security-money-stolen-by-government/
And we definitely need term limits...just to begin with regarding the positions these people hold in government. They also need to be knocked down quite a few pegs and reminded just who they work for.
But unless people stop this constant childish bickering about who's party is responsible for the position we're in nothing will ever get done.
And here's a clue as far as who is responsible. If your reading this or posting here...it's you! It's not just your privilege it's your duty and responsibility as a citizen of this country. Everyone in this country is responsible for what these people do...and as long as you allow them to keep doing it they will. It's everyone's responsibility that lives in this country to keep an eye on these people and stand up and be heard when they cross the line. If you don't you get exactly what you deserve. Posting comments in places like this does not constitute taking responsibility. Sure it helps get you anger out...but it's not doing a damn bit of good bitching at your fellow citizens and everyone calling each other childish names.
I wrote an article to a local newspaper as well as my congressmen some years ago when congress decided they would "vote themselves a raise"...and I didn't even hear a peep out of the public when they did this.
In 1975 the annual salary was $44.600
In 1990 the annual salary was $97.500
Then when they decided to "vote themselves a raise" it went to $157.105! So over a decade their salaries increased roughly 48% Has yours increased that much? Has anyone's increased even 13% since 1999?
According to the U.S. Congress Disbursing Office's quarterly report our congressmen's has. And the vote was 374 for and 54 against...and I'm sure the 54 against was just so it didn't seem totally greedy. But the fact that they "voted themselves a raise" just shows they don't have a clue who they work for, nor do they care. And since no ones raised an eyebrow over this it just showed them they can get away with anything they want.
And this new increase that was so badly needed by those collecting Social Security is just another slap in the face...since the increase in medicare just makes it null and void.
Some of my thoughts on what we need to do in this country.
Not only do we need term limits...we need to limit them in every way possible and bring them down to the status of a clerk. For to long our employees have been robbing from the cash register and laughing all the way...Republican and Democrat alike...no ones guiltless. But can you really blame them? No one has stepped forward to stop them!
We need to set term limits!
We need to stop campaign donations from all outside sources! This would allow for a much larger pool of candidates and maybe finally someone with a brain! No more getting into office just because you have rich friends! And no more lawyers...we have more than enough of them in government already!
Something needs to be set up to allow for all candidates to debate or promote themselves to the public! And all parties must be allowed equal time to do this! And no more trashing the other guy...we already know what he did...we want to know what your going to do!
We need to stop all perks other than the basics we all get when we take a job...and they end when the job does! No more freebies!
No more voting themselves a raise! If the people that voted them into office feel like they did a good job that year then they can approve a raise by a vote!
And there's lots more we can do but this is a start.
It should be against the law for congress to approve themselves raises, I totally agree with you. People of the nation should be the only ones to vote congress a raise if and when they do their jobs.
I agree, we need term limits on all political offices. We also need to put an end to the majority party running the show. Majority or minority, they were all elected to represent their constituents, and as such, should have equal standing. There should be no seniority system for elected offices. As for committee assignments, let them draw name from among those interested in a particular committee.
Another thing... and this is a very big one: All bills should have to stand on it's own. No more attaching a bill to another one that is completely unrelated. This is usually don't because it's a special interest bill that would not otherwise pass. As you said, there are many others, but it's not likely things will change. Politicians have has well over 200 years to tweak the system to their liking, and those tweaks are mostly for their benefit, not ours.
Above all, our biggest enemy is ourselves. There is little doubt far too many citizens are uninformed about what's going on, and the won't take the time to find out. Instead they are easily mislead and operate by knee jerk.
"Mankind has a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it”
Samuel Johnson
1709 - 1784
We need to ban all corporate campaign contributions. I am sick of politicians allowing corporations to run our country. Insurance cos taking the small increase on ss for medicare. We should kick out all politicians in office now and start again. These current politicians kiss ass to corporations so bad it stinks to be near washington.
Congress should pass a law to eliminate their free health insurance and modify their pensions to being prorated for the years served. THEY ARE NOT ENTITLED TO FREE RIDES ON THESE THINGS!!!!
Corporations do not deserve voter rights and should not be allowed to influence the laws in Congress.