Is Social Security Insolvency and the National Debt actually the same thing?

Question

Boomers have been paying excess Social Security witholding above what is needed for paying current benefits for many years.

Congress changed the laws to put that surplus aside for the future - but then put that surplus into government debt bonds - so when Social Security is taking in less and benefits grow, not only will Social Security withholding need increased - taxes will have to be increased to pay back the bonds...

So Bush is spending MY Social Security NOW with his deficit spending and supplemental spending bills that don't show up in the budget. Should we demand a clear accounting ?

Yes I know who started it - but I also know who is CUTTING TAXES IN ORDER TO STEAL IT FASTER, NOW.
Bush campaigned for tax cuts saying that this surplus belonged to the people and not the government. He wanted to return it to the people through a series of cuts to the income tax. Perhaps this is just a nuance, but $220 billion of the $226 billion surplus in 2000 was borrowed from Trust Funds for Social Security, Medicare, Civil Service Retirement and Unemployment. This surplus belonged to the working people. Cutting income taxes and especially taxes on investments was not going to return the surplus to the people who created it. These cuts were designed to transfer the surplus to a substantially different group of people.

Answer 1

They are not the same thing but money is fungible so you are right when you say our Social Security dollars are being plundered.

Tomkat makes many valid points about the Democrats' contributions to the problem but he is too one sided.

We can thank the Republican administrations of Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 for amassing 80% of the current US debt which has now topped 8 trillion dollars.

Answer 2

Yep - let's get an accounting

The current crisis dates back to the Democrats of the 1960's - when they moved SS from a private fund into the General Budget where they could borrow BILLIONS to pay for the VietNam war -(oh did they forget to repay that)( and those are 1960 billions not the billions of today)

Thanks to LBJ, and the DemocratIC Congress and Senate who ran the USA for 40 years

Oh - and also thank Jimmy Carter - and crew - who extended
SS benefits to new immigrants (citizens) who had NEVER paid in - and were granted monies to retire on

And which party started TAXING Social Security payments - yep - The Democrats - with Vice President AL GORE casting the tie breaking vote - wasn't he under Clinton?

Answer 3

Al-congress has already bankrupted SS by spending the taxes collected for it and leaving the SS with a big file cabinet full of congressional IOU's. This brilliant plan was instigated by LBJ and a democrat controlled congress. So, when it comes time for SS checks to be sent out, that money comes out of the general revenues; you have been taxed twice for it. Ain't governments wonderful? And we thought taxation without representation was a problem!

Answer 4

one caused the other.