Post by TomLine on Mar 24, 2015 13:36:49 GMT -5
SOCIAL SECURITY AND ENTITLEMENTS
by Tom Lineaweaver
by Tom Lineaweaver
In principle I believe the way things should be is that family should take care of family, friends should take care of friends, and local charities and the churches should be providing food, shelter and clothing for the poor that have no other place to go. It is the duty of the parents to provide for their children, and it is the duty of the children to take care of their parents when they get older. It is not the responsibility or the duty of the United States Government, if based on the Constitution, to provide these things, except in the case of Veterans.
There was no Social Security or Government Assistance of any kind in this Country prior to the 1930s, and yet people survived. They survived because people helped people. The principles above is the way things were before President Roosevelt's New Deal. And that is the way things should be again. Therefore, as President I would work with Congress, the churches and charities of America to wean the Nation off Social Security and the other Entitlements.
At the same time, I believe it would be inhumane to just yank people off Government programs they are dependent on. What I believe we should do is allow people to opt out of Social Security. There are people who, for religious reasons, that have been allowed to opt out. That should be available to all who want to opt out. Many financial institutions are offering retirement programs such as 401k programs. Someone just starting out may want to take that option instead of paying Social Security. Some companies offer 401k programs to their employees.
Someone might ask, if this is allowed, how will we keep Social Security going for those who are now collecting? Well, to tell you the truth, there is not, nor has there been a Social Security fund. Social Security benefits are funded from the General Fund. The Social Security Tax has become nothing more than another income tax which the Federal Government uses to fund whatever they want to. This will continue for those who have paid that tax through their whole lives. The more people opt out of Social Security, eventually, the less people that will be collecting benefits.
We may also want to consider adjusting the retirement age. When Social Security began, life expectancy for those who reached adulthood was only in the mid 60s. By making the retirement age 65, it pretty much guaranteed that not many would collect all they paid in. Today, life expectancy is in the upper 70s. So, today people who collect Social Security receive more than what they paid in. Of course, some people were allowed to start collecting Social Security at age 62, like my father, who lived to age 74. My father, as many do today, receive more in retirement than he ever paid in, and that has created an imbalance in the system. Between that, and the Government taking whatever they wanted spending it on whatever they want, whatever Social Security fund there was has been depleted. Social Security is broke, as with the rest of Government. So, Government has had to continue to borrow money to keep the Government afloat, which includes Social Security.
Now those are the facts. And yet politicians talk about what they want to do to keep Social Security solvent. Social Security is not solvent now, at least not from it's own money. Government has made a mess of Social Security, which is why younger people should not only be allowed, but encouraged to opt out. If we keep going the way we are, there will come a time when Government won't be able to borrow enough money to keep afloat. That will hurt an already stressed Social Security system.
Perhaps you all remember that back in August of 2011, the United States Bond Rating was reduced from AAA to AA+. Now, that's still not too shabby, but still, as a result when the United States borrows money, it does so at a higher interest rate. Although our bond rating is much higher than most Countries in the world. But, if we don't get our fiscal house in order, that bond rating just might go down again. If that happens, it would be much harder to fund Social Security, along with everything else the Government funds.
Without changes to Social Security, how do we keep funding it at current levels? We have to cut spending everywhere else. We need to get back to Constitutional Economics. There are about 15 departments, offices and agencies of the Federal Government that we fund that fulfill a Constitutional function. All others should be defunded. Then those funds should be diverted to the remaining departments, offices and agencies, plus Social Security. That should allow us to keep Social Security funded till the Nation is weaned off of it.
That will take care of Social Security. What about the other entitlement programs, such as Food Stamp and Housing Assistance. As I said before, the only group of people that are entitled to continual Government Assistance are the Veterans. However, I would also add people who are receiving Social Security benefits. These are people who have paid into Social Security most of their lives, and have paid other taxes as well. For all others, we need to find alternative solutions. We could hand it all to the States, charities and churches.
Also, we need to fix the economy by cutting spending to Constitutional levels, cutting taxes, and eliminating regulations that do nothing but stifle new business creation. It amuses me when a politician boasts about creating 100-200 thousand new jobs, when America needs millions of new jobs. So, we need to get Government out of the way so the private sector economy can be rebuilt and anyone that needs a job can get one. Between fixing the economy so people can get jobs, and alternative aid to the poor, that should solve the problems with entitlements.
I realize these changes I am suggesting will not happen overnight. But, the quicker we make these changes, the better for all concerned. As I stated, I believe it would be inhumane to just yank people off the programs they are dependent on without any alternative. But, to fix our economy, we have to make these changes as quick as we can. Our economy is on the verge of collapse. If that happens, there will be no more Social Security or Entitlements for anyone. And personally I don't believe we have much time.
Newsmax came out with a report yesterday (11-29-14) that, "It is only a matter of time before the stock market plunges by 50% or more, according to several reputable experts." See more here:
Stock Collapse Crash Alert
If that happens, our economy will really suffer. The article above talks about a financial bubble we are in, probably similar to the housing bubble we were in that burst not too many years ago that caused many foreclosures. Also the Federal Reserve has been artificially propping up the Stock Market that basically created this bubble.
Do you remember how we got that housing bubble? President Clinton signed a bill into law that basically forced banks to make housing loans to high risk lenders. As can be expected, many of those lenders could not pay their mortgages, which caused a wave of foreclosures during the Bush Administration. But, it did prop up the economy during the Clinton Administration which made it look like Clinton handled the economy really well, when in fact he didn't.
Several things happened during the Bush Administration that hurt the economy. The 2 unconstitutional wars Bush got us into at a cost about 1 trillion dollars per year. Lower taxes. And, the bursting of the housing bubble. Together, they put us into a recession, which, in my opinion, we are still feeling the effects. To battle this, Bush gave us the first TARP which flooded our economy with worthless paper money, which did nothing to repair our damaged economy. So, what did they do? Under the Obama Administration, they did it again. But, Obama did something that under the circumstances was the right thing to do. He let the Bush tax cuts expire.
I could go into this more. But that is not the original topic. Those of you who have an economic head on your shoulders, think about it.
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