2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumIt's 4 AM do you know who's protecting social security?
As a party, do we feel safe with Hillary at the helm and a GOP controlled house and senate, because it might come to that. Hillary has proven to be malleable, and in my opinion, will work with the GOP on cutting social security (like raising the retirement age) in exchange for passing a budget.
If she does, and I believe she would, this will be an everlasting pox on our party.
Even if Bernie doesn't accomplish anything due to gridlock, he would never bargain away programs we've fought for.
Divernan
(15,480 posts)As one banker explained it to me, every time an adjustment/change is made to how the funds are invested - say increasing the percentage invested in one kind of bond versus another, a fee would be charged to every single social security recipient.
With over 50 million collecting SS and SSI, not to mention the tens of millions of accounts of those actively contributing to SS, at a dollar each (for the sake of argument) per investment tweak, times several tweaks/adjustments/changes per month? My god how the money rolls upward!
It's the most lucrative remaining venue for transferring wealth upward.
Because what do we average folks have? Like so very many, I lost nearly all of my retirement savings in the 2008 debacle. We were left with our mortgages on our homes and our social security accounts.
Along came CDOs and the mortgage bubble, and having been bailed out once, Wall Street is now pushing "bespoke tranch opportunities." (See the film, The Big Short) Now the only low-hanging fruits left are our social security savings.
Social Security updates its statistics every month in the Monthly Statistical Snapshot, although the updated figures are not as precise as the numbers published in the Annual Statistical Supplement. As of December 2012, according to the Snapshot, the retirement rolls had reached approximately 39,613,000, with an average benefit of $1,193.94. Disability beneficiaries had reached approximately 10,889,000, with an average benefit of $1,130.34.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)While that is a scary thought, so is Social Security and everything else at stake. I trust Bernie to better protect them against assault.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)I can see her fiddling with it!!
ProgressiveCentrist
(70 posts)when they shut down the government because he wont sing a budget?
Specifically.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)I'm sorry but I don't trust Hillary. I've not seen anything outstanding she fought for when it comes to the average working person.
To me she's working for oligarchs, big corporations, and herself.
CharlotteVale
(2,717 posts)She cannot be trusted to protect Social Security. Her triangulating obfuscation speaks for itself.