Reply #36: There is a surplus. [View All]

[sabrina 1]

The fact that that fund has been raided, does not mean there is no surplus. It means that Congress must find a way to make those who raided it, pay it back. That's like telling someone who was robbed 'too bad, you're out of luck' expecially when there is a means of retrieving that money.

SS Surplus

Social Security is far from bankrupt, with a $2.6 trillion dollar surplus. The federal government has borrowed most of that surplus to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Wall Street bank bailouts, and the Bush-era tax cuts. The government is now wondering how to pay back the loan – it's not their money – it belongs to Social Security.

As the baby boomers retire, Social Security will eventually have to pay out more than it takes in. Social Security has been getting ready for this since 1983, by paying higher payroll contributions in order to increase the Trust Fund. Social Security has been saving up for the boomers, and it has the funds to pay all promised benefits for many years to come.


"If Congress cuts benefits by raising the retirement age or by reducing the amount paid to beneficiaries, it amounts to stealing our money. It's like the bank telling you that even though you deposited $100 into your saving account, they're only going to give you $80 back," stated Kate Birnbryer White, Executive Director of Elder Law of Michigan. "Social Security is the people's savings account for retirement, not monopoly money to solve other national problems."

Elder Law of Michigan, Inc. - www.elderlawofmi.org

Democrats need to fight the efforts of the thieves to keep the money they 'borrowed' and if they don't, they will viewed as complicit in the theft.