Need help refuting this stupid email

[quisp]

A knuckle dragging ditto monkey here at work sent this around. I usually ignore these emails (there are a million of 'em).

<snip>
Subject: Social Security information

When Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program,

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income tax each year,

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as
income. Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to "put away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratically-controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social
Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the U.S.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to
immigrants?

A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants Moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive SSI Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it! Then, after doing all this lying and thieving and violation of the Original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away! And the worst part about it is, uninformed citizens believe it!

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during this 2004 election year!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and
maybe good changes will evolve.

How many people can YOU send this to?
Keep this going clear up through the 2004 election!! We need to be heard!
<snip>

Thanks for your help

[DarkHorse]

1. factual

Um ... looking at the history books ... this seems correct.

[Inland]

2. I got one.

>>Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratically-controlled House and Senate.<<

This much I know is wrong: simply, there wasn't a social security fund before 1983, when Reagan and Bob Dole and Moynihan raised payroll taxes. Annual receipts equalled annual expenditures prior to that time, so there was nothing to "spend" and no surplus. Reagan was the first president to experience receipts greater than expenditures, so he was the first to begin pubbie practice of using payroll tax receipts to disguise deficit spending.

[dubyaD40web]

3. This is EASY

I debunked it on my site! I even found the real FACTS on ssa.gov!

HERE YOU GO:

http://www.dubyaD40.com/html/dbunkssi.html





~have fun!

[Inland]

6. Nice work; hats off.

I'll give up my piecmeal work. Good job.

[dubyaD40web]

11. Thank you

...and welcome to DU!

[Inland]

4. Another wrong.

>> The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it! <<

Since even Americans who never paid a dime into SS wouldn't get beneifts, this can't be true either. Probably what the mailer was thinking of is an immigrant marrying a worker entitled to SS benefits, and getting a death benefit, ie, geting the ss he worked for.

[NWHarkness]

15. Based on a bigoted assumption

Stupid wingers assume that if someone is an immigrant, they never held a job.

Boy, I hope these creeps find their ancestors waiting for them in the afterlife...

[kerryin2004]

5. go to this article and read the rebuttals to this email..

http://tinyurl.com/bfrs

everything you need is there.

[stopbush]

7. Debunked by Snopes back in Oct, 2002

Another e-mail hoax that makes the RW rounds every 6 months or so. It's been debunked on DU many times.

On edit: couldn't get the link to work. Go to snopes and type in "social security gore" in the search box and you'll find the article debunking this POS.

[dubyaD40web]

10. What cracks me up is.....

Karl "Turd-Blossum" Rove sends this sh*t out and all I have to do is go to a government website to dBunk it.

They must really think us "common-folk" are stupid.

[democrat_patriot]

14. All hail DU!

I love this site. Keep the truth going!

[democracyindanger]

8. Here ya go

http://www.orwelliantimes.com/2004/06/11.html

Debunks the entire thing (scroll down).

"This email is packed with lies. What's really interesting is that the email cites good legislation supported and signed by Republican Presidents and blasts Democrats for supposedly creating the laws. Absolutely remarkable.

Statements 1 - 5 of the email are thoroughly debunked at the Social Security site."

<snip>

[DarkHorse]

9. Wrong history?

Looks like the history stuff I have here must be wrong.

[jmags]

13. Looks like it.

[trof]

16. What "history stuff" do ya have there?

Just asking.

[Pabst Blue Democrat]

12. People against SocSec

perpetuate this myth that the govt is spending the money for other things. They use language that evokes images of a liberal politican dipping their hand into a big vat of cash and handing it to some un-employed lazy mother with 19 malnourished children. They often use their arguments against social security as a segway into their arguments against all social welfare programs. Nobody ever takes the time to explain that while in a very roundabout way the govt uses Social Security money for other things, they are doing it so that the surplus money that isn't being used can earn interest.

Has anyone read "Social Security and It's Enemies?"

[JohnnyRingo]

17. Don't rebut...

It gives me great pleasure when I reply to these types of e-mailings by going to http://www.truthorfiction.com/ , and look up the facts. Then I mail back the article link with polite remender to "not believe everything they hear".

If the mailing turns out to be true, I accidentally delete it (oops)Hahahaha.