Social Security is SOLVENT and we MUST KEEP IT THAT WAY!!!!!

[Carolab]

Commentary

Bush's plan for Social Insecurity

By Jerry Mazza
Online Journal Contributing Writer


December 4, 2004—There's an old expression. Don't fix what isn't broken. And Social Security is not broken, as suggested by Bush and his millionaire and billionaire pundits. Not by any means. In fact, it provides millions of workers with a retirement income that is guaranteed, because they helped pay for it. It also provides disability insurance to people during their working years. And it provides survivor's insurance to the kids of workers who die at an early age. This gem of the New Deal is still a great deal.

As Dean Baker said in "The Social Security Crisis, Another White House Lie?," the program's trustees' report shows it can pay all benefits through the year 2042, with no changes. Even after that date, the program "would always be able to pay a higher benefit (in today's dollars) than what retirees currently receive, although less than the full scheduled benefit."

http://onlinejournal.com/Commentary/120404Mazza/120404mazza.html

[Massacure]

1. Raise the cap. That's all that is required.

The privatization is bullshit.

[shraby]

2. And quit outsourcing jobs to other countries

those jobs pay nothing into social security and at the same time leave lower paying jobs for people here in the states which means less is being paid in by current and future workers.

[StClone]

3. The humor of Bush

Here is a guy concerned Social Security having problems 40 years from now yet, yet, yet he never planned a month a head when invading Iraq. Mad World.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. All they want is to get their hands on the fees that the 'privatized'

accounts will pay.

They talk about the huge numbers of boomers retiring, and drawing down the system, but they would seem to forget that we boomers will be dying in droves by 2042. The boomlet kids will be at the height of their earning by that time. If SS is solvent until 2042, it continue to be.

Why isn't anyone in MSM saying this?

[bhikkhu]

5. Pardon my disagreement, but its a Ponzi scheme

and always has been. Based upon the premiss of continued growth in the economy and the population. In the event that growth does occur perpetually, the scheme works. So I wouldn't necessarily disagree with the beyond 2042 health of the system, up to the limit of the planet's capacity to support population increases.

If you look at the peak oil problem, however, "continued growth" is likely to end sooner rather than later, and Social Security may be the least of our problems. I hope I am wrong, but I don't plan to ever see a dime of Social Security money myself.