5 Myths about SS, This story made my blood boil

[doc03]

According to this a--hole the federal government borrowed from the SS trust fund and gave SS IOUs. So he says if SS needs to cash in some of its IOUs the government has to borrow money to pay the IOU. So according to him the federal government had to borrow money to pay the IOU so therefore SS beneficiaries have to pay the deficit it creates. That's like me withdrawing money from my savings account and then the bank sending me a bill to replace my own money.
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/retirement-planning/blog/financial-independence/5-social-security-myths-that-have-to-go/1237/

[MiniMe]

1. The government has been borrowing funds from social security for a long time

Those "IOU's" are treasury bonds. Social Security has been running a surplus for a long time, and the government has been borrowing from the surplus. The beneficiaries don't have to pay for the deficit it creates. The government basically borrowed from the fund instead of borrowing from overseas. And the government owes the fund interest on the treasury notes.

[deaniac21]

2. With the government spending 59% more than it takes in this

year with worse probably to come, I don't have a lot of faith in those bonds.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

12. remember Al Gores "Lock Box".....video

"What part of lockbox do you not understand?"

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1451/saturday-night-live-parallel-universe

[doc03]

3. It doesn't work that way according to Eric Schurenberg

With his logic the federal government had to borrow money to pay off the SS IOU so therefore it is the beneficiaries of SS responsibility to replace that money. His way of thinking, if I take $1000 out of my savings account the bank should bill me to replace my money. This clown has to be a Republican. :crazy:

[inna]

4. God! What an asshole, indeed. Why are these sick sociopaths always in the position of power??

"how much do we want to spend supporting everyone who happens to live past 62?"


what a sick, soulless, dangerous, harmful asshole.

:nuke:

[The Magistrate]

5. More To the Point, Doctor, It is Like Bank Officers Embezzling Your Savings Account

Then demanding you re-imburse them for making restitution....

[doc03]

6. Didn't we do that a couple years ago?

[RC]

7. That sound like the real story.

[SDuderstadt]

8. By law, SS account surpluses HAVE to be invested in...

Treasury Bonds. Does it make sense to pay interest on those bonds, yet not use the money?

This is a little more complicated than it is being presented.

[iamtechus]

9. The truth about Social Security

They just keep spreading the propaganda and people keep falling for it. You can find most it debunked at the link below.

Myth: The Social Security Trust Fund has been raided and is full of IOUs

Reality: Not even close to true. The Social Security Trust Fund isn’t full of IOUs, it’s full of U.S. Treasury Bonds. And those bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.7 The reason Social Security holds only treasury bonds is the same reason many Americans do: The federal government has never missed a single interest payment on its debts. President Bush wanted to put Social Security funds in the stock market—which would have been disastrous—but luckily, he failed. So the trillions of dollars in the Social Security Trust Fund, which are separate from the regular budget, are as safe as can be.

http://delmontpda.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/top-5-social-security-myths-debunked/

[TacticalPeek]

10. This.

It is important to know the facts, and at least try to understand them.

U.S. Treasuries, the statutorily required investment for the trust fund, are the most reliable and safest investment in the world.

http://bonds.about.com/od/bondinvestingstrategies/a/safestinvestmen.htm

[quaker bill]

11. The government never "has to" borrow money

they own the printing press, and they control the tax code.