Reply #11: Under 1936 law... [View All]

[Hannah Bell]

any excess SS funds MUST be invested in US Treasuries & therefore borrowed into the general fund by the US gov't.

This was understood very well in 1983, when Reagans' special SS commission (led by alan greenspan) recommended collecting SS taxes in excess of what was needed to pay current retirees, supposedly to create a surplus to fund the boomers' retirements.

But the gov't isn't a savings bank; it can't "save" except through public investment. the rationale was economically ridiculous, & it's clear that it was when, on the brink of the boomers' retirement that they supposedly "saved" for for 25 years, the gov is crying "crisis" again.

The increase was a stealth tax hike on the lowest 90% of the income distribution to offset tax reductions for the top 10%, particularly the top 10th of that 10%.

The "fixes" they're proposing are more of the same.

I agree, pay it back & return to the original pay as you go design.