Social Insecurity

[Bearman202]

I can't help but think what will happen if Trump and his pre-selected (but not confirmed) cabinet do what they want to do; privatize social security. What will that mean? They want to put the money where the bankers can get their hands on it. That usually means the stock market. As we all know, that is an excellent way to lose a lot of money in a very short time. Reference Enron. Anyway, they want to start with Medicare, doing away with the insurance and issuing vouchers that seniors can use to get their medical needs met. What could possibly go wrong with that? I don't even know. I'm just worried, because I know a LOT of people who depend on their pittance from Social Security.

[Bill Foster]

The first changes to SS should be to set it up as it was to be used originally, as a retirement fund for retirees. A friend lives next door to people who are living in a 3500 sq. ft. home, in a fancy neighborhood, paying a section 8 price. The mom of the 6 children is on SS disability at age 35. Four of the 6 children are receiving SS disability as well. Grandma, in her 50s, stopped working early from her government job on disability, getting her job disability and SS disability. Dad can't work because of his 3 prior felony drug trafficking convictions, but he is always going places in nice clothes and bringing home his dry cleaning in his Escalade. Six checks from SS going to one section 8 home, none of which have reached retirement age. All 6 children get free lunches at school according to the other children in the neighborhood. This story has been verified.

I would like to know what percentage of SS money goes to families like this and if it stopped, would SS be more solvent. A strange novelist once called America "the Disneyland for dummies." I couldn't agree more.

[protus]

Having worked around federal housing and tax credit housing..I can assure you it happens a lot.
What's even better.
Grandma lives with them. Mom has the three kids. Mom works 3-4 months at taco bell.
The man. Not husband works.
Come tax time. Mom claims earned income..then the 3 kids. There's 10-12k.
Grandma files seperate..and the man claims them all as dependants and head of household........

So. Put 300$ into the pot but get back 10 fold.

Sec 8 rents vary per person. It can be as low as 10$..then you have day care assistance..cable/utility assistance...SO I..disabilty....unemployment....

And the sad part is the housing authorities help it along.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

of course they help it along....keep the people dependent on the .gov......

I see many patients on SSD that are under 65...many I ask "why the disability"...I literally have gotten answers like... arthritis pain due to my weight, and cannot work. Hurt my back on the job. I have diabetes. I am depressed. I am anxious and cannot sleep. I understand the ones like "I served in Iraq and saw things I cannot talk about (he started trembling and I thought he was going to start crying just telling me this) and have PTSD." So, the majority is sucking the .gov tit. If they are that bad off, make them do some work (depending on their disability) for their money. They can sweep the steps of city hall, they can ride a lawnmower, they can dust the courtrooms...they can do something. Then stop giving them everything...okay some inexpensive housing and EBT cards. NO cable, No phones except a wired phone for local calls and maybe $10/month for long distance calls.

Remember, when you see or hear about someone like what Bill Foster wrote, that is YOUR money they are spending. If people were required to write a check (not have it withdrawn from their paycheck) every month for "to help others that cannot do for themselves" then things would be different.

[cpt_sfc]

I agree with going back to org. idea of SOC. At my last activation letter to Iraq I filled out the paper work and sent-emailed it back to DOD. Next I get a thanks anyway letter from DOD then a trip to VA. 4 months later I am on VA 100%/SSI/State retirement/Army retired list. I did not ask for any of it. The VA said I was not to work and DOD agreed so did the state doctor. I liked to work and wanted to go to Iraq, maybe i'm just nuts.

[wwdnet]

First have Congress put back several trillion they 'borrowed', then let's look at putting the $$ in a place where politicians can't get their hands on it - which is a large part of the problem. SS disability recipients should be reviewed at least annually to see if the basis for their claim still exists (private disability insurers spy on their recipients). Many current SS disability recipients were just long-term unemployed who gamed the system, making it more difficult for people who really needed and deserved these benefits.

Next year is my last year of work, so I have a vested interest in the system being solvent.

[Bill Foster]

I want to clear something up that I stated earlier...There are those who need assistance. I have seen the effects of PTSD. Its not something to discard. Those who are born with or who are disabled because of injuries, etc, do need assistance; I don't discard that either. Why isnt that from another fund like Medicaid? A friend has a child with a debilitating siesures, possibly passed on to him from his dad's service in Iraq (chemical weapon exposure). Their combined income is about 140k and they are fighting SS to get him classified as disabled so they can start getting income now at age 6. Something isn't right about that.

[Mannlicher]

Bill Foster is right. We have allowed Congress to change SS from a retirement fund for the employed, to a slush fund to buy political votes.

[cpt_sfc]

I agree with all stated but, now how do we get DC's attention. For myself I have worked from age 14 fulltime to age 56 when I was told I could not. So for my 2 cents I think social security is for those who have worked and another fund for those in need made. BUT try to keep the people in DC out of your pocket. IT IS VERY HARD. The IRS even tried to tax me for my army pay that DOD said was tax free because it was service connected. IRS still tried. It really po'd me to have the extra stress to deal with a bunch of idiots at IRS for several months while I got warning letters. I had to hire a tax lawyer to fix it.

[Bill Foster]

A follow up.
Here's where some of the money goes: $167 million for one month for refugee resettlement from HHS budget.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/feds-cut-167-million-in-domestic-uprograms-to-house-feed-illegals-for-just-1-month/article/2608452

[cpt_sfc]

I wonder if the Ohio State student was on federal aid. Did we buy the car and the knife!. Then the Kaine guy or whatever Hillarys buddy was calls for more GUN control. People are just stupid stupid stupid, ad nauseum.

[Lowdown3]

So I'm early 40's, my generation has been hearing that SSI will be insolvent and unable to pay "obligations" by the late 90's, by 2000, etc. etc. Yet it would seem the older folks still are getting their cash cause I haven't seen "Gray Dawn" happening anywhere yet.

We've also seen "retirement age" pushed back to 70 for some of us younger folks.

What is the current forecast to when SSI really won't be able to pay up? More curious than anything else.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

I have been watching the SS thing as well, being that I'm getting up there in age.... This guy I have been following almost daily since he first started almost 10 years ago seems to be pretty good with the economy numbers and admits that circumstances play a role in timing of bad things or good things happening. Here are a couple articles from him that you may find interesting.

https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231561

Quote from above: "For those politicians and others who claim Social Security is going to blow at roughly the same time, no it won't. Social Security payments (for retirees and disability) rose 3.2% last year while for both retiree and disability tax receipts rose at a 5.2% rate. Yes, on a cash basis Social Security ran a deficit last year but the rate of increased tax revenue was higher than the rate of spending growth and Social Security has a $2.8 trillion dollar Treasury security cache it can redeem to cover the shortfall. At present rates Social Security may have issues in the future, but for right now it is stable."Now, I am not sure where he gets his data to make this claim, but after following him for a while, I feel better hearing it from him.

Another article from him: https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231704
Quote from article: "Folks, despite many people holding out hope I simply do not believe it's going to happen. Look at this article from Politico where they say that the GOP is now contemplating "delaying" Obamacare's replacement. There is no time to delay because the fiscal impact from Medicare and Medicaid either has to be reversed -- not just halted -- right now or it will detonate the federal budget at some point before 2020.

Now maybe I'm wrong on this, but if I am we'll know very, very soon -- within weeks. But unless I'm wrong the math and outcome it will produce is crystal-clear.

Therefore you have somewhere between three and five years before it all goes to hell. Trump might buy a year or two with various changes to Health Care, such as block-granting Medicaid. If he does that, by the way, the result will be a couple of million people who die first, then it will go to Hell. Vouchers for Medicare will destroy the system entirely, but before they do they will kill millions more who are dependent on continual medical care, all Seniors.

You must, at this point, expect that high-cost medical services and drugs will disappear entirely for other than those who can afford to pay for them directly within the next three to five years and will start doing so in as little as one year. If you need these services and/or drugs and cannot travel to obtain them (e.g. medical tourism) you're not going to get them and for a very large percentage of people who currently require them this means you will die."

I can tell you in the last six months a drug I prescribe a lot to patients has gone up tremendously. About six months ago you could walk in and pay $18.50 cash (no insurance) and get this tube of cream. Now, I just looked yesterday, it is $70.00. Sure some insurances cover it, but despite it being a generic med for at least 15 years, other insurances don't cover, or make you pay out of pocket until you meet your deductible.

Sorry, I am a little off topic of just SS, but it all is lumped together in one way or another.

[cpt_sfc]

This is a simplistic view. Our country is broke from debt and misuse of funds , all programs are on borrowed time. .gov must be made much smaller and kept out of everyone's pocket. The USA owe's more then what it is worth in cash/gold. Soc Sec is a dream backed by ,WHAT!! 2.8 trillion when we owe 20 trillion, Sorry I don't get it, I think it's a wish well system. Wish in one hand &&&& in the other. I worry because I will be one of the dead ones as well as several in my family. Good thing I have a shovel. Do not go quietly into the dark YADA!!!!.

[rockriver]

a few thoughts and agreements.
soc. sec.. needs to be paid to those who worked for it..
example: me: I paid in for over 40 years. my employers paid in for over 40 years...
pay me my money.
-- let's just say, lol, "there was this guy" who turned 62 a few years ago.. he was concerned for the gov't and it's debt and problems from all directions in the country.. so, he decided to start collecting ss early... it is a lot less than if he'd waited till full retirement age.
slowly, the guy is putting the $ away for the future.
well, he ain't died.. so for the rest of his life, as long as ss is solvent, he will receive about 25% less than if he had waited for his checks to start.

as mentioned above the politicians are using ss to pay illegal aliens, legal aliens, morally disabled folks etc... all kind of money.
that sheet has got to stop! someone who ain't never paid in, shouldn't be able to collect.
while i'm on that subject, the years (quarters of service) needs to be increased before someone can collect...
stop all disability payments from s.s.
folks need to purchase disability insurance if they want it.. or save funds in case they get disabled.
let their families, their church, their neighbors pay them if they get disabled...

and, wind down the ss system entirely..
paying us a retirement benefit is not what the gov't was set up to do... the bureaucracy is very huge and very expensive...
pay out all those folks who paid in.. but, for those age 20 and younger.... no social security.. no govt benefits at all.
as us oldie goldies die off the new folks coming on board will be getting less and less. yep. those 20 year olds will get to pay for us oldies... they may not like it.. but.. their grandparents appreciated it..
one way to keep the youngsters paying a small amount is stop paying out to Syrians, Mexicans, boogerians, and anyone else that hasn't paid in.
an associate taught school... every year parents would ask her to sign forms declaring that the child had physical, mental disabilities. 95 % of time she refused.. "that kids problem was laziness, sorriness, and parents."