SSA Birth Day

Let's all not celebrate at once Folks!! Today in 1935 the President signed into law the Social Security Act enabling Congress to spend yours and my hard earned money on items that they deem more important than "Old-Age Benefits". Today, that SSA pays out more money than it takes in every year by $41 Billion dollars, there is no real trust fund and those who retire in the near future must pray there are enough works making payment for them to draw monetary benefits.

Yeah, I am bitter. The Government was never meant to handle my retirement and in a perfect world I would have an option to join the sheepale and put my money at the disposal of the Congress of the USA or take my money and be responsible for my own "Old-Age Benefits". Just recently the Board of Trustees for Social Security and Medicare presented the public with their actuarial report for 2010 which predicts a rosy picture for SSA. What a pack of lies, when you look at who the Trustees who put together the report you have to laugh but it makes you understand why they paint such a nice picture for SSA's future. They are all political appointee's of the Obama administration and the Managing Trustee is none other than Timothy "Turbo Tax" Geithner! Yep, the Sectary of Tax Dodger Treasury himself. Its no wonder that the American Academy of Actuaries put out their own report highlighting the assumptions used by the Trustees to project the financial condition of SSA. Look at that here, but it ain't pretty. They put people in jail for running ponzi schemes (can you say Bernard Madoff) but not the Sectary of the Treasury.

This fund will soon be broke, penniless and not able to provide even modest payouts. They are already talking about raising the employee and employer participation rate, increasing the retirement age by 7 to 8 years and doing means testing (allowing benefits payouts to only those that have nothing instead of those who only ask for their money back).

But, 75 years ago today the Do-Gooders struck once again removing a little bit of what made Americans different then other peoples of the world, self reliance and personal responsibility. This trend has continued to this day with more and more people just waiting for the Federal Government to wipe their Ass.

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Stray Voltage – Part 2

More stray thoughts to contemplate if you have the time.

Government Motors – the Volt

I heard today that a Camel is a horse designed by a committee, well the Volt is the Green Car designed by the ruling Political Class!! It has virtually no redeeming value except to slow down the flushing action occurring in the once great state of Michigan. A state run by Democrats and Unions I'd like to point out. The Volt at a mere $41K is way more expensive than the Nissan Leaf ($33K) but less than half as much as the Tesla all electric car (at $100,000 bucks) so it fills a vital niche. Of course don't go factoring in all the subsidies and bailout money that GM required to stay on its feet long enough to put this beast out. Those costs factored in and this is one expensive vehicle. Rumor is that GM will only make 10,000 of them and considers this as a kind of prototype-production run. They have a lot of work to do, the range is horrible, the cost is way out of line and of course the styling and its interior layout leads a lot to be desired. But what do you expect from the Motor Company run mainly by Government Bureaucrats and Union leaders. We only have ourselves to blame for giving government this kind of power.

Social Security

Almost no one is talking about this, but I found this interesting article in the New York Times of all places. I don't know when the last time it is that they complained about the Social Security issues facing the nation but my guess is that it has been a long time. They had an interest in getting Democrats elected and bringing up Social Security during the election process would have complicated that effort. Now with the die case towards the Republicans taking over congress or at the very least control of the House, the Social Security problem becomes their problem and it is now time to beat on them with it. Had they been on board 4 or 5 years ago when Bush wanted to privatize a portion of total as a test case we could be looking at maybe a real definitive way to save this benefit for future generations. But instead, the liberals running the MSM helped bury the issue and now we have it rotting out under us. Who will be getting benefits payments remains to be seen. This is one program that is in dire straits. I don't know that it can be saved.

Working for the Man – The Leftist Man

Some cross-posting between different Blogs regarding a Washington Post article about the Bush Tax Cuts, that article Five Myths about the Bush Tax Cuts. Bruce McQuain takes it apart point by point here. The smartest point to be made is in the Legal Insurrection posting by William A. Jacobson and I'll quote "These Democratic talking points reflect the fundamental disconnect: It is not your money. I think the American people understand that point. The government works for us, not the other way around. You either believe it, or you don't. The Democrat Party doesn't."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Two Americas in Congress

There's a "dual standard, one for most members and one for African-Americans," said one member of the Congressional Black Caucus, speaking on the condition of anonymity. This is in response to ethics charges being brought up against Charlie Rangle and Maxine Waters. Couldn't happen to two more deserving members of the house except maybe that ass-bandit Barney Frank or that Winer guy from New York (you would think the two of them would hook up or something eh). Oh hell, there are a bunch of them that need to be drowned in that swamp Nancy Pelosi promised to drain. I guess that's a hard job with so many of her fellow Dem's clogging the drain.

Read more: Here

That's all for now!!

BT: Jimmy T sends.

Crisis by Fiat

While everyone is making Health Care sausage or Environmental (Cap and Tax) sausage or even "Jobs" sausage they are ignoring the mess that is already wrapped around them and us like an anchor – Social Security.

I am one of many out here that does not expect to receive any benefit from all the money seized out of my pay check since 1972 when I filed my first W-4 (I was a dish washer making 90 cents an hour at Geno's on north Coors Road in Albuquerque, they served Mexican and Italian fare). That is some 37 years of contributions to a system that is being ignored and will simply, rot on the vine.

Instead the Wise One, PresBO himself declared Health Care in the US a crisis that needs to be fixed despite more that 80% of the people being not only insured but a vast majority of them happy with their coverage and care. The crisis for who, the 20% or 45 million that don't have insurance and this is important, no one in the US goes without Health Care, some simply don't want or have access to an insurance plan but anyone that needs care can simply walk into a hospital and get that care. So, in my mind without dead bodies lining the roadways here in America, this is a cooked up crisis, very similar to the Climate debate.

Cooked up or books cooked, either way the true crisis in America is the train wreck that Social Security is and no one is talking about that.

Well, maybe not no one: From Economics21 "Social Security's Grim Milestione" a report about the little known fact that for six straight months this last Fiscal year (2009, ending 30 September) the Social Security systems operating budget was completely in the Red. That is to say that its total operating expenses (Benefit outlays and Administration) was all borrowed. For six straight months there was more money outgoing than incoming into the SSA.

Here is a chart: If you look close, there was yet one other month when they ran out of money to run the system, February. This means that for 7 out of the 12 months there was not enough money to run SSA.

Now the recession and high unemployment adds to this money crisis because with fewer people working there are fewer paycheck from which to seize money from. Couple that and the following from Carpe Diem: "4 out of 10 pay NO Income Tax"; a story about how few people actually pays taxes. More 1 in 4 skips out in some way shape or form from paying taxes. A whopping 39% either do not file taxes or file a return with Zero or a Negative tax liability. By the way, Negative in this case means that person gets money from the treasury that they did not contribute into. Note: These numbers do not include all the people in the Obama Administration or in Congress who are evading taxes.

Here is another chart: So, with fewer and fewer people paying taxes, millions more on unemployment and even more holding jobs whose wages have been depressed because of the rescission there will be even less money flowing into that deep pit known as Social Security. I am guessing that there will be 8 or 9 months of negative spending from the SSA this year.

I am almost willing to take bets that Social Security will be completely bankrupt in 2 to 3 years. Watch for an Obama style "takeover", you know "I don't want to be in the Social Security business but…"

BT: Jimmy T sends.