Here is what you've been waiting to hear LOL

[Kentucky Trojan]

Here is your $2.7 trillion surplus:

Jeff & Mike talk with Allen W. Smith PHD, Professor of Economics and author of the book: "The looting of Social Security, How the Government is draining America's retirement account." We should have 2.7 trillion dollars surplus in the Social Security fund, except congress channeled the money taken out of our check that was ment for the SS fund and put into the general fund to spend as they please. The things Americans should be outraged about they no nothing about.

[C-Bolt]

You can not deny Social Security benefits once they reach retirement................They paid into them.........It is their money............. :12224

I speak for the disabilty trust fund not the retirement fund,a lot of younger people are out there abusing the system and alot of them don't even have the credits built up to qualify, but still somehow get on with the help of attorneys,and they are able to work but would rather just sit around and do drugs and drink all day,now some people do really need it and its harder for people like that to get it now because of all the fraud that has gone on in years past.That's why it would be nice weed some of these people out.And also why can't they make the recipient pay for the testing?

[abuck76]

C-Bolt , I agree there is fraud........But we should never thrwo the baby out with the bath water......reduce the fraud, not legit benefits.......

Condom, I told you this already........Yet the prof is wrong as the yearly surpluses are getting smaller, but still have surpluses each year including this year, 2012....... :12224

2010 yearly surplus 81,710 Total surplus 2,585,323 trillion

2011 yearly surplus 68,014 Total Surplus 2,653,336

2012 yearly surplus 64,580 Total surplus 2,717,916

[Kentucky Trojan]

C-Bolt , I agree there is fraud........But we should never thrwo the baby out with the bath water......reduce the fraud, not legit benefits.......

Condom, I told you this already........Yet the prof is wrong as the yearly surpluses are getting smaller, but still have surpluses each year including this year, 2012....... :12224

2010 yearly surplus 81,710 Total surplus 2,585,323 trillion

2011 yearly surplus 68,014 Total Surplus 2,653,336

2012 yearly surplus 64,580 Total surplus 2,717,916

The trust fund is bare. It is an accounting trick.

Have you ever been an accountant, abuck?

I have.

[abuck76]

One does not have to be an accountant to understand , We owe ourselves..........The point is SS has been a great success..........Social Security is not the problem itself...........A solution would be to raise the cap......... :12224

[Kentucky Trojan]

It is more complicated than that.

The asset entries are offset by credit entries to assets with other government entities; therefore, making it appear that there is 2.7 trillion in surplus in the "trust fund".

However, the cupboard is bare.

Regardless, we need to reduce spending across the board (including Social Security), raise taxes on the wealthiest of Americans, create a surplus, and pay down the debt.

[abuck76]

Social Security should be taken off the table..........The surplus is there.......It is owed but it is there..Social Security did its job...........It has been a huge success story..........Before anything is done on the reduction side, we must get rid of the the cap on SS tax, and see where that will lead us....... :12224

[Paladin]

From a spendig standpoint , there are two MAJOR areas -- DEFENSE and Medicare/Medicaid. Spending on Defense is grotesque, not just waste , fraud & abuse, but needless spending, weapons systems not needed and huge numbers of military not needed for future figthing ( special forces not large Armies). The health problem we have allowed to develope into a non-competitive, non bidding situation. Over priced doctors, overcharged by hospitals, high overhead administrative costs, overpriced presciption drugs, etc. SS isn't a problem. If revenues are raised ( with higher rates on the wealthy ) and elemination of deductions & writeoffs along with lifting the cap on SS, things would improve immensely, especially after the economy recovers and jobs are created. Putting people back to work & paying taxes helps to solve alot of ills. The country was taken over by plutocrats and allowed to cut taxes for ridiculous reasons, all of which failed ( cutting taxes would create jobs, etc). Then , The R spent like drunken sailors on 2 unfunded wars, 2 major tax cuts, an expensive drug program with no competitive bidding and then the bailout of banks, mortage companies, AIG that Rs allowed to develope with de-regulation of finance. Cmon, its not rocket science.

[Kentucky Trojan]

Social Security should be taken off the table..........The surplus is there.......It is owed but it is there..Social Security did its job...........It has been a huge success story..........Before anything is done on the reduction side, we must get rid of the the cap on SS tax, and see where that will lead us....... :12224

Reductions for ALL programs including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Tax the wealthiest up to 50% in 2014, 55% in 2015, 60% in 2016, 65% in 2017, and 70% in 2018 and beyond.

[wildthingRV]

"it's like taking a knife to a gunfight"

It appears that in this forum we have replaced the knife with a gun. Welcome KT

He's been here for years. We used to call him KII.

[Kentucky Trojan]

"it's like taking a knife to a gunfight"

It appears that in this forum we have replaced the knife with a gun. Welcome KT

He's been here for years. We used to call him KII.

True, I have been here for years.

False, you used to call me KII.