Social Security Reform.....
We, the American people, have, before us, and put upon us, a most dishonorable crime. I say crime because if a private citizen were to to do it they would go to jail. The crime I'm talking about is Social Security. It is,in its essence, unethical. A state where the government seizes funds out of ALL of its citizens earnings.
I say dishonor for the obvious reasons and the not so obvious. I say not so obvious because as it turns out, they've {politicans] been spending the money they stole from their constiuents {you & me}and said they were/are 'holding' it for us until we reached the {"retirement"} age.
Upon reaching that age they told/tell us they would re-distribute our money back to us divisely for the existing life of our remaining funds. Oh and they also lie and tell us that our employers "match" the "contribution" {6.2%} that we see subtracted from our checks under the B.S. term, FICA.
Well, I guess "technically" it's not a lie, you see, your employer does match your "contribution" but he matches it with YOUR MONEY!!!!! Your employer takes that 6.2% out of your check before you see a drop of ink on your check much less a penny of the money that, the government & your employer STOLE from you! In all fairness your employer has to do this becuase he'll go to jail if he doesn't. So now, we find ourselves in a crisis. The Social Security account is fast depleting.
It's 2005 now, we're roughly, 35 years away from Social Security depletion. So in 35 years, it'll all be gone, but in 35 years there will be millions of people dependant on Social Security and there will be millions more that will look forward to depending on it. They will depend on it because they have been seeing where they have been involuntarily paying it for their whole working lives. But guess what? It'll be gone. It should be there, but its not, sorry, they spent it ALL!
What to do, what to do? Well ole' G.W. has a pretty GREAT IDEA THAT WE MUST SUPPORT! Privatize accounts for younger workers. It's still unfair as hell because it's only 4% but its a start! And it's a helluva lot better than allowing politicians to continue to plunder our hard-earned funds for their own political use and political projects, whcih they prioritze by how many votes they can get out of it, kinda like political insurance. So here's the deal with the reform proposal...
Bush is proposing to allow "younger" workers the ability to open private accounts and pay themselves the money that currently goes directly to government under the pretense of Social Security. Upon their {government} seizure of said monies, they afford themselves pre-eminent power over our money. Simply, this means that everybody thinks the money is somehow coming back to them when they reach "retirement" age, we tend to think that the money is being kept somewhere, waiting to be reclaimed by {us} its owner, we think it's kinda like a savings account. Of course you assume, also, that any remaining monies in your Social Security account will go to those persons you desire to leave that money to, you know, your family! Oh how wrong you were/are, this is not something that automatically happens. The government decides weather members of your family should get YOUR money after YOU die! Let me repeat...
What happens to your money when you die is not up to you!
Your Social Security benefits are an average percentage of the money you made over most of your working lifetime. There are five major categories your Social Security is used for; retirement, disability, family benefits, survivors, Medicare. With that said there are conditions and "certain" contingencies that have to be met in order for the government to actually pay the money out. The following is a brief description of those contingencies. www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw212.html
The bold words are my interruptive commentary, giving you a better idea of what I mean. Injustice, reigns strong and long in our current system, this is just a taste...
Retirement
Benefits are payable at full retirement age -an age we get together and decided on, (with reduced benefits available as early as age 62 ) for anyone with enough Social Security credits - what does "enough Social Security credits" mean? You telling me that people who pay the Social Security tax aren't automatically guaranteed to receive Social Security Benefits?-. The full retirement age is 65 for persons born before 1938. The age gradually rises until it reaches 67 for persons born in 1960 or later. Can you believe this @#*&?
Disability
Benefits can be paid to people at any age who have enough Social Security credits -there we go again, with "enough Social Security benefits"- and who have a severe physical or mental impairment that is expected to prevent them from doing "substantial" work for a year or more or who have a condition that is expected to result in death. Generally, earnings of $800 or more per month are considered substantial. "800 or more per month," how many people fall {will fall} into that category?
Family Benefits
If you are eligible for retirement or disability benefits, -you meet the requirements decided and set by us- other members of your family might receive benefits too -my point here is obvious, notice they used the word MIGHT even though you pay Social Security taxes, your family's security remains precarious, as it is not up to you which persons of your family MAY or may not receive benefits from your money. These include: your spouse if he or she is at least 62 years old - again the government decides how old your spouse has to be to receive your benefits- or under 62 but caring for a child under age 16; and your children if they are unmarried and under age 18, under 19 but still in school or 18 or older but disabled.-hope your kids fall into one of these categories if you are expecting the government to fork over your money to them-
Survivors
When you die, certain members or your family may be eligible for benefits if you earned enough Social Security credits while you were working -of course there is no guarantee that your survivors will actually receive benefits from the money that you earned, but if they do turn out to be eligible, there are only "certain" family members who the government decided your money should go to-. here's where they'll tell you which members of your family are entitled to your money,- The family members include: a widow(er) age 60 or older, 50 or older if disabled or any age if caring for a child under age 16; your children if they are unmarried and under age 18, under 19 but still in school or 18 or older but disabled; and your parents if you were their primary means of support - I hope those persons you want to leave your money to, fall into one of these categories-. A special one-time payment of $255 may be made to your spouse or minor children when you die -gee, thanks, you guys-.
Another little tidbit you may want to know regarding the age of retirement; the government can decide without reason or provocation to delay the retirement age. This is an idea that has been thrown around as a resolution to a foreseen economic crunch caused by Social Security. And make no mistake, their hope, is that, in delaying the retirement age you will die before you reach that age. Thereby, unburdenoning the government, of it's debt to you. If after reading this sentence you are one who is thinking, "wont the money go to my family," please read the preceding passages again! It is imperative that we understand and control government's role in our lives and limit it, not the other way around.
Bush's proposal is for people to own the account that their money will go into and decide for themselves what they want to do with their own money, decide for themselves, how old they should be before they start spending their own money, decide for themselves, which family members they want to leave their money to and certainly decide for themselves how old a family member has to be to receive benefits and so forth. Any opposition to this reform is an open attempt to denagrate the idea of freedom and individuality. Check out the opposers of this reform and then see which party they belong to, you might notice a trend.
We, as a free thinking society, should have the foresight to identify instances when our liberties are being dishonored and our intelligence insulted and we should fight and support anything that will further a free society for our children and grandchildren to enjoy and preserve the ideas of personal Liberties, of which we all have a right.
"Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Death"
