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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (19168)	5/19/2000 11:35:00 AM
From: MulhollandDrive	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

That was an EXCELLENT article. Thank you for posting the excerpt. See e-bill? Welfare! Your SS welfare check comes to you entirely at the discretion of the legislative and executive branch. What Big Government giveth, Big Government can taketh away.

To: DMaA who wrote (19168)	5/19/2000 7:14:00 PM
From: nihil	Respond to of 769670

Quite correct. FICA taxes are taxes, except in the cases of "voluntary" agreements in which States agree to make contributions on behalf of their employees. Social security benefits are granted independently of whether the beneficiary has paid any taxes at all. There is an authorization that permits Congress to appropriate money to pay benefits equal in amount to the total collected by FICA taxes and contributions, but there are no individual tax accounts. Once one pays his taxes they are gone as far as the individual or employer goes. If you employer failes to pay or to forward yours taxes, all you have to do is to prove that you worked to get credit for that time. SSA has to pay your benefits and track down and fine your employer. Not your problem. The main problem of investment has always been that the federal government doesn't owe enough money. If things proceed as currently planned by the administration (which they won't), the debt will be extinguished in a few years and there will be no new federal bonds for SSA TF to buy. The treasury will start piling up surpluses in the general fund. Then a few years later, the benefits will exceed the taxes, and the trust fund will be exhausted. Then Congress can appropriate from the General Fund to the Trust Fund (as it should have been doing for 49 years. Far too many people are getting and have gotten a free ride on social security who never paid taxes -- like children and widows.