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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Road Walker who wrote (378149)	4/22/2008 1:10:44 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578494

"By simply passing a law" Congress could do anything, including arresting you and putting you to death for any infraction they desire. Well not exactly, there are constitutional issues, and also practical physical issues if your saying "it could do anything". But your larger point that Congress can do a lot of things by passing a law is correct. And one of those things is canceling, decreasing, or increasing, social security payments, which is why even though under the government term of art of spending categories the spending is not discretionary, in the ordinary English sense of the word it is discretionary. It can be changed at any time. Its similar to how taxes are "voluntary" in the government term of art, since we report our income, but they are not in any way voluntary in the ordinary meaning of that word. In this particular case it is highly, highly unlikely. Its highly unlikely that the program will be canceled. Its very likely that the benefit schedule will be modified to lower payouts. In any case how likely it is, is besides the point. The spending is under the control of congress, and the spending reduces the governments fiscal balances, just as much as any other spending. The argument is made that there is a "trust fund". But for the government as a whole the net value of that trust fund is zero. (Every dollar in the fund represents an equal and fully offsetting asset and debt). The "fund" isn't something the government can draw on. When SS taxes no longer provide enough money to pay for the social security program, the government will have to borrow the money, or pay for it with funds from some other tax. What would it have to do if there was no "fund"? The exact same thing, borrow the money, or pay for it with some other tax.