Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (97075)	12/17/2010 8:51:34 PM
From: tonto	Respond to of 224864

It certainly is...why do you think they are doing so and have been doing so for years.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (97075)	1/20/2011 3:34:39 PM
From: TimF	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224864

There was never a trust fund to drain. Loans to yourself, even if you are the government, are not real assets you can draw on. Lets say the government brings in $X with social security taxes, and it needs to spend $X+$100bil on social security payments. We'll assume it does actually make the payments. If there is a "trust fund" of a hundred quadrillion dollars, what happens? The government takes $100bil in ordinary income taxes and uses them to pay for Social Security payments. If there is a "balance of zero in the trust fund", what happens? The government takes $100bil in ordinary income taxes and uses them to pay for Social Security payments. The "trust fund" has no effect whatsoever, its meaningless, if you assume the government is actually going to make the social security payments. Under current law its not meaningless, in one way, and for one reason, only - That under current law if there is an insufficient "balance" in the nominal trust fund, to cover a shortfall of social security taxes, then the social security payments automatically get cut. But that law might easily be changed considering the power of the senior voting block. And even if it isn't its a law tat reduces payments based on an accounting entry that other than that specific point of the law has no real world significance.