Obama's 6 Social Security Principles

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Q– Which party decided to give money to immigrants?
A– That’s right; immigrants moving into this country at 65
get SSI Social Security. The Democratic Party gave that to them.
although they never paid a dime into it.
I should have explained that answer better “No one, whether he/she is a citizen, immigrant, or illegal alien - is eligible to collect SS income unless he/she (or someone else such as a parent or spouse) has paid into the system.
Please , do not confuse Social Security with SSI (Supplemental Security Income) - the latter is a welfare program… created and signed into law during 1972, during the administration of Richard Nixon passed by a Democratic controlled Congress and Senate. It is paid by funds in part taken from Social Security.

Celso of DE 12:05PM May 21, 2011

Here are some interesting bits for your enlightenment:
Q– Which party took Social Security from an independent fund and put it in the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A–Yup. It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
Q– Which party enacted an income tax on Social Security?
A–Ah, you guessed it, The Democratic Party.
Q–Guess which party increased the tax on Social Security?
A–Right again! The Democratic Party did it with Al Gore casting the deciding vote.
Q– Which party decided to give money to immigrants?
A– That’s right; immigrants moving into this country at 65 get SSI Social Security. The Democratic Party gave that benefit to them although they never paid a dime into it. That’s your Social Security money they gave away. Then, after doing all this, the Democrats turn around and tell you the Republicans want to take away your Social Security.
The worst part about it is, you believe it!

Celso Vazquez of DE 11:38AM May 21, 2011

The government is so upset over the amount of funds going out yet they never seem to realize that it has been going on since the boomer era.
Yes, it seems rediculously high but so was the time frame and all the modalities of life the boomers went through to get to retirement.
Problem was as they out grew certain modalities of life the prices never went back to a lesser population era. The prices stayed the same and raised when all else went up in price. You never reduced the amount of schools as the boomers out grew the school of the area. That would have meant less funds for the village/township/city involved.
Reasons to keep the funds were created and voted on and no one wanted less.
NOW it is retirement modalities that are being pushed to the limit. Problem is that when the boomers leave this world you again will insist on the need for greed and cause the United States of America to be a use to be world power.

Donna of MI 9:49AM April 12, 2011

To all the nay sayers against trying to say it is fine NOW to trash SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid.....be prepared in a very short time to have to take your parents in when they are old, as they will not be able to support themselves. You won't either, but then again, you can just take all that extra money that you think somehow the Republicans are going to give back to you and it won't amount to squat to take care of poor old Mom and Dad. The Social Security program is SOLVENT and has paid for itself all along. Unfortunately, the Government has been siphoning all of it into the General Fund to pay for little whatnots like our BLOATED DEFENSE SPENDING since the 1970s. Medicare needs help, I suggest SOCIALIZED MEDICINE as within the next 20 years that is all that most Americans will be able to afford. Premiums and costs WILL NEVER recede with our current FOR PROFIT INSURANCE/MEDICAL INDUSTRY. That is why we pay TWICE as much for our care as compared to the other 27 industrialized nations of the world. The Insurance Companies do not want to insure older, sicker Americans, or even young children who may be born with disabilities. So who will be their insurance market???? Oh yeah, those 1%s who are always bailing the rest of us in the middleclass out! The #s and the rhetoric do not match. When you are on a fixed income you cannot afford to pay a 11-12% increase in medical care each and every year. So if the middleclass is outpriced and the poor were never a consideration, who will be buying all this healthcare??? Or is this more Darwinian than we thought the Pubes could ever be...we'll just sit and watch sick people die in large numbers...??? We have replaced good paying technical manufacturing jobs with service sector positions that are now the base of our economy. They pay crappy wages and few benefits.American wages, when adjusted for inflation have been FLAT since the 1970s...no middleclass gains there. We were given obscene amounts of credit for the last decade to make us "feel" like we had money. No GOOD JOBS are coming to this country again and EVERY politician has had a hand in it for the last 40 years. No good paying jobs, fewer dollars paid into the system. America will be a second tier country very soon, and with the goons on the RIGHT pushing our economy over the cliff and Obama trying to get some cumbai moment with the other side, America is doomed. It is truly sad but I have come to accept that while the Romans took 1000+ years to self-destruct, we "exceptional Americans" will do it in 300 or maybe less.

Cigi of TX 6:00PM April 07, 2011

The opening sentence has no merit what so ever. Almost everyone does agree that the system is in trouble, maybe not today but certainly tomorrow.
To all who think they've paid in their wrong. Almost every single person collecting SS today will have gotten what they and they're employer paid into the system back within 6 years. They voted for people that got us into this mess and bought the hook line and sinker.
I'm glad the author is OK with rasing taxes on the middle class to solve a non issue (his first sentence). I've been maxing out for 25 years with almost no hope of ever seeing my money, yet you want to raise my taxes by 6.2% to cover people that didn't pay enough. Thanks
As far as COLAs - another giveaway with $250 checks. No inflation no COLA what could be fairer than that?
The author is correct though in that this is relatively simple to fix. While I may be upset over a 6.2% tax increase, that combined with raising the age to 69 just like they raised it to 67 then throw in COLA's minus 1% for high earners and the problem should be solved for our lifetimes.

richard of CA 4:48PM March 24, 2011

This is directed to Dwain, who said women who are "baby factories" just have a lot of babies to get more welfare money, and that this is a bigger problem than the 40 million Illegal Mexicans. Well, Dwain, for your information, the Mexicans are having more babies than legal Americans. The illegal Mexicans make up the majority of people getting: Welfare, Food Stamps, WIC, low-cost Housing, on and on! And, illegals do not pay any taxes! How about THAT Dwain!! So, you need to 'talk what you know,' and obviously you don't know much about this situation. I live around them, and they make up to 90% of the student body in the local public elementary schools!! They slow down the education of American students, and taxpayers have to pay extra money for "Education Specialists" to teach the Mexican kids how to read, write and do arithmetic.

leslie of GA 3:37PM March 24, 2011

I am 72 years old.I started paying into SS when I was 14.I started drawing SS in my 65th year but worked until 70 1/2.I was self employeed for 10 years.The 5 years I woked I paid taxes on 85% of my SS earnings.These earnings were from SS that I for 10 years paid !00% of out of before tax income and the 48 years I paid 50% of out of before tax earnings.This is double taxation.
Now I see many saying this is a form of welfare.I have also paid on medicare.How do You call this welfare?If I could have invested the money all those years I could be getting far more off of it then I am.
Welfare is something people get who in most cases haven't paid for.
I have never received a welfare check,food stamps,unemployment in my life.
I did receive 1 days pay from work mens comp. for a hernia which i was out of work for 8 days so I am saying leave my SS alone!!I paid into it and if the goverment would have left it alone there would be no problem.
One big problem is the women in the inner cities who become baby factories because every baby means more welfare.Some of those make more then the average middle class family.That is a worse problem then the illegals.

Dwain Holmes of TX 5:41PM March 15, 2011

And Seniors did not get a COLA for 2 years in a row.Everything has risen in price, but no COLA. If they want to cut, start cutting everything the Illegals get, like free meals, education, medical, welfare,subsidised housing. Mandatory E Verify would solve a lot of problems for the States as well as the feds,because they will self DEPORT.But the politicians will not tackle that problem, instead they want to give Amnesty to 40 Million Illegals from MEXICO>

Bill of CO 8:16AM March 14, 2011

How funny that not one person sees the true reason for some of this mess. It is not the fault of any one person but as the baby boomers were growing more and more was needed to accomplish their ways and means but more importantly their needs.
Now they have reached the pinacle of their lives and the problem is here in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The final battle of life and the ways and means of tending to their needs. Yet after they reached the different levels of life nothing was ever changed to return to the past. They brough on more clothing, nourishment and living needs than the generation before.
The system created more to tend to the need but as soon as they reached being out of school - the system did not shrink the school base they lied to keep what they had already. As soon as the system no longer needed housing for the separate families growing under the baby boom mass the system continued building as if they were still there.
Now they are in the retirement level of life and the need for your so called financial system is falling apart. You are expecting those below this level to continue taking care of business as usual. The level now is not a baby boom level and they are required to continue fueling the resources of the baby boomers. This was a problem waiting to happen. It is in your lap now. The baby boomers worked and paid their way all the way through and you now see the financial group is not there to support the population as you so planned.
This action should have been taken care of as the baby boomers went through one level and moved into the next. Greed took over and now they complain where is the funding coming from. Your nation will fall from within just as every other nation fell from within as they too did as you have done.

Avonael of MI 9:45AM March 08, 2011

the problem is they make the mistakes at the top. an then start the cutting at the bottomthey blame it on unions an wages but nuttin is gettin any cheaper even when it is made in china,mexico etc. we help everybody but ourselves

mike neal of CA 6:21PM February 27, 2011