10 Things You Didn't Know About Social Security

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It amazes me how little is actually known by US citizens about the international rates of pay. All of the 'common knowledge' relates to the lowest paid among us -- manufacturing, food production, etc. (Thus we're sic'd onto the immigrants and oppose every trade bill.)
But in the competition for service jobs, the preponderance of jobs in the US, there's no competition. Because of the 50% overhead of employing US citizens (between SSec and healthcare and 'benefits' like plant safety), corporations can pay the foreigner the same net pay as the American and still save 50%. That's how we used to compute it in the international corporation I worked for.
The employees in both places got exactly the same net pay (don't forget the US employee has another chunk coming out of his gross pay before it gets to him.)
NoShxx

ncal of CA 3:07PM August 13, 2010

Christopher of AZ,
you can move to Somalia...that's the capitalists' paradise...no gov't, no shoshulists, no SS, no medicare and by GOD they love their guns...only make sure you have an AK47 cocked and ready while you sleep with one eye open...

tuma of MD 3:04PM August 13, 2010

RETIRED TOOK SS AT 62 AT 67 BACK TO WORK FULL TIME PAYING INTO SOCIAL SECURITY BETTER THAN MIDDLE INCOME PAY CAN THIS CHANGE MY SS PAYMENTS SINCE I'M PAYING AGAIN?

A. GREEN of OH 12:23PM August 13, 2010

You don't like the SS system? MOVE! Go to some other "better" country where you have to bribe the cop so your house doesn't get broken into AND you have to pay some schmuck to stay in your home so you don't get robbed BLIND, but hey--you don't have to contribute towards "the public welfare" in any way, shape or form.
Social security is the reason why you don't get mugged every time you leave your house, why your house isn't broken into every day of the week, and why you don't have to fear bodily harm in conducting your everyday business. Do you actually think that people who are left with nothing will just curl up and die? Hell no, they will rob your azz! And if you think you'll carry a big gun to protect yourself, they'll carry a BIGGER gun, they'll take your gun, and they will beat you with it while they take your wallet.
Funny how people who are the ones who complain the loudest about "others" getting benefits are the FIRST ones in line to claim disability should anything unfortunate happen to them!

Not Christopher of AZ 12:12PM August 13, 2010

Well chris,
the reason it is not optional is because the scheme collapses if it were. That might sound oversimplified but its the truth. Also, the 6.2 your employer pays, which you really pay BTW, (since no company EVER pays a tax, because they must pass it onto their customers) is that ever reported to you? Do you ever see that? I'm not sure i can't remember what my last SS statement said

stephen of MA 11:56AM August 13, 2010

The government takes 12.4 percent of our income during our lifetimes then lets us have it back at a time and pay rate of their choosing. If we're lucky we'll get about a 3 percent return on investment. I can't believe that anyone thinks this is fair or a good deal. We would be better off just putting the money in a savings account. We'd get the same rate of return and have the money available when we needed it regardless of our age. I wonder how many people would opt out of Social Security if it were made optional. Why do we not get to make a decision about our own money?

Christopher of AZ 12:31AM August 12, 2010

Ven what does your self absorbed rant have to do with the subject matter?

Ron of TX 7:27AM August 10, 2010

Well the only person worse than "those people" would be your friend who failed to report fraud being committed. That's like knowing that your neighbor is stealing from someone but not reporting it because dialing the phone is too much work. Talk about the lazy slob. Of course we know why your friend really didn't report it: because he would get arrested for filing a false police report, SINCE THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN. You must be pretty gullible to believe your buddy (or is he just a chain email, not a real person). Do you also believe your friend's stories about how he saved an old lady by jumping off a 10th story balcony to push her out of the street just before she got hit by a speeding dump truck and got away without a scratch!? Oh yeah, don't forget to pick up another AK on the way home and hide it real good 'cause Obama's gonna' take yur guns! I got an email from sexypublican@yahoo the other day that told me so, so it must be true!

Bren of CO 12:30AM August 10, 2010

i had a friend who when he was living in a apartment used to get checks dropped in his mail box in error that was supposed to go to his neighbor. One day he asked his neighbor(illegal with three children) who then said that he went to a lawyer who sent his kids to some doctor who gave them some fake disorder certificate. like ADD. They then went to Social Security and filed for disability benefits for all his children and was getting $800 per child per month. Pretty soon they bought a car and a house and moved out. My friend said that SOB told him that you have to be stupid to work in this country. Guess how many similar cases must be occurring
each day in this country. So I don't expect to receive my SS checks when I retire.
By then It will be broke.

Ven of CA 11:55PM August 09, 2010

Lita Epstein is a complete idiot if she thinks that Social Security will be around when she is 80. The way things are going, SS will be distributed on a needs basis, that includes illegals from Mexico.

Dennis O;neil of WA 10:09PM August 09, 2010