On Wed, 16 Feb 2005 23:45:52 -0500, JDG <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > At 07:48 AM 2/15/2005 -0800, Nick Arnett wrote: > >Lest anyone be confused, Social Security's net assets have *increased* > every year since 1982 and the > > longer-term trend certainly has been so (see > http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/STATS/table4a3.html). This > >doesn't mean we can close our eyes to the future population shifts, but it > does mean that any hint > >that there is a present-day crisis, rather than a far future one, surely > must be regarded as > >politically, not financially motivated. In the cliche of good journalism, > "Follow the money." > > This, of course, presumes that you actually believe that Social Security > has assets - which I don't. > > Let me explain: > > Social Security cannot accumulate any excess revenues, be they assets, > investments, etc. All current revenues that Social Security cannot spend > on current benefits are mandated by federal law to be spent by the federal > government. Malicious untrue calumny. There is no such requirement. > Social Security's future obligations are implicitly backed by the federal > government. That is, to the extent that Social Security's current > revenues fail to cover current obligations, it is expected that these > obligations will be met out of general government expenditures. (That's > really all that the so-called "trust fund" really means.) So, to take > this logic one step further, I don't believe that this implicit obligation > will at all change whether the so-called "trust fund" is exhausted or not. This goes beyond being wrong. The "trust fund" is separate bookkeeping in the SS administration showing how much they take in and where they have invested their income. By laws set up by Greenspan, Reagan and a bipartisan Congress they mandated this trust fund be invested in government bonds. The interest in the bonds as well as FICA income is also added to the trust fund. Your last sentence is perhaps accidentally true - the trust fund has become exhausted several times and has come close to being exhausted other times - on the last occasion this required the Greenspan/Reagan" fix" which allowed the trust fund to build up a large surplus which Bush is intent on defaulting on.
Come-on JDG, you're not supporting Greenspan and Reagan on this? Gary Denton Easter Lemming Liberal News Digest - I think Brin was on to something in 'Earth' in suggesting the right to vote be dependent upon subscribing to some opposing viewpoint media. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
