"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
George Washington.
" ... There will always be a party for giving more to the rulers, that the rulers may be able in return to give more to them. Hence as all history informs us, there has been in every State & Kingdom a constant kind of warfare between the governing & governed: the one striving to obtain more for its support, and the other to pay less. And this has alone occasioned great convulsions, actual civil wars, ending either in dethroning of the Princes, or enslaving of the people. Generally indeed the ruling power carries its point, the revenues of princes constantly increasing, and we see that they are never satisfied, but always in want of more."
-- Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to the Federal Constitutional Convention, as recorded by James Madison on June 2, 1787. |
Read Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged
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Defenders of the current Social Security system claim that huge future deficits in the program are not a cause for concern because money in the Social Security Trust Fund can be used to finance all promised benefits until 2032. Moreover, because President Clinton has proposed that a significant share of projected budget surpluses be diverted to the Trust Fund, supporters argue that this move would allow benefits to be fully financed through 2049. The implication is that Social Security can continue for another 50 years without a tax increase. If you believe this, I have a bridge for sale ! Therefore, argue supporters of the status quo, there is no need for fundamental reform, such as privatization. Yet these assertions are based on a gross misrepresentation. The Social Security Trust Fund is a deception. It contains no genuine assets, only government bonds - IOUs that have no value beyond a promise to impose higher taxes on future workers. $17 Trillion worth of IOUs, which can only be redeemed by a tax increase. Social Security is the only completely unfunded pension fund in the world. Even the Clinton Administration admits that the Trust Fund is fraudulent, stating in its proposed budget for fiscal year 2000 that:
Other government agencies and officials acknowledge that the bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund are meaningless. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) notes that
What, then, is the purpose of the Trust Fund? According to the Congressional Budget Office,
The bonds have no independent value because, as the CRS notes,
The Comptroller General of the United States recently testified to this effect:
An actuary from the Social Security Administration admitted that the Trust Fund is a fiction, writing in 1990 that:
In reality, the Trust Fund's holdings simply measure that one part of the government - the Treasury - owes money to another part of the government - the Social Security Trust Fund. Indeed, the best possible interpretation of the Trust Fund is that the IOUs are a measure of how much taxes will have to be raised in the future. A group of government actuaries acknowledged this fact, writing that:
As the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) explains,
It should also be obvious that the interest "paid" to the Trust Fund is equally meaningless. It is true that the bonds in the Trust Fund receive interest, but that interest income takes the form of additional IOUs. In other words, the original IOUs result in more IOUs. The CRS refers to the supposed interest payments as "paper income." The GAO concurs:
The President's plan is a disappointing diversion, an accounting gimmick instead of real reform. As the Comptroller General recently testified, "Without the President's proposal, payroll tax receipts will fall short of benefit payments in 2013; with the President's proposal, payroll tax receipts also fall short of benefit payments in 2013." Privatization is the only way to solve Social Security's financial crisis while also increasing retirement income for today's workers. The concept of individual accounts has bipartisan support in Congress. Moreover, about two dozen nations around the world have shown that private retirement systems are feasible. As evidence mounts that the White House plan is phony, baby boomers can only hope that the Administration will abandon gimmicks and embrace real reform. The one truly unfortunate state of affairs in the US is that while the general public knows that the SS Trust Fund is just a pile of IOUs, the personal impact on each American is not widely understood. These IOUs can only be redeemed by raising taxes to much higher levels or reducing services significantly. I support the elimination of many of the boondoggle departments and programs invented over the past seventy years to steal money from the public. The country's defense is necessary and specified by the Constitution. The Department of Education and Energy are wasteful ripoffs. There are many other purely wasteful programs and departments that must be eliminated. |
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Let Americans save and invest their own hard-earned money without government interference. Anyone who really saves and invests 12.4 percent of their income can, over their working lifetimes, make themselves financially independent millionaire retirees, not poverty-stricken elderly of the "Social Security class," regardless of the job they choose.
Social Security is, in fact, the single tallest, most difficult hurdle standing between most working-class Americans and their hopes for security in their senior years. Let's recognize this fact, and let's end it now.
"On Opting Out"
Alan Greenspan, Fed. Reserve Board Chmn. "My own preference is strongly in the direction of moving towards a privately financed system." |
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Edward H. Crane, Pres., Cato Institute "Social Security privatization is, nowadays, the single most important step toward a society of liberty. It combines personal freedom with widespread property ownership, and those are the pillars of a free society." |
ANNUAL WAGE/SALARY | ANNUAL FICA WITHHELD plus employer match | MONTHLY FICA WITHHELD plus employer match | ANNUAL FED INCOME TAX WITHHELD 1 exemption | STATE TAX 2% | CITY TAX .5% | ANNUAL NET in your | SALES TAXES 7% OF NET |
$10,000 | $1,530.00 | $127.50 | $1,500.00 | $200.00 | $50.00 | $7,416.67 | $519.17 |
$15,000 | $2,295.00 | $191.25 | $2,250.00 | $300.00 | $75.00 | $11,125.00 | $778.75 |
$20,000 | $3,060.00 | $255.00 | $3,000.00 | $400.00 | $100.00 | $14,833.33 | $1,038.33 |
$25,000 | $3,825.00 | $318.75 | $3,750.00 | $500.00 | $125.00 | $18,541.67 | $1,297.92 |
$30,000 | $4,590.00 | $382.50 | $4,453.20 | $600.00 | $150.00 | $22,296.80 | $1,560.78 |
$35,000 | $5,355.00 | $446.25 | $5,853.20 | $700.00 | $175.00 | $25,355.13 | $1,774.86 |
$40,000 | $6,120.00 | $510.00 | $7,253.20 | $800.00 | $200.00 | $28,413.47 | $1,988.94 |
$45,000 | $6,885.00 | $573.75 | $8,653.20 | $900.00 | $225.00 | $31,471.80 | $2,203.03 |
$50,000 | $7,650.00 | $637.50 | $10,053.20 | $1,000.00 | $250.00 | $34,530.13 | $2,417.11 |
$55,000 | $8,415.00 | $701.25 | $11,453.20 | $1,100.00 | $275.00 | $37,588.47 | $2,631.19 |
$60,000 | $9,180.00 | $765.00 | $12,898.20 | $1,200.00 | $300.00 | $40,601.80 | $2,842.13 |
$65,000 | $9,945.00 | $828.75 | $14,448.20 | $1,300.00 | $325.00 | $43,510.13 | $3,045.71 |
$70,000 | $10,710.00 | $892.50 | $15,998.20 | $1,400.00 | $350.00 | $46,418.47 | $3,249.29 |
$75,000 | $11,475.00 | $956.25 | $17,548.20 | $1,500.00 | $375.00 | $49,326.80 | $3,452.88 |
$80,000 | $12,240.00 | $1,020.00 | $19,098.20 | $1,600.00 | $400.00 | $52,235.13 | $3,656.46 |
$85,000 | $13,005.00 | $1,083.75 | $20,648.20 | $1,700.00 | $425.00 | $55,143.47 | $3,860.04 |
FRAUD!!! |