NPR - Social Security "Trust Fund" is a lie

[emazur]

YouTube - NPR - Social Security "Trust Fund" is a lie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTLiqD2YkGI)

The whole thing is worth listening to:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/11/12/131281247/the-friday-podcast-in-search-of-the-social-security-trust-funds
the woman at the end makes an interesting argument that baby boomers have already been repaid their Social Security by voting for bigger and bigger government programs without raising income taxes, instead paid for with the Social Security "trust" fund.

[bwlibertyman]

bump

[sailingaway]

Yeah, well in part because Willy 'when I left office there was a balanced budget' Clinton stole from it, starting a precedent.... And in part because the fed devalued every dollar in it....

but what remains is indeed a problem.

[emazur]

Yeah, well in part because Willy 'when I left office there was a balanced budget' Clinton stole from it, starting a precedent.... And in part because the fed devalued every dollar in it....

but what remains is indeed a problem.

It was never sustainable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_May_Fuller
Ida May Fuller (September 6, 1874 – January 1975) was the first American to receive a monthly benefit Social Security check. She received the check, amounting to $22.54, on January 31, 1940.

Fuller was born on a farm outside Ludlow, Vermont. She spent most of her life in Ludlow, working as a legal secretary, but lived with her niece in Brattleboro, Vermont, during her last eight years. She retired in 1939, having paid just three years of payroll taxes. She received monthly Social Security checks until her death in 1975 at age 100. By the time of her death, Fuller had collected $22,888.92 from Social Security monthly benefits, compared to her contributions of $24.75 to the system.