Social Security - Ponzi Scheme for the Rich

[howaboutme]

Limbaugh and others of his ilk often say that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. What they fail to mention is that yes it is a Ponzi scheme, because it was a scheme used by the rich to bilk the average Americans who paid into it, while the wealthy received huge indirect benefits but paid little if anything into it percentage wise.

The Social Security trust surplus was used to fund all types of general budget items totally unrelated to its primary deemed purpose of retirement security, such as huge tax cuts for those of upper income on their dividends, estate taxes, investment income, and the multitudes of reckless wars, corporate welfare, enriching war profiteers, natural disasters. Had it not been used to run the country and benefit the rich, the fund would currently be in far better fiscal shape and the claimed problems would not exist.

The wealthy unfairly benefited from the fund surplus because their income is often untaxed for purposes of social security. It comes from real estate, dividends, carried interest treated as dividends, investments, and other interest, (and not taxed earned income) as do working class people who are required to pay a substantial portion of their income into the fund through social security payroll taxes.

The working class funded it while the investment class bilked it.

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

2. I hope I am still alive and coherent when Limpballs and his ilk get what they deserve...

I really, really want to dance, jump up and down and have a few beers to celebrate.

[mediaman007]

3. Including willing and unwilling senators and congressmen/women in Washington!

[walldude]

4. Yeah if you are a simplistic dolt without a brain in your head you could describe

SS as a "ponzi scheme". It does seem familiar because the current generation is paying for the previous generations SS. But it was fucking designed that way so Americans could start receiving benefits right away when the program was started.

Rush and his ilk, their problem is they think everyone is just like them. A lying immoral piece of shit that would steal grandma's SS check if they could. Sorry Rush, there is nothing wrong with SS except that you and your buddies can't steal from it. If you think I would rather trust a lying, child molesting, thieving piece of shit like you with my money over the Government you are out of your fucking mind.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. If Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, then what do they call any type of insurance?

[howaboutme]

7. My point in case it was not clear

was that now that the surplus (insurance reserves) have been spent (borrowed) by our politicians, and much of it was used towards the daily costs of running our nation, waging war, and giving big tax cuts to the rich that contributed little or nothing to the fund, that "they" now want to reduce the insurance policy payout to those who paid the biggest percent share into it.

"They" claim that the intended beneficiaries have somehow overly benefited and scammed the system when in fact it was those in the wealthiest segment who benefited from the surpluses in the system as they paid little in payroll tax revenue.

It was the same capitalist elite segment that pushed for globalization and destruction of our industrial economy through free trade that is at the root cause of wage destruction and tax revenue shortfalls. If average Americans are earning far less then tax revenue will be far less all while the super rich marginal tax rate went down from 70% to 35% and most of that is hidden. Americans always believed that future generations would always do better, and pay higher taxes.

[Festivito]

6. It would be if you could take your investment when you wish, not when scheduled.

Or, if you pull the profits during the collection times, which is what Rush and Republicans want to do by NOT PAYING BACK the money borrowed over the last many years, in that destroying the "full faith and credit" of the United States.

As SS stands, it's just a good business model of insurance.

Under Rush's view, insurance companies are Ponzi schemes. He won't say that, they help pay him thirty pieces of silver at a time.