Social Security Disability Seen Insolvent Unless Congress Votes

[HiPointDem]

58. Uh, no, they're not. SS was set up as a pay-go program. Money to pay retirees doesn't come from

the TF, but from current tax receipts. It's surplus collections that are put into the TF, and before Reagan, it never contained more than the equivalent of a year's receipts, and often less.

Today it contains something like 5 years' worth.

The original social security legislation REQUIRED that all surplus collections be borrowed into the general fund.

To some extent, it's true that "we" are being taxed twice to provide SS (though many low-income workers pay minimal income taxes).

That's why building up a huge surplus in the TF is so stupid. As workers, we pay more than is needed to fund the program. The remainder is borrowed into the general fund, the super-rich are given tax breaks, then when it comes time to repay the gov't pleads poverty and tries to figure out ways to cut promised benefits or make us pay more.

Returning to the original pay-go design and avoiding all calls to collect even MORE SS surplus tax avoids that problem.

The top 10% pays the majority of income taxes. They also got the majority of the bush tax cuts. They will repay the majority of the SS RF borrowing -- but they don't want to.

And a lot of them didn't pay SS taxes in the first place, because they make their money off capital, not from wages.