I just had a brilliant revelation about Social Security and Immigration!!!

[antigone382]

Warning: this is grossly oversimplified, completely lacking in any actual information to back it up, and intended mostly for sh!ts and giggles.


So RWers are always talking about how we can't afford Social Security right? And the reason we can't afford it, supposedly, is because the Baby Boomers are beginning to retire and cash in, and since they didn't have as many kids, now there aren't enough people in the workforce to support the system (don't forget that the reason they didn't have enough kids was because evil feminazis convinced women to sell their uteruses to Satan in order to have careers.)

So we have an unbalanced aging Americans/working-age Americans ratio, right?--I have no idea about the numbers so don't ask me to back it up.

What's the obvious solution? Bring in more working-age people.

Where do we get them? From other countries!

Immigrants come here primarily for what they consider to be the great job opportunities. Often they bring along large families that will help supply a workforce for future generations. Some people (read: ignorant freepers) claim that all immigrants do is steal jobs from "real" Americans (to be a real American, you have to be the grandchild of one of the immigrants who came here and killed some Native Americans, instead of just stealing their jobs). That isn't really logical, though, because each immigrant brings along not only his or her ability to work, but also the needs he or she has (food, clothing, housing, transportation, education, medical care, etc.) which will create jobs for other people.

Some people (read: even ignorant-er freepers) also claim that immigrants are bad because they don't pay taxes and contribute to the system like the real-American-sons-and-daughters-of-murderous-immigrants-not-just-job-stealing-ones (I guess the sales taxes that repubs love don't count as real taxes). But if we make it easier for them to get naturalized, I have no doubt many of them--if not all of them--would jump at the chance to be legal citizens of the U.S. Then they would be able to get better jobs with better wages, and they *would* pay taxes, contributing to the needs of social security, Medicare, and other programs like them.

So there you go. With no actual facts or figures whatsoever, I have managed to solve a national crisis.

Next week: how insisting on a decent living-wage worldwide will render the outsourcing of American jobs obsolete.

[wishlist]

1. Illegal aliens pay millions in Soc Security payroll taxes using fake SSnos

Your idea makes sense and many experts have said that SS will stay solvent much longer than predicted because of the young immigrants coming in to the system.

Here is one aspect of what is happening that I saw while doing investigations for the federal govt:

In order to work, many illegals obtain phony Social Security cards with their names printed on them but a SS number that is really someone else's number (because illegals cannot get legitimate Social Security numbers and employers require a Social Security card to hire them) There is a sophisticated forgery operation that makes money off providing the phony SS cards to illegals.

The employers use the phony SS number (that really belongs to someone else, often a child or elderly person) and SS payroll taxes are taken out of the illegals wages. However, the government routinely runs computer matching checks of the names and numbers and when they don't match, the earnings credited are removed from that SS no. but the govt gets to keep the SS payroll tax.

The illegal alien never gets credit and can never draw Social Security based on those earnings. The employers are required to fire them when they find out they are illegal, so the illegal immigrant gets a job somewhere else where they again pay payroll taxes! This is very widespread from what I saw working for a govt agency.

Illegal immigrants who work and spend money pay plenty of taxes and usually get no government benefits whatsoever. Legal immigrants pay plenty of taxes too.

[sandnsea]

5. Yes I think so

I've kind of figured that was the deal for a long time now. That and low wages. Every month or so I post on this board that young people have GOT to invest. It is going to be an investor class and those who serve them society. We can try to work to keep the middle class, but I think young people are wise to hedge their bet. If you've got any extra money at all, you better figure out how to get that money to make you money, or you're going to be miserable beyond belief in 20 years. That's what I think.

[Junkdrawer]

2. re: next week. I always thought Gephardt's International Minimum Wage...

was one of the most progressive ideas I've heard in a long time. Too bad it got so little notice.

[Massacure]

3. I think just raiseing the $90,000 limit to something like $120,000

would work just as easily as letting more people immigrate.

[Tsiyu]

4. What The Hell Are You Smoking?

No, I know you, by golly. And you don't touch anything stronger than a Sour Apple Smirnoff.

But you crack me up.

Or as they say in the hills, "You're KILLIN' me."

:kick:
:kick:

[kittykitty]

6. My international friends who had green cards and worked here had to

pay into Social Security. Many have returned home, gotten married and have families. Not likely to return and collect SS.