Raise the Age for Social Security and Medicare

Should the age for social security and Medicare be raised in order to take care of the deficit?  Right now, anyone can retire and draw social security at sixty-two, and receive Medicare at sixty-five.  You say we have that right because we paid into these entitlements (I don’t understand why they’re called entitlements) for forty, fifty years, or more.  We’re still paying into Medicare every month as the money is being taken out of social security checks from retirees.

I'm going to focus on social security because this topic is too huge to talk about along with Medicare.  Next week, I'll talk about Medicare.  This topic causes a lot of ill will among young and old, but it's got to be addressed. 

Okay, here goes my feeble attempt to throw some light on this subject to help everyone understand Social Security.  We all pay into social security with our FICA taxes taken monthly, biweekly or weekly.  This money goes into an interest bearing trust fund.  Social security has it's own budget.

At one time the social security trust fund had 2.6 trillion in it paid through payroll taxes.  Since 1982 social security has had excesses from $89 million to $190 million, all loaned to the government.  By 2020, the government will be in debt to social security by 3.1 trillion.  Now, that's huge. 

By law, social security surpluses must be loaned to the federal government, a requirement established in the original Social Security act of 1935. (I didn't know that, did you?)  The federal government is legally required to pay back this money to the social security program with interest, and it supposedly has done so.  (I would like to see the records.)  This money becomes part of the national debt. 

As of December 31, 2011, the U.S. Government owed $2, 679 billion to the trust fund (part of our national debt).  This is the latest information I could find.  There is a lot of information out there, and it's possible I missed something more recent. 

Here are my information sources:  Social Security Trust Fund - Forbes magazine contributor, Merrill Matthews - 7-13-11; Business Finance and Law by Luann PothuisjeODell - a year ago; Just Facts, a resource for independent thinkers by James D. Agresti and Stephen F. Cardone - January 27, 2011, revised 1-12-13.  http://www.justfacts.com/socialsecurity.asp

I welcome all comments, but there will be no attacks here.  This is the time for a healthy discussion on social security, and we all need to know what is going on. 

Thank you for joining in this discussion, and I'll see you next Sunday.  Have a great week.

 

Sandra K. Marshall

Should Social Security be considered an Entitlement?

Hi Everyone,

I don’t know about you, but for months I’ve been listening to the politicians talking about Social Security being an entitlement program. Its made me furious. I started paying into Social Security at sixteen and have paid into it ever since.  Of course, I’m entitled to Social Security benefits, but the politicians make the word entitlement sound like a dirty word.  They try to make everyone believe the people who draw entitlements are free loaders and not responsible hard working folks.

It’s no wonder seniors are upset by their elected officials.  Below is a definition of entitlement.

Definition of entitlement by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary:  1a: the state or condition of being entitled: Right  b: a right to benefits specified by law or contract  2: a government program providing benefits to members of a specified group; also : funds supporting or distributed by such a program.

Okay, so Social Security is an entitlement, so why is the word being smeared and used in such condescension? Below is a little history about how Social Security was started.

The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940.

Medicare was passed into law on July 30, 1965 but beneficiaries were first able to sign-up for the program on July 1, 1966.

Under the 1935 law, what we now think of as Social Security only paid retirement benefits to the primary worker. A 1939 change in the law added survivors’ benefits and benefits for the retiree's spouse and children. In 1956 disability benefits were added.

Keep in mind, however, that the Social Security Act itself was much broader than just the program which today we commonly describe as "Social Security." The original 1935 law contained the first national unemployment compensation program, aid to the states for various health and welfare programs, and the Aid to Dependent Children program. (Full text of the 1935 law.)

Social security earns interest.  By law, the assets of the Social Security program must be invested in securities guaranteed as to both principal and interest. The Trust Funds hold a mix of short-term and long-term government bonds. The Trust Funds can hold both regular Treasury securities and "special obligation" securities issued only to federal trust funds. In practice, most of the securities in the Social Security Trust Funds are of the "special obligation" type. (See additional explanation from SSA's Office of the Actuary.)

The Trust Funds earn interest which is set at the average market yield on long-term Treasury securities. Interest earnings on the invested assets of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds were $55.5 billion in calendar year 1999. This represented an effective annual interest rate of 6.9 percent.

The Trust Funds have earned interest in every year since the program began. More detailed information on the Trust Fund investments can be found in the Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees and on the Actuary's web pages concerning the Investment Transactions and Investment Holdings of the Trust Funds.

Much more information can be found at: http://www.ssa.gov/history/hfaq.html

Yes, Social Security is an entitlement program.  It covers a huge amount of programs under its umbrella.  Should there be some cuts?  I’m not going to answer that question because I don’t know.  No one can afford cuts, but something has to be done.  I do believe our government should stop using Social Security for every program they can come up with.  In my opinion, social security and Medicare should not include welfare and some other entitlements under its umbrella. 

I’m not against helping people, but I just think welfare should be under some other program.  What do you think about our social security?  Frankly, I don’t think social security is the problem.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you all next week. 

Sandy

http://www.skaymarshall.com

Do You Ever Think of the Homeless?

These are the people we see shuffling along the streets with backpacks, standing in doorways out of the rain, wind or snow. We see them under bridges, or standing with a sign on the bridge asking to work for food, or for donations. Who are these people?

Do you shun these people when they come near you to ask for help or to tell you their stories because they are dirty and ill-kept? In the winter time, they have layers of clothing and hover near any place that offers heat.

Do you think they are bums too lazy to work? Or do you think they are alcoholics or druggies trying to get money for their habit. Or do you think they make a living by being a panhandler? Well, in some cases you are right, but they all need help.

I’m passionate on this subject of the homeless. I feel so sad when I see these people on the streets with their backpacks. Many of them are old, or look old. Some are young, and I’ve often wondered why they can’t work.

Who are these homeless people out there? Except for the grace of God it could be you or me. Let me tell you what I know and what I’ve observed.

There are veterans who end up on the street. I read about an air force vet, a pipe fitter for twenty years until he lost his job a few months ago, and then his apartment. An army vet, a construction worker who got hurt and landed on the street while waiting 18 months for Social Security disability to be approved. There are numerous veterans who aren’t getting the help they need every day, and they are ending up on the streets.

The two vets I mentioned above plus others were in Arizona in a homeless shelter. One night someone’s shoes were stolen off their feet while sleeping. After that the vets decided to work together to do something about it, and the theft stopped. That shows you they weren’t worthless, but just men down on their luck.

I know another example of a homeless man, and I was very close to his sister. My friend has a brother who is mentally ill. His family tries to help him, but when he gets off his meds, he wonders off and they will not hear from him for a year or so. Every now and then, he’ll remember them and get in touch. They clean him up and find him a place to live, but he goes off his meds, he takes off. They worry about him out there heaven only knows where, but they can’t make him take his meds.

Even here in Kansas City, we have a multitude of homeless and poor. I help at our church, The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in the downtown area once a month helping to feed the homeless. There are also the poor who come to eat, too, that means they have a place to live, but not always enough money to buy food.

Once again, I ask you who are these people. Read on, and I’ll tell you. A few years, I visited with a lady named Cathy at one of our luncheons, and she told me she had once had a good job with a big company here in our city. I don’t remember the exact circumstances now, but she quit taking the medication she needed, and eventually lost her job and everything she had. She ended up living on the street. I was appalled by what happened to her, and I told several people in the church about her. Eventually, this lady was helped off the street.

This past winter, I started seeing a man whom I just knew that if he was homeless he shouldn’t be. He was dressed as if he was going on a job interview. The man sat alone, and although I tried to strike up a conversation with him going through the line for his food, he kept his head and wouldn’t look at me or answer. I realized it was shame preventing him from looking at anyone, and I wondered what caused his circumstances as I wonder about all of them. This summer, he’s not a loner. There are people he sits with and talks to now.

There have been times when I’ve seen whole families come in to eat at our church. Some are transient, some live out of vehicles, and some may have a home but not enough to eat. Many seniors even if they aren’t homeless, barely have enough to eat, and most of them have to decide if they want to eat or take the medicine they need to live. Some of them end up on the street because they can’t afford the taxes on their homes.

There’s another church close to mine who feeds the homeless Monday through Friday, and there are places like City Union Mission and numerous others where the homeless can get food and even a place to live temporarily. It’s not enough. All of these places are filled and overflowing, and they depend on donations from people like you and me, or businesses.

The Harvesters donate food from their pantry to our church, but this past winter they had none to share with us because there were so many people who needed help. Some of the other businesses around the city chipped in with pizza, chicken nuggets, salad fixings, soup, etc. Because of the economy and loss of jobs, there are more people than ever that need help from organizations like the Salvation Army and food pantries.

I didn’t mean for this post to turn into a fund raiser, but can you imagine how much help $1.00 from everyone who has it could make. People and the organizations who help them need our help.

Thanks for reading my blog. I could say more, but I’ll leave it for another day.


Until next week,

Sandy