Comments for Is Declining Faith in Social Security Due to the Recession or Peter Peterson? at http://www.cepr.net , comment 1 to 12 out of 12 comments http://www.cepr.net Sun, 19 May 2013 17:38:22 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-5706 Thank you for sharing your admin would get ready a severely beneficial write-up I congratulate. - ugg ssalefw Tue, 07 Dec 2010 20:16:21 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1611 Petie is just trying to distract the American people, so we don't start talking about taxing the billionaire hedge funds that have plundered all of our pension funds,401k's, and IRA's, etc. The worst that can happen is that we will have to be wage slaves until we die. In the mean time the depredation continues unabated. This conversation always comes to the surface as a precursor to a new war. I suppose it will be Iran next. - Richard Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:41:13 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1609 Peter Peterson is the most pernicious demagogue this country has ever seen - and he should be treated as such: he should be welcomed nowhere and confronted everywhere. Social Security is the most important democratic Institution our Republic has: it is money for The People and it is funded by The People. Nothing could be simpler and clearer than that. It is also probably the only democratic institution we have left. Congress is bought and paid for by corporations and oligarchs; the Supreme Court treats the Fourteenth Amendment like it is a Bill of Rights for corporations; Dick Cheney-in retirement - has more influence than Obama; nothing can be said that could capture how out of bounds our military is right now, and that looks like it is irreversible too -- and the press? The issue of SS is more than just retirement money. What are Petersons motives? What is the end game? It's a zero sum end game, where the last vestige of political power still held by The People in Social Security is taken away from them by greedy power grabbing liars who don't even pay into it! - Union Member Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:55:06 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1608 The reason fewer people expect to receive their SS benefits is because they've been told to expect less from SS security in the future - if anything at all. Some of them blame the Republicans for this assault on SS and some of them blame Obama. But everyone will lay blame somewhere, because everyone wants to be able to collect benefits when the time comes for them to do so. I've decided that Obama feels like SS reform will be his "Nixon to China" moment in history. I think it will guarantee his administration lives in infamy. - Queen of Sheba Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:49:48 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1607 Capital Munch is correct. I wanted to comment on this myself. It was supremely offensive. Every single Senator and representative should be fired for this. America crapping on itself. Unforgivable. - vorpal Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:20:52 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1605 It doesn't help that each American's Annual Social Security Statement contains some (intentionally) scary language. For example, on the cover page it states "the Social Security system is facing serious financial problems, and action is needed soon to make sure the system will be sound when today's young workers are ready for retirement." It goes on: "In 2017 we will begin paying more in benefits than we collect in taxes. Without changes, by 2041 the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted and there will be enough money to pay only about 78 cents for each dollar of scheduled benefits." On page 2, right by where it tells you what your monthly benefit will be, it says in bold: "The law governing benefit amounts may change because, by 2041, the payroll taxes will be enough to pay only about 78 percent of scheduled benefits." When SS is in your face like this every year, people can't help but be scared. - Capital Munch Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:28:28 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1604 The actual FACTS about Social Security are quite simple. At the peak of baby boomer retirement, inflows (from FICA taxes) will cover approx 75% of outflows (benefit checks). Thus the shortfall that must be made up is about 25%. If people want to worry about something, I'm not sure why they're worrying that "there won't be [b]anything[/b] left in SS for me" as opposed to "how do we make up the shortfall". The answer is pretty straightforward. Some combination of: raise the retirement age by a year or two, change the way COLAs are indexed (e.g., from CPI-w to CPI-u), raise the ceiling on wages subject to FICA taxation by $10k or so. That would essentially fix the problem forever, and we could even eventually cut the tax and increase the benefit once we got over the baby boomer demographic hump. I find it shocking that the Chicken Little alarmists don't get called out more frequently. - RueTheDay Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:53:00 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1603 They did mention further down that people are confused about the prospects of SS funding over time. But USAT failed to connect the dots and explain why people were confused, or whether the media had a role in that problem or the solution. - Mike Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:29:18 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1602 And the world has yet another reason for laughing at America and saying, "There they go again, proving they have more money than brains". - Tyrone Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:33:11 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1594 Says Alan Simpson: “Ah shucks mam, I’m just a simple guy from the little state of Wyoming “ Substitute: Bill Clinton, Arkansas Same old hucksters shuffling the cards for Three Card Monty. As in every shell game, the hand is always quicker than the eye - Scott ffolliott Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:12:30 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1593 It's deja vu all over again: having been released into the workforce in 1981 all these wailings and rending of garments about Social Security have a familiar ring. Part of it is the recession. In many respects the economy now is worse than the early 80s and it took years to get people to feel a little better about their prospects (but remember people in the rust belt never did pull out of it). So my vote is it's the recession. Who gives a flying $%#@ about some a$$hole with a billion dollars to flush down the toilet. - jammu Tue, 20 Jul 2010 04:04:15 +0100 http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/is-declining-faith-in-social-security-due-to-the-recession-or-peter-peterson#comment-1586 Cutting Social Security to fund National Security programs has become a no-brainer. According to the new investigative report by the Washington Post, since 9-11: [quote]... 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in about 10,000 locations across the United States[/quote] where these organizations are staffed by 854,000 people across the country with top-secret security clearance. Spending on National Security long ago exhibited negative net benefits at the margin due to gross incompetence, fraud and turf wars, resulting in less security for each dollar spent. However, the 854,000 strong National Security staff also know Social Security is now even a greater threat to National Security than National Security itself, but can't tell the others because it's top secret, so they've sacrificed themselves into stoic patriotic silence as they carry on with under funded staff and other resources. If you can't support their heroic spokesperson Pete Peterson with a donation, at least agree to have a hefty automatic deduction from your SS benefits sent to support these brave 854,000 individuals, who can't speak out on behalf of themselves and their families. Save National Security now, because if you don't Social Security won't matter. - izzatzo Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:04:52 +0100