“Washington’s legalized Ponzi Schemes”

Al Capone would be proud.

 

                President Lyndon B. Johnson started the “War on Poverty” March 16, 1964. Freedom-choice-cost.blogspot.com, with excerpts from Robert Rector, says that since the beginning of the war on poverty, government has spent $16.7 trillion (in inflation-adjusted 2008 dollars) on means tested welfare which are programs that are targeted exclusively toward poor and low-income Americans. In comparison, all the military wars in U.S. history have cost a total of $6.4 trillion (also in inflated-adjusted 2008 dollars).

Thenewamerican.com, June 2012, by Michael Tennant:  A report from the Cato Institute on the American welfare state by Michael Tanner, who is Cato’s director of health and welfare studies. He is the author of “The Poverty of Welfare: Helping Others in Civil Society.”  Mr. Tanner says, “Despite $12 trillion in federal welfare spending and $3 trillion in state and local government welfare spending over the past 48 years, the poverty rate never fell below 10.5 percent and is at the highest level in nearly a decade, 15.1 percent and climbing.” Tanner goes on to say, “Clearly, we have been doing something wrong.”

Brookesnews.com states that in 2005, $1.058 trillion was spent on the war on poverty on low income families through a bewildering variety of programs, all in the name of fighting poverty and inequality. That’s about seven times the cost of the Iraq war.

“Obama to spend $10.3 trillion on Welfare: Uncovering the Full Cost of Means-Tested Welfare or Aid to the Poor.” This is an Executive Summary, and the title of an article found on heritage.org. The first paragraph of the article says, “Since the beginning of the War on Poverty, government has spent vast sums on welfare or aid to the poor; however, the aggregate cost of this assistance is largely unknown because the spending is fragmented into myriad programs.” According to President Obama’s budget projections, federal and state welfare spending will total $10.3 trillion over the next 10 years (FY 2009 to FY 2018).

It is very evident that we have lost the “War on Poverty.” Since poverty is at an all-time high after trillions of dollars has been spent in the past 40 plus years to reduce or eliminate poverty, one must ask the questions, “Was there ever a war on poverty? Has trillions of taxpayers money been diverted (fragmented) into a myriad of programs so this money could never be traced?  Could it be that we citizens of America have been deceived and our trillions of dollars has been spent on other projects that have nothing to do with reducing or eliminating poverty?” Charles Ponzi would be proud. 

The Social Security act was signed by FDR on August 8, 1935. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937. Monthly benefits started in January 1940. The ones who created Social Security put a back door in it that allows our government to borrow any excess funds from our Social Security Trust Fund, and place this money into the general fund.

Giving our leaders access to our Social Security Trust Fund, which was a big mistake, like asking the foxes to guard our hen house. Our leaders in Washington have drained our Social Security trust fund.

                Two articles in the Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY.) prove my point that our Social Security Trust Fund is empty. Monday, January 14, 2013, “If Congress Refuses, What Bills Get Paid?” In the first paragraph, Obama states, “older Americans might not get their Social Security checks unless there is a deal to raise the nations borrowing limit.” January 16, 2013, “Emotions, Not Details, mark US Budget Talk.” In paragraph 6, it says, “These cuts would hit military and domestic programs hard. But they would spare “entitlements,” the popular but costly programs that include Social Security and Medicare. Both parties say lawmakers soon must confront entitlements.” The top article talks about borrowing money to send out the Social Security benefits. Our Social Security Trust Fund should have approximately $2.6 trillion dollars in it. The only reason Washington would have to borrow money to send out our Social Security benefits is if our Social Security trust fund is empty. The second article calls our Social Security Trust Fund, “an entitlement.” 

Our leaders in Washington are now on a campaign of manipulation, lies, propaganda, and deceit, to convince us senior citizens of America that Social Security is an entitlement program. Once again, our government is taking full advantage of our trust and naiveté. They know due to past experience that telling the American middle class masses something often enough, and long enough, we will start believing it to be the truth. 

Ignorance is not bliss, knowledge is power. Listen up my fellow senior citizens, Social Security is not an entitlement. I’ll say this again; Social Security is not an entitlement, so stop listening to their lies, and start getting informed.

We all pay a tax that comes out of our checks every pay period. It is the Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA), which was created to fund Social Security. Social Security is a pay as you go program which has no effect on our debt. It is Americans taking care of Americans. As I mentioned earlier, our trust fund should have approximately $2.6 trillion dollars in it. The only way Social Security would have an effect on our growing debt, and the only reason our senior citizens who depend on Social Security would be in jeopardy of not receiving their checks, is if our trust fund is empty. If this is the case, then the debt ceiling must be raised so our government can borrow money to send out Social Security benefits.

Fiscal irresponsibility in Washington has put us senior citizens in this position, we did nothing wrong. Our leaders in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, are now desperately trying to cover their derrieres in their efforts to convenience us seniors that Social Security is another entitlement. Why? Because they never had any intension of paying back our $2.6 trillion that they drained out of our Social Security Trust fund. If they are successful in their attempt to convince us seniors that Social Security is just another costly entitlement, and if we continue to roll over and play dead like we are doing, than their next step will be reducing our Social Security benefits. How could they even attempt to pay back our $2.6 trillion dollars that they stole from us…sorry…I meant to say, borrowed from us, when our nation is over $17 trillion dollars in debt? Al Capone would be proud.

Don’t forget, these are our leaders in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, that when writing laws against “Insider Trading,” they omitted themselves from these laws. In November 2011, there were allegations that Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner were involved in insider trading. Nancy Pelosi denied any wrong doing, and she was correct. Our lawmakers omitted themselves from the insider trading laws. This did shine an unwanted light on Washington’s dirty deeds and shady deals, which forced them to create the “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act” (STOCK act) on April 4, 2012. What many don’t know is that on Monday November 15, 2013, during the Boston bombing, with little fanfare, and using a fast-track procedure known as unanimous consent, and with leaders from both sides of the aisle present, President Obama signed a bill reversing big chunks of the Stock Act (The Teeth). The process took only 30 minutes, and there were no debates.