Billions for billionaires threaten the viability of Social Security for my generation.
Will Congress Raid Social Security Fund for Billionaire Bailout?
If any group of people ever deserved a "bailout" (restitution is more accurate) it is those who have paid into the Social Security Trust Fund only to have the federal government loot and spend every dime of their hard-earned contributions.
We know that Congress takes the “how can I be overdrawn when I still have checks” approach to federal spending but it must measure what funds are needed to meet its obligations to Social Security and Medicare recipients. This needs to be done before another dime of taxpayer funds is thrown into yet another bailout spending binge.
In Fiscal Year 2008 alone, experts estimate that $209 billion will be borrowed from Social Security and spent on other unrelated federal programs.
At the end of January 2008, the federal government owed the Social Security Trust Fund (old age and disability) a total of more than $2.258 trillion-and this amount keeps going up every month.
Now the trust fund may be used to finance the massive bailouts of the billionaires who run the banks and car companies.
The crash comes in 2017 when the amount collected in payroll taxes will NOT be enough to pay full Social Security benefits. Instead of real assets on which to draw, the Trust Fund will contain only meaningless IOUs from the government to itself.
www.traditionalvalues.org 12/8/08
We can't trust the government to reliably disperse bailout funds. Accountability is lacking. The first billions have already been reallocated and mistakes confessed. I don't know about you, but when I'm ready to retire, the thought of an inept fat-cat CEO living it up on our $10 million while there's nothing left in S.S. to even buy Big Macs for the elderly just doesn't sit well.
I'm opposed to all big-company bailouts.
