Sam Weaver
Social Security facts and myths
By Sam Weaver
Do You believe that the Social Security program was designed to help you as an individual citizen? Do you believe that it is a good program for both you and for the nation as a whole?
Let's look at it.
The Social Security program was designed and implemented either by decent people with good intentions who had absolutely no concept of economics and/or Liberty, or it was developed and enacted by evil people whose aim was social justice and statism. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the ideas of social justice and statism are rooted in Marxism and other forms of tyranny and control. Either way, it is bad for responsible citizens and disastrous for America.
Social Security was imposed upon Americans at a time when the faith of Americans in their financial institutions had been all but destroyed. Never mind that the failing of those institutions was caused by Federal ("Progressive") policies (e.g., the Federal Reserve Act, the Sixteenth Amendment, protectionism, etc.)!
Before the crash of 29 October 1929, responsible Americans had always set aside a portion of their earnings not only to save for "a rainy day"; not only to sustain themselves in their old age, but also to pass on a part of their wealth to their children. After the Crash, countless Americans lost most of their savings, or knew someone who lost everything. Americans were open to a federal program that promised economic security in their old age.
"Never let a serious crisis go to waste...It's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." This quote is from Rohm Emanuel, President Obama's Chief of Staff. But it was an idea very close to the heart of the statists ("Progressives") in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administrations of the 1930's!
Create a crisis. Exploit the crisis. Get as many people dependent upon the state as possible.
Social Security punishes responsible Americans. It coercibly takes a portion of every paycheck. Since its inception, the rate of return on "investments" in Social Security has never been above 2 percent. When you die, all of your "investments" in Social Security belong not to your heirs, but to the government. Responsible (moral, educated and informed) Americans can easily get a much higher rate of return on their investments over their lifetimes by other means (especially if the government and the Fed would get out of the way altogether!). And they can pass those rewards on to their kids and grandkids!
"But, Weaver, you insensitive jerk! You know that many if not most Americans are not responsible. They are not smart enough to invest their earnings wisely. They need a safety net. They require some federal programs to keep them out of abject poverty." If you believe this, then you are an elitist; or, you have fallen for the Big Lie of the statist and the "Progressive." You do not understand Liberty. You cannot comprehend the American Ideal and you have rejected the Source of the American Ideal — the Source of Liberty.
Liberty requires — demands! — responsibility among the citizens (especially among the electorate!). On the other hand, statism (Marxism, totalitarianism, elitism, modern liberalism, "Progressivism") demands dependence, submission and/or obedience of the people to the state (i.e., central government).
Federal programs (including Social Security) forcibly confiscate (rob, steal) wealth from working Americans and redistribute that wealth to Americans who are not working. Federal programs (including Social Security) create both groups/"classes" of citizens who depend upon those programs and voting blocs who keep those politicians in power who will protect, preserve and/or enhance those programs. [NOTE: Have you ever stopped to consider how this is a gross violation of both the 8th and the 10th Commandments?]
All federal "domestic" policies and programs are bad for responsible individual citizens. They lead only to dependence, irresponsibility and control of, by and for politicians and bureaucrats who hold power. They defy the very idea of Liberty. They flout the principles of limited and enumerated powers of the federal (national) government enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of ensuring individual human liberty.
Social Security is bad for responsible, individual citizens. Is it good, overall, for America?
Last year, Social Security had an unfunded liability of $17.5 trillion. That's $17, 500,000,000,000.00. That is about $3 trillion more than the value of all the goods and services that America is expected to produce this year. Forget state and local governments; if the federal government alone took 100% of the income of every American this year, it would still fall short by a wide margin of making Social Security sound and solvent for the next generations. Then there is Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and all the other federal programs; not to mention pensions and benefits for federal, state and local government politicians, bureaucrats and employees.
This is absolutely unsustainable! Even if we completely abolish all other federal domestic programs and preserve Social Security as it exists today, a combination of one or more of the following must occur: 1) Government will print more and more money. The result will be hyperinflation. 2) Taxes will be increased drastically on everyone and every entity that earns money — that produces goods and/or services. Economic production and investment will slow to a crawl or cease all but entirely. Then where will the tax revenues come from? 3) Massive, unsustainable debt will be passed on to the next generations. 4) China and other powers who own our debt will begin converting that debt into assets. They will not only own America, they will control America!
Social Security and, especially, all other federal domestic policies and programs are bad for you and for America. They steal your wealth if you are responsible, and they mire you in dependence to the state if you are irresponsible. In the latter case, they give you every incentive to remain irresponsible rather than allowing you the inspiration — even the opportunity — to seek a better life for yourself and your family. All federal domestic policies and programs violate the very purpose and intent of the U.S. Constitution. They obfuscate the essential idea of Liberty and the Source of Liberty. They make a mockery of common sense.
Sharron Angle is the Republican candidate who will challenge Sen. Harry Reid (D NV) for his U.S. Senate seat in November. Angle is being called "extreme" or "extremist" by her opponents and by liberal pundits because she favors such things as abolishing the federal Department of Education and privatizing Social Security.
Since when has loving individual Liberty and despising top-down control by bureaucrats been considered "extreme" in the United States of America? Since when did a desire to follow both the U.S. Constitution and common sense become an "extremist" notion?
I'll take a stab at answering these questions in my next column.
Sam's favorite links:
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew
http://www.tsowell.com
http://patriotpost.us
http://www.heritage.org
© Sam Weaver
August 31, 2010
Do You believe that the Social Security program was designed to help you as an individual citizen? Do you believe that it is a good program for both you and for the nation as a whole?
Let's look at it.
The Social Security program was designed and implemented either by decent people with good intentions who had absolutely no concept of economics and/or Liberty, or it was developed and enacted by evil people whose aim was social justice and statism. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the ideas of social justice and statism are rooted in Marxism and other forms of tyranny and control. Either way, it is bad for responsible citizens and disastrous for America.
Social Security was imposed upon Americans at a time when the faith of Americans in their financial institutions had been all but destroyed. Never mind that the failing of those institutions was caused by Federal ("Progressive") policies (e.g., the Federal Reserve Act, the Sixteenth Amendment, protectionism, etc.)!
Before the crash of 29 October 1929, responsible Americans had always set aside a portion of their earnings not only to save for "a rainy day"; not only to sustain themselves in their old age, but also to pass on a part of their wealth to their children. After the Crash, countless Americans lost most of their savings, or knew someone who lost everything. Americans were open to a federal program that promised economic security in their old age.
"Never let a serious crisis go to waste...It's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." This quote is from Rohm Emanuel, President Obama's Chief of Staff. But it was an idea very close to the heart of the statists ("Progressives") in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administrations of the 1930's!
Create a crisis. Exploit the crisis. Get as many people dependent upon the state as possible.
Social Security punishes responsible Americans. It coercibly takes a portion of every paycheck. Since its inception, the rate of return on "investments" in Social Security has never been above 2 percent. When you die, all of your "investments" in Social Security belong not to your heirs, but to the government. Responsible (moral, educated and informed) Americans can easily get a much higher rate of return on their investments over their lifetimes by other means (especially if the government and the Fed would get out of the way altogether!). And they can pass those rewards on to their kids and grandkids!
"But, Weaver, you insensitive jerk! You know that many if not most Americans are not responsible. They are not smart enough to invest their earnings wisely. They need a safety net. They require some federal programs to keep them out of abject poverty." If you believe this, then you are an elitist; or, you have fallen for the Big Lie of the statist and the "Progressive." You do not understand Liberty. You cannot comprehend the American Ideal and you have rejected the Source of the American Ideal — the Source of Liberty.
Liberty requires — demands! — responsibility among the citizens (especially among the electorate!). On the other hand, statism (Marxism, totalitarianism, elitism, modern liberalism, "Progressivism") demands dependence, submission and/or obedience of the people to the state (i.e., central government).
Federal programs (including Social Security) forcibly confiscate (rob, steal) wealth from working Americans and redistribute that wealth to Americans who are not working. Federal programs (including Social Security) create both groups/"classes" of citizens who depend upon those programs and voting blocs who keep those politicians in power who will protect, preserve and/or enhance those programs. [NOTE: Have you ever stopped to consider how this is a gross violation of both the 8th and the 10th Commandments?]
All federal "domestic" policies and programs are bad for responsible individual citizens. They lead only to dependence, irresponsibility and control of, by and for politicians and bureaucrats who hold power. They defy the very idea of Liberty. They flout the principles of limited and enumerated powers of the federal (national) government enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for the purpose of ensuring individual human liberty.
Social Security is bad for responsible, individual citizens. Is it good, overall, for America?
Last year, Social Security had an unfunded liability of $17.5 trillion. That's $17, 500,000,000,000.00. That is about $3 trillion more than the value of all the goods and services that America is expected to produce this year. Forget state and local governments; if the federal government alone took 100% of the income of every American this year, it would still fall short by a wide margin of making Social Security sound and solvent for the next generations. Then there is Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, and all the other federal programs; not to mention pensions and benefits for federal, state and local government politicians, bureaucrats and employees.
This is absolutely unsustainable! Even if we completely abolish all other federal domestic programs and preserve Social Security as it exists today, a combination of one or more of the following must occur: 1) Government will print more and more money. The result will be hyperinflation. 2) Taxes will be increased drastically on everyone and every entity that earns money — that produces goods and/or services. Economic production and investment will slow to a crawl or cease all but entirely. Then where will the tax revenues come from? 3) Massive, unsustainable debt will be passed on to the next generations. 4) China and other powers who own our debt will begin converting that debt into assets. They will not only own America, they will control America!
Social Security and, especially, all other federal domestic policies and programs are bad for you and for America. They steal your wealth if you are responsible, and they mire you in dependence to the state if you are irresponsible. In the latter case, they give you every incentive to remain irresponsible rather than allowing you the inspiration — even the opportunity — to seek a better life for yourself and your family. All federal domestic policies and programs violate the very purpose and intent of the U.S. Constitution. They obfuscate the essential idea of Liberty and the Source of Liberty. They make a mockery of common sense.
Sharron Angle is the Republican candidate who will challenge Sen. Harry Reid (D NV) for his U.S. Senate seat in November. Angle is being called "extreme" or "extremist" by her opponents and by liberal pundits because she favors such things as abolishing the federal Department of Education and privatizing Social Security.
Since when has loving individual Liberty and despising top-down control by bureaucrats been considered "extreme" in the United States of America? Since when did a desire to follow both the U.S. Constitution and common sense become an "extremist" notion?
I'll take a stab at answering these questions in my next column.
Sam's favorite links:
http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew
http://www.tsowell.com
http://patriotpost.us
http://www.heritage.org
© Sam Weaver
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(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
