Did the federal government raid on social security?
The fact, though, is that very little of the "government raid on Social Security" theory holds water. Image source: Getty Images. About the only shred of fact in this thesis is that the federal government included Social Security in the federal budget beginning in fiscal year 1999.
Are Social Security and Medicare imperiled by Rick Scott’s plan?
Claims that Social Security and Medicare are imperiled are common during election campaigns. The DSCC attack goes too far in framing Scott’s idea as a broadly supported death sentence for Medicare and Social Security. The first thing to know is that Scott’s plan, released Feb. 22, was proposed by him — not a group of Senate Republicans.
Did Rick Scott call for Medicare and Medicaid to be 'phased out'?
As the New York Times reported: "Taken literally, that would leave the fate of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to the whims of a Congress that rarely passes anything so expansive." As PolitiFact Wisconsin reported, Scott’s statement was generic and did not directly call for the phasing out of either program.
Did Congress raid social security to fund pork barrel projects?
Does Congress raid Social Security? (MoneyWatch) Since we're in political sound-bite season, let's address a misconception that's often repeated by pundits and political candidates alike: Congress raided the Social Security trust fund and spent it on their own pork-barrel projects.
Which president tapped into Social Security?
The taxation of Social Security began in 1984 following passage of a set of Amendments in 1983, which were signed into law by President Reagan in April 1983.
Who has power over Social Security?
The new legislation officially separates the Social Security Administration (SSA) horn the Department of Health and Human Services (HBS), effective March 3 1, 1995, and restores the SSA to its original status as an independent Federal agency. (Since 1939, SSA has operated under the direction of a “parent” agency.)
How much has Congress borrowed from Social Security?
The total amount borrowed was $17.5 billion.
Has the federal government borrowed from Social Security?
Myth #5: The government raids Social Security to pay for other programs. The facts: The two trust funds that pay out Social Security benefits — one for retirees and their survivors, the other for people with disabilities — have never been part of the federal government's general fund.
Can the President remove Social Security?
The President may remove the Commissioner of Social Security at will notwithstanding the statutory limitation on removal in 42 U.S.C. § 902(a)(3). The conclusion that the removal restriction is constitutionally unenforceable does not affect the validity of the remainder of the statute.
Does Congress control Social Security?
Q5: Is it true that members of Congress do not have to pay into Social Security? A: No, it is not true. All members of Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political appointees, were covered under the Social Security program starting in January 1984.
How much does the federal government owe the Social Security fund?
$2.908 trillionAs of 2021, the Trust Fund contained (or alternatively, was owed) $2.908 trillion The Trust Fund is required by law to be invested in non-marketable securities issued and guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the federal government.
What did Ronald Reagan do to Social Security?
In 1981, Reagan ordered the Social Security Administration (SSA) to tighten up enforcement of the Disability Amendments Act of 1980, which resulted in more than a million disability beneficiaries having their benefits stopped.
Why is Social Security running out of money?
Over the next ten plus years, the Social Security administration will draw down its reserves as a decreasing number of workers will be paying for an increasing number of beneficiaries. This is due to a decline in the birth rate after the baby boom period that took place right after World War II, from 1946 to 1964.
Why did Reagan tax Social Security?
The 1983 legislation was sold to the public, and to the Congress, as a long-term fix for Social Security. The payroll tax hike was designed to generate large Social Security surpluses for 30 years, which would be set aside to cover the increased cost of paying benefits when the boomers retired.
What Year Will Social Security run out?
Social Security's funds have a new, later-projected depletion date of 2035. How Congress may shore up the program. Social Security's combined trust funds are now projected to be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2035, a full year later than was projected last year.
At what age is Social Security no longer taxed?
At 65 to 67, depending on the year of your birth, you are at full retirement age and can get full Social Security retirement benefits tax-free.
Why is the Social Security program being screwed?
More specifically, a notable percentage of Americans believe that lawmakers threw the program's extra cash into the general fund and paid for fruitless wars with this cash, and now the program is "screwed" because politicians didn't put the money back. If you don't believe me, check out any Social Security post on a major social media platform, ...
When did Social Security get off the budget?
But to be clear, at no point were Social Security dollars conflated with federal dollars. Then, in 1983 under the Reagan administration, the process was set in motion to take Social Security off-budget, once more. This change, which was to be made over many years, was completed by 1990.
What does the Social Security Administration invest in?
The Social Security Administration invests the program's asset reserve s into special-issue bonds and, to a lesser extent, certificates of indebtedness. In turn, the federal government utilizes this cash to fund all types of budget line items. This might include defense spending, but it may also include social programs, education, and healthcare.
Why is Social Security running short on cash?
If you don't believe me, check out any Social Security post on a major social media platform, and I can almost guarantee you'll find comments suggesting that Congress stole Social Security's trillions in excess cash and the only reason the program is running short on cash is because of this "raid." These folks want the money repaid and want Congress to add interest on what they've borrowed.
What would happen if the government had to pay back the bonds?
If the federal government were forced to pay back what's been borrowed, the program would have exactly the same amount of total assets -- $2.9 trillion. The only difference is it'd no longer be receiving an interest payment from the federal government, which would mean more than an $80 billion decline in annual income. That would have a markedly negative impact on the Social Security program.
When did the federal government include Social Security?
About the only shred of fact in this thesis is that the federal government included Social Security in the federal budget beginning in fiscal year 1999. This was done at the request of the President's Commission on Budget Concepts, which found the presentation of federal budgets to be confusing (there were three separate budgets at the time, all of which had separate deficit figures). Presenting the program, which had a history of net cash surpluses, as part of the federal budget made things cleaner and may have also provided a bit of window dressing on the federal deficit. But to be clear, at no point were Social Security dollars conflated with federal dollars.
Was Social Security ever repaid?
Somewhere between Social Security going "on-budget" in 1969 and today, Americans believe the program's spare cash was raided, used to fund wars, and never repaid, leaving seniors high and dry. However, this isn't the case. Here's the truth: Social Security's asset reserves have been borrowed by the federal government, ...
What would happen if the Social Security Trust Fund invested in something other than U.S. bonds?
bonds, what would it invest in and where would the money go? If it invested in corporate stocks or bonds, the money would get spent , as noted above. If it invested in the bonds of state and local governments, the money would also get spent. And if the government owned too large a slice of U.S. corporations' stocks and bonds, you might call it socialism.
Did Congress spend Social Security taxes?
So did Congress spend our Social Security taxes? Of course. They spent this money on all the various operations of the federal government, with a large chunk going to pay for Social Security benefits, Medicare and the military. Some people get worked up when they hear about the obscure projects that they deem to be worthless, but such spending represents a tiny fraction of the overall federal budget.
Did Social Security taxes add up to retirement?
The truth is that in prior years, Social Security taxes collected from workers added up to more than the amount of benefits paid to retirees. This buildup of surplus was intentional -- the government wanted to build a reserve that would cover the benefits of the baby boomers.
Why did Obamacare take money out of Medicare?
By taking funds out of Medicare to pay for new entitlements, Obamacare diverted funds that could have improved the program’s financial soundness and stability. Worse yet, Democrats claimed that these savings would both extend Medicare’s solvency and fund Obamacare.
How much money did Pelosi take from Medicare?
A bill that the Pelosi-led House passed in late June would take $448.2 billion in Medicare savings to fund additional Obamacare subsidies.
Does Medicare improve its financial position?
Not only does that position defy common sense, it improves Medicare’s financial position on paper only . Furthermore, enabling lawmakers in both parties to ignore the issue for another decade simply allows Medicare’s financial problems to fester and grow.
Did Obamacare improve Medicare?
Among the many accounting gimmicks used to pass Obamacare, the biggest one centered on Democrats’s claim that the law genuinely improved Medicare’s solvency. In reality, the law worsened Medicare’s fiscal future.
Did the Democrats take Medicare to pay for Obamacare?
The Democrats Raided Medicare to Pay for Obamacare. You don’t have to take my word for it on this one — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) admitted it herself. In a 2011 interview with CNBC, she said that Democrats “took half a trillion dollars out of Medicare” to fund Obamacare.
When did Social Security get pilfered?
First of all, there's the period between 1968 and 1990, which is believed to be when Congress pilfered America's top social program. What needs to be understood here is that, while Social Security's two trusts (the Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust and Disability Insurance Trust) and its asset reserves were technically "on-budget," funding ...
When did the Reagan administration remove Social Security?
In 1983 , the Reagan administration voted to undo this change and once again remove Social Security from the federal budgeting process. This was done to ensure that changes made to the program are done solely on the merits of the program, and not to balance the federal budget.
Where do Social Security's asset reserves really go?
A Fool since 2010, and a graduate from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Economics, Sean specializes in the healthcare sector and investment planning. You'll often find him writing about Obamacare, marijuana, drug and device development, Social Security, taxes, retirement issues and general macroeconomic topics of interest. Follow @AMCScam
Why is Social Security facing a huge cash shortfall?
One of the more common theories as to why Social Security is facing a huge long-term cash shortfall is that lawmakers in Congress have pilfered cash from the program and never returned it. This idea goes all the way back to 1968, when then-President Lyndon B. Johnson made a change to how the federal budget would be presented.
How much is Social Security shortfall?
According to the latest report from the Social Security Board of Trustees, Social Security is staring down a $13.9 trillion cash shortfall between 2035 and 2093, with the expectation that its $2.9 trillion in asset reserves will be completely exhausted in ...
How long was Social Security on budget?
This means at no point over this 22-year period where Social Security was on-budget did a dime of Social Security income, benefits, or asset reserves get commingled with the federal government's General Fund.
How much interest did Social Security get in 2018?
In 2018, $83 billion in interest income was collected by Social Security. If the folks who believe that Congress stole from Social Security got their way, and the federal government repaid every cent it borrowed, Social Security would have lost out on this $83 billion in interest income in 2018.
Why won't seniors get their Social Security checks?
And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner echoed the president on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday implying that if a budget deal isn’t reached by August 2, seniors might not get their Social Security checks.
Did Social Security account decline during the downturn?
Yes, the accounts likely would have declined when the stock market went down, though not if the reform were structured like three Texas counties did 30 years ago (see here ). But in case you haven’t noticed, Social Security revenues also declined during the economic downturn—because fewer people were working—so that the government is paying out more in benefits than it is taking in, and hence needing additional federal revenues, a fact admitted by Lew.
Does Social Security have a trust fund?
Here’s why: Social Security has a trust fund, and that trust fund is supposed to have $2.6 trillion in it, according to the Social Security trustees . If there are real assets in the trust fund, then Social Security can mail the checks, regardless of what Congress does about the debt limit. President Obama’s budget director, Jack Lew, explained all ...
Is Social Security Trust Fund fully funded?
In other words, the Social Security trust fund contains—nothing.”. Social Security status-quo defenders have assured us for the past 25 years that Social Security is fully funded—for the next 25 years, or 2036. So if there are real assets in the Social Security Trust Fund—$2.6 trillion allegedly—then how could failure to reach a debt-ceiling ...
Is the Social Security Trust Fund backed by the Federal Government?
If the budget crisis has done nothing else, it has exposed the decades-long lie about the solvency of the Social Security trust fund. The trust fund may be backed by the “full faith and credit of the federal government,” as defenders constantly remind us, but if it had real assets the president wouldn’t be talking about seniors missing their checks.