Social Security will celebrate its 88th birthday later this year. The federal program remains similar in most respects to how it functioned when it started.
Sure, there have been some changes along the way. For example, the full retirement age was increased from 65 to 67. Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) used to require congressional action; now they’re automatically applied each year. But the Social Security program of 2023 still looks basically as it did back in 1935.
That perhaps won’t be the case indefinitely. A top Republican wants to make the most dramatic change to Social Security ever.
Image source: Getty Images.
“Modest reforms”
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors Executive Summit in Washington, D.C., last week. During his talk, he addressed the financial issues that federal entitlement programs, including Social Security, present for the U.S. government.
Pence told the audience that a conversation was needed on what to do with the entitlement programs going forward. He stated, “There are modest reforms in entitlements that can be done without disadvantaging anybody at the point of the need.”
The former vice president didn’t elaborate on what those modest reforms might be. However, he did identify one for Social Security that has been proposed in the past.
Pence suggested that the federal government “give younger Americans the ability to take a portion of their Social Security withholdings and put that into a private savings account.” He mentioned that he was on board with former President George W. Bush’s Social Security reform efforts in 2005, which included this idea.
Many would challenge Pence’s description of allowing part of Social Security contributions to go into private savings accounts as being a “modest” reform. The proposal would, without question, be the most significant change to Social Security in its history.
How would this plan work?
Pence didn’t provide many details on his plan to reform Social Security. He said that a foundation he created, Advancing American Freedom, would be working to move some of the entitlement reform ideas forward. However, his comments revealed some aspects of his Social Security plan.
For one thing, Pence doesn’t appear to want to impact current retirees who receive Social Security benefits. He said, “For everyone who has hair the same color as me, nothing is going to change for you.” The former vice president emphasized that his plan was targeted toward younger Americans.
He maintained that allowing individuals to put part of their Social Security contributions into private savings accounts would enable them to receive greater benefits and would cost the federal government less money. Pence said that a private savings account that generated only 2% annually would give the average American twice the level of Social Security retirement benefits that they would receive under the current program.
Such private savings accounts would also be regulated, but Pence didn’t say exactly how. He only noted that the accounts would be overseen by the government. Probably the biggest unanswered question with Pence’s plan is how Social Security can avoid insolvency with some of the contributions no longer going to fund the program.
Slim chance
There’s a lot of speculation that Pence is preparing to run for the GOP presidential nomination. If so, his Social Security plan could be a key part of his presidential campaign. But regardless of Pence’s prospects to win the nomination, the chances that partial privatization of Social Security will actually happen appear to be slim.
Former President George W. Bush’s similar effort was unsuccessful nearly two decades ago. It faced significant opposition from Democrats. A partial privatization plan would probably attract just as much opposition today.
Dramatic changes will likely be required for Social Security to avoid the program becoming insolvent. But there are other changes that Washington is more likely to make — including increasing the payroll tax cap and gradually raising the full retirement age.
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This just lets the wall street thieves get their fingers into the SocSec Money stream.
2008 all over again. Investing in derivatives, etc.
Who is worse; crooks on WallStreet, or crooks in government?
I think it is the Gov’t./ Look the present Ukraine war! How of all that money we are sending to Ukraine ends up in a back pocket here? They were laundering money in Ukraine before the war!
In the last year the Ukrainian parliament gave themselves a 70% raise (with our money) while Zelensky has stopped labor unions from demanding higher wages.
And Biden recently said that money going to Ukraine will support their pensions.
why would the United States be paying pensions in Ukraine?????? This is insanity…Biden is insane to take our hard earned tax dollars and pay pensions in Ukraine…..maddening!
Criminal Biden truly is an evil, very evil, asshole! Needs maximum ass-reaming in prison by his bunk buddy bubba while secret service turn off the cameras for a spell.
They are fighting not us proving our arms weaking Russia and you don’t see that my guess is they are misdirecting aid far less that we do . Covid giveaways to lot of places not authorized
Kenny I might agree with you however, Save for Biden saying “son of a bitch they fired the prosecutor, his words not mine, I cannot find evidence of corruption. Obama’s on people ok’d the Billion Biden held up because they thought Ukraine was not corrupt. Point me to some writings and evidence so I can get on board.
P
wait till their bank records show 20 mil going to 20 shell co s then to the family members its about to hit the fan trouble is Kamala is up next
And, Biden intends to give illegal aliens I.D. cards that would be accepted by TSA, give then money and other benefits, while telling us retirees that the SS fund is in trouble, and payments will be reduced by 2035.
What Is the difference
one is as bad as the other, leaches after all they can get.
Furthermore SS is not an entitlement I paid into it for 50 years! That is my money!!
Right, it is our money. We are “entitled” to it.
Right, it is our money, we are “entitled” to it.
Amen! And the government has been dipping into it for everything inccluding paying off the women the men slept with or sexually harassed. And other such nonsense. Fall short in one of their “private” actions and just take it out of SS! We will never get back what we put into it. These piddly COLA “raises” don’t even make up for the increases in Medicare, let alone cost of living. All BS!!
Amen! It’s a savings plan, not an entitlement, except for the sorry saps our government keeps giving our retirement to. Also, if the government would put back all the money they stole from social security, it would have plenty in it.
I look at SS as an entitlement. It was / is my money to start with and I’m entitled to get it back with interest!!!!!
But the thieving politicians have stolen our money and used it to buy votes for such crap as free cell phones, free food, free everything else for the deadbeats who won’t work and for “breeding sows” that hatch bastard kids for they free money it gets them. Of course, this is how the Democrats buy votes. You and I work for a living, these wortjhless deadbeats vote for a living.
If you saw the list of totally wasteful and needless spending the government does, you would be ready to grab your pitchfork and go empty the US Capital.
Social Security gives money out to the current retirees from the contributions of the now current workers and and the shortfall made up from current income taxes. Eighty years ago, there was a surplus instead of a shortfall. That surplus was “borrowed” for other purposes. But now I suspect that the borrowed money has already been paid back, and the only way to maintain the present payout amounts is to borrow money from your sons, daughters, and grand children’s future, or just print the money. Nether is a good solution. Myself, I suggest limiting the total payout to current retirees to the total pay-in from current workers. And because there may be more people paying into the fund than taking out, there will be a natural pressure on politicians to try to “do the right thing” to please the electorate, including retirees.
Yes.
All the above!
They both have us by the you know what!
They are just 2 different gangs who work together to keep pushing the middle class into poverty.
They’re interchangeable. I am thinking something right now, however, it is completely inappropriate. Imagine 90% of US citizens in a porn video….
That might be kind of fun actually!!!
I think it’s Wall Street. The elite there line their pockets with hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, if you’re talking about government waste programs, well, guess what, it’s still private businesses that line their pockets with out tax dollars.
Yea, and the men and women in control of the purse strings give it to them.
“… it’s still private businesses that line their pockets with out tax dollars..”
… all of which is enabled by government regulations.
Decades ago there was outrage over what the government paid for hammers and toilets.
What the news media missed is that if you or I tried to supply those things to the government at a lower price, we could not, because meeting the incredibly detailed and mostly unnecessary regulations and requirements on even a hammer would cost us tons of money to comply! Big Business is NOT the cause of those problems, though the liberal media would like you to believe that.
Better Solution; Deposit ALL Social Security payment in the SS FUND where it was originally until politicians “borrowed” it to repair the budget Congress could not seen to balance after massive spending.
Many times over the years there was no COLA for seniors, even when Congress voted themselves raises.
The most remarkable change would be take MEDIAIDE and all other so called entitlements out of SS and put those in a charitable category similar to “go fund me!”
Congress STOLE ALMOST THREE BILLION DOLLARS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY!!! SOCIAL SECURITY IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT!!! That’s THE WORKING PEOPLE AND THEIR EMPLOYER’s MONEY!! CONGRESS CAME UP WITH CALLING IT AN ENTITLEMENT SO THEY COULD JUSTIFY ROBBING OUR MONEY!! THE NEED TO PAY BACK OUR MONEY WITH INTEREST! And take it out of the HUGE BUDGET FOR UKRAINE!!! CONGRESSPEOPLE ARE CROOKS!!!
Our government has been hijacked by big business and rich influential people. It no longer represents the people. Social security payment limits should be raised to 750k and people with an gross income of 750 or more can’t collect.
So you want to abolish the current program and fund it with another income tax. Nice, but hell no!!! We Americans were all promised this benefit and those of us paying the max SS taxes into it get the worst investment returns (this is factual). I’m sure you don’t understand how the program is structured in that those who collect the max benefit also paid much more than their fair share into it. But as i said, I don’t expect you to be educated enough to know how the SS system actually works.
What is the matter with you? The best fix for SS is for the Congressional crooks to pay back all the IOU’s they’ve stolen from the working people. Trillions of dollars STOLEN from SS with no intention to pay back the working stiff. Pay it back, do it NOW! We demand our money to be paid back into a SS lock box where the Congressional crooks cannot steal it from us.
If letting younger people take part of their SS money to put into private savings accounts will give them a better return then why are they not just doing it already for every body ? They loan our tax money out all the time and it’s supposed to be paid back with interest how come they show the world how much money the us puts out into the world but they advertise who is paying back the money they got and who is in default they don’t let us do that kind of stuff they will take your cars and house but let foreign country slide all the time and don’t take nothing from them and make it hard on Americans expecting us to live belowe the poverty level while throwing tax dollars to criminals and countries that hate us !
Absolutely! I don’t receive an Entitlement!!! I receive a very small portion of what I paid in.
Barbara, please look at what you paid in and what came back to you. Your SS benefit is likely similar to mine. I am 79 yr old, and I have Already Received SIX times what I paid in from my salary checks. If the employer paid about the same–I’m not sure– then I have gotten three times what was put in. Therefore, my SS income is mainly, simply money the US Government TAKES from the current working people and gives to me simply because I’m a retired person. That can’t be fair. Maybe it is just the government trying to buy votes by taking funds from workers and giving it to non-working people.
Any damn Congressional crook who call SS an “entitlement” needs a good ass-reaming for being so STUPID. We have too many retards in Congress who have no clue about SS. SS is a great program and all the stolen money must be paid back into the system instead of giving it to some corrupt dump like Ukraine.
I agree 100%. Social Security is no entitlement! It is an earned right and a contributary right.
Actually it was Ronald Reagan who “borrowed” 1.7 Trillion $$ out of SS “trust” fund to pay for more tax cuts for the rich.
Who knows what else he did with OUR $$
You should educate yourself on who controlled the House and Senate during President Reagen’s terms in office.
Hint: The Democrats controlled both the House and Senate with the exception of the last two years of Reagen’s terms when the Senate control flipped to the Republicans.
Remember the original rules of SS. It was supposed to be a “lock box” that Congress couldn’t touch.
That went to hell courtesy of the Democrats when they opened the “lock box” and let the government get their filthy hands on it. As I recall, it was LBJ and his Democrat Congress who pulled that hiest.
Incorrect, in 83 years they put $97-Trillion with a T worth ofIOUs into the Trust Fund, and raided it without systemic payback from the General Fund or specific agencies in timesof crisis. About $80T has been raided out of the MEdicare Trust Fund. Some trust. The French do not let their politicians get their hands on the 11 mandated retirement and medical savings accounts, its all invested n the French stock and bond markets. Guess what? The French seniors are the most solvent, while Americans in the industrial world are the most broke. The reform would be to repay the trust funds and freezing all expenditures by the general fund or those agencies owing the trust fund. That fortunately will take awhile. The Congressional Budget Office can inform you of facts and lies. Be wise when you specify how any money is returned. When you get the quantified answers, contact FreedomTVnetworks.com
Thanks
Social Security is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT. The government took that money from me at gunpoint. THEY took it and you owe repayment. WELFARE is an entitlement. Most of those recipients never paid a damn dime into that “fund” … But they never talk about cutting that ENTITLEMENT!!!
It is a transfer payment scheme just like any other welfare system.
It’s called a “pyramid scheme”.
All of the Social security surplus is “invested” in special Treasury bills. However, the rest of it is simply paid out on an ongoing basis. If this sounds like a Ponzi scheme, it is. Legal only because the government is running it.
Well, if that’s an accurate description, it means that SocSec “surplus”, assuming there might ever be any, buys Treasurys as an “investment” and any alleged interest earned has but ONE source.. business and individual tax revenues.
So, it would seem that they’re taking our money, loaning it to themselves at interest rates that WE pay for.
Through the Looking Glass again, kids.
I HAVE suggested that a conversion to something like what Pence described, but with the note that it took scores of years for the hole to be dug, and to think that the damage can be reversed in one President’s term in office is pure insanity.
Contributions should be indexed to inflation Yearly and retirement age should be adjusted for New Workers to their average life expectancy at birth!
When SocSec started, retirement age was 62, and that was pretty close to the average life expectancy, so built right into the original scam was almost a guarantee that virtually nobody would get much, if any, of their contributions back!
I feel this site should have a thumbs up and thumbs down icon so we can show we agree or disagree without comment!
just below your comment, I believe…
Ron, it does. Simply hit the up or down thumb and watch the number go up.
First of all, Congress needs to pay back the huge syms of money that they BROKE THE LAW BY BORROWING FROM IT TWICE !! When the system was set up, it firmly stated,THIS MONEY CANNOT BE BORROWED FROM BY ANYONE, THE CONTRIBUTORS OR ANY BRANCH IF GOVERNMENT. IT IS INTENDED FOR THE ELDERLY TO HAVE A MEANS OF SUPPORT IN THIER OLD AGE . ”
There have been many people that have put into it All THIER lives, but never live long enough to collect one red cent.
Young people should have a savings account , but NOT ONE THE GOVERNMENT CONTROLS !! AND IF THEIR MINEY IS FOING INTO A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT, YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL DAY THAT SOCIAL SECURITY IS EYNNING OUT IF MONEY FOR US OLD FOLKS!!
YOUNG VOTERS, DI NOT FALL FOR THIS, BECAUSE THE MONEY YOU STASH AWAY YOURSELF IS YOURS, WHAT YOU DEPEND ON THE GOVERNMENT TO WATCH FIR YOU , WILL BE THIERS.
OH haaa, they did not borrow this money They stole it and never forget it!
I have at least 3 first cousins an sister who did not live long enough to collect one thin dime from Social Security and yet they paid into it their entire working lives. And with this killer ‘injection’ it’s just another way to make Social Security and Medicare solvent.
Wall Street already owns the printing presses that print the money. They have no need for non existent borrowed social security money that does not exist!
It exists to the point that I can buy gold with it.
So we should keep the current broken program with no ability to deliver benefits now? And which will continually increase the US national debt?
There has to be a middle ground somewhere.
No, If you want to put your savings into government bonds, you will still be able to. Who is more corrupt, the government or private companies? I would rather invest in private companies myself.
The former VP Pence was executed in Gitmo according to humorousmathematics.com by Q List of executions . Not sure about his wife. BIDENS, CLINTON’S , BUSHES, OBAMAS, TRUDEAU, SCHIFF, DESANTIS, HARRIS and hundreds more were executed. We are seeing actors, face masks etc.
All of the ones you mentioned in your post. 100% agree
Those running America into the ground are serving their father, as the Bible describes them.
Social Security is NOT an entitlement!
Pence is a low IQ moron! Social Security is NOT an entitlement program like welfare. People worked and paid into this ponzi scheme, unlike welfare queens that won’t get off their asses to work for anything. The damn politicians (govt) needs to pay back all the money stolen from the SS accounts since that bastard LBJ first raided the SS accounts and put the money into the general fund to pay for his faile “Great Society” and losing the Viet Nam Conflict. Democrats did this to us. Govt must pay back trillions stolen, instead of send money to corrupt countries lie Ukraine. Kick off SS all the people that did not pay into the system. Never ever give SS to illegals!
I trust Wall Street more that the Congress, or the Federal Government. At least the funds would be really MINE.
Try this: Move the entire funding back to the “Social Security Fund” where it was set up to remain until taken by the democrats and put it into the General Fund enabling political Parties to rape it each time there was a budget to be met, or a massive spending bill to sign for the “PARTY” in charge. LEAVE THE OLD PEOPLE ALONE!!
”
Let it go, Mr Pence. You have reached the pinnacle of your career. You may never hold another office requiring an “OATH!”
Pence is completely EVIL. A lying sick bastard trying to make people believe he’s not part of the D.C. criminal swamp, which he is. Tired of Pence and his ridiculous lies and misguided corrupt program, like on abortion – killing innocent babies in the womb. What kind of evil is THAT? Heinous.
thought pence is a christian
Social security would be fully funded if congress paid all the money backseat its stolen. Nancy Pelosi used millions of SS money on each of her bullshit trump impeachment trials. And that’s not the only time congress has stolen from social security.
Here in oregon they now make business to provide IRA’S to the worker IF they dont the state will take the money (business have to be the tax collector ) and they will invest it ..guess who they invest it with?. There is the method of funding commies forever.
#1 Pence is NOT a top favorite Republican. He may think he is but he definitely isn’t!!
#2 If he runs for President in 2024 all he will be doing is taking a few votes from someone who deserves it
Pence just needs to go away, forever.
This takes money that can be borrowed (used) by the general fund. All the money now in the Social Security fund are IOUs from past borrowing used for deficit spending. Any money invested in private accounts will reveal the true deficit. Last time they tried to take Social Security out of the federal general fund, even if it wasn’t privately invested, there was much protest.
Some things should be left alone, like math, the SS FUND, the sovereign borders of the USA, Immigration laws
I agree. Social Security is for those who paid into it through their employment. Did it seem to hurt at times? A little, but in the end I had benefit to draw on in addition to what I was able to put away over the years. Politicians, keep your hands in YOUR pockets.
When I was younger. I thought I could definitely do a better job investment for better return. What I have learned over the years better yet decades. The only thing that the benefit is the ceos, the board of directors, the financial CEOs and above all and most that will make the money is the Wolves of Wall Street. Due to the influx of money going in ( if this was to change) It’s unbelievable what will happen. Does anybody ever remember the public Teachers Association and Enron. I know one thing that’s really puzzling. Is what about the money that the company contributions,.no one talks about what will happen there. You know it’s like elected officials speak with fork-tongue again. One last thing how is it that it’s an entitlement program when I’m putting into it. It seems like there’s only one party that keeps referring to it as a entitlement program and we all know which party that is it begins with an R.
SS should be frozen and discontinued. People who have paid in need to get THEIR money, but don’t continue SOCIALISM like this.
Social Security payouts are based on a money in- money out system. If you shut down the payment-in without finding another source, no one gets anything out of it. Personally, we have done well with simple investments. It can be done but most people are not disciplined enough to put away money for the future. I do wonder how much more the SS system could take in if government employees were forced to pay in. Especially since all those “new jobs” Biden “created” were in the government sector. It doesn’t help when Biden tries to buy votes by “cancelling student loans” – Which was money paid in taxes by everyone, and “loaned” to students who were supposed to pay it back. If they don’t pay it back, we are left holding the IOU.
Finally.. Including the social security dollars in the deficit calculation really reveals the gross underfunding of the federal government or it’s excessive size.
SS payments need to go to a lockbox where the fools in Congress cannot touch it. The fools in Congress need to pay back all the money plus interest stolen from the SS accounts over the decades of corruption, begining with that bastard LBJ. Get the SS payments OUT of the general fund and lock ’em up. There should be no problems with SS money. This is not an entitlement program as any fool knows. People expect the damn government to keep its promise to the old folks. Why is this so hard to do?
I agree with Ron Howard. This discussion should have “thumbs down” icons.
It does — both thumbs up and thumbs down icons appear. Some of the posts don’t have a Reply link, however.
Amen Girlfriend! Why is anyone anywhere outside of perverts and traitors, even mentioning the name of this POS? I never could stand to look at his perpetually-on=stage face when he was VP and now that we know what he is-garbage, trash-it’s nauseating. Let him and his fat squat ugly wifey go-as you say-“away forever”.
Why is SS referred to as an “entitlement” ? Unless you are figuring that people are entitled to money that was taken from them without permission and kept until many of them were dead. The remaining folks get to collect their money back at the government’s discretion.
I was blessed to retire with a comfortable pension (and a very small one) I earned over two careers spanning 40 years. Because I make too much, I will never see my contributions returned. M Y M O N E Y!!
Soc Sec is only an entitlement for those that take more than what they contributed, OTHER people’s money!! Please call it what it is…a Socialized Retirement System.
IT IS NOT A F***** ENTITLEMENT. WELFARE IS A F***** ENTITLEMENT. WE PAID INTO IT FOR OUR ENTIRE WORKING LIVES. Sorry for shout but this is a huge example of the left’s egregious efforts to change reality through changing of the vocabulary. You control the words you control the narrative.
It’s usually the Right that calls SS entitlements…
Republicans call it an entitlement. I Agree with Everyone who says it is NOT an entitlement, it’s a PAID IN PROGRAM or BENEFIT.
I paid into Social Security for 45+ years. Now I am entitled, by law, to receive social security benefits. That’s what makes it an entitlement. Not a bad thing.
Sorry it is not the Republicans…the Dems have called it that for years!
Entitlement not for me I paid in for my whole working life 60 plus years The Government WAS to hold my money and repay in my retirement years but they soon found out they could STEAL the money and leave a IOU in the lock box they just raised the SS deduction on the workers that are still paying into the system to cover the payouts 1st problem they hit was the new (immigrant workers) don’t want to pay for a bunch of old white people and can’t understand it was our money to start with not theirs 2nd problem the government is paying people that NEVER payed in a dime (people that spend there whole lives on welfare (and still collect SS) and Illegal immigrants that come here for the free lunch on the backs of American citizens the Federal/state /county/local government are all CORRUPT
Actually, you are incorrect. The SS program was never designed to be as you described, politicians like to mislead about what SS really is. The program was always a pay-as-you-go system and was never a savings account for anyone. Pay-as-you-go means current SS taxes are paid out to current beneficiaries, there are no personal accounts, and no one has a balance you can look up or track. There is an implied promise from generation to generation that when you are ready to collect benefits, current taxpayers will be funding your SS benefit directly from their SS taxes.
Your comment about govt stealing the money doesn’t make much sense because there is no personal account for you or me or anyone, it’s all the federal govt money. So who did they steal it from, themselves? The IOU’s are just for accounting purposes to keep track of SS revenue but since we know the govt runs deficits every year and they obviously spend all this money and more.
Adding one more point. I agree that in the context of the Social Security Concept, the word “stealing” is out of place. As part of the government’s overall financial plan, keep your eye on the inflation ball. The money we all paid in when we were younger was worth at least twice what we are being paid out in “SS benefits.” If the interest rate on SS bonds is 2%, and inflation is running twice that, how is SS a good investment? How long would a private insurance company last with these numbers if it was to write their contracts in fixed-year dollars?
Yes! SS is NOT an entitlement. We’ve all paid into this over the entire period of working – many for 40-50 years. We had no choice, it was automatically taken out of our paychecks. This was a “security” savings, to be used after retirement. OUR money returned to us. If one dies before reaching the magic age to receive SS, only a surviving spouse may trade his/her SS for that of the deceased spouse. Then the surviving spouse’s SS savings his redistributed somewhere else.
Not true. Because of Brandon (dementia joe) in 1983 my wife lost the ability to collect the spousal security that I paid into for 50+ years. If something happens to me all she will have is her small pension and my small IRA.
Hmm, that doesn’t make sense since it states on the social security web page that your spouse can continue with their benefit or switch to collect their deceased spouse’s benefit (at age 60+), whichever is greater.
make the contribution mandatory; but let us choose where to put it. you could put it into an FDIC insured savings account, and get back the interst you should have been getting all thse decades, before the Feds decided to permanently “borrow it”!
Do you mean “Widnfall Elimination Provision”?
SS is a ponzi scheme. It is failing as all ponzi schemes eventually do. The money I pay into SS is paid to someone else. I cannot collect the money I paid in. I do not figure SS into my retirement strategy. I am currently 50 years old.
Here is an interesting read.
https://www.levernews.com/a-wall-street-time-bomb/?fbclid=IwAR1JWxFLFtPA9UBBr9qHPSDrd0MyWoEbqK_0_6Hfvsl_cv6FyH2OSpLxmfM
“The former vice president didn’t elaborate on what those modest reforms might be.” Of course he didn’t because he has no idea. On SS, he regurgitated someone else’s opinion. Since he was a RINO leaking shill in the WH who failed in his task in the Senate, he has tried to make himself relevant and is failing. Any group that hires him at some astronomical price for a failure needs to fire its incompetent “leadership”.
Social Security IS NOT AN ENTITLEMENT. As a taxpayer we paid into the program many years. The government thieves took the money, then decided to tax what we’ve already paid tax on.
By Entitlement, they mean anyone who pays into Social Security is ENTITLED to receive benefits from Social Security. The media has changed the definition of Entitlement by linking it to EQUALITY and saying all people are ENTITLED to have the same income, regardless of where or how hard they work. This is definitely two extremely different things that should never be confused.
Yes, double taxation without representation is supposed to be illegal but they find ways around it.
One must go back to the mid 60′ when LBJ and his despicable tribe of klansmen pirated Social Security for their own benefit. Had the fund been managed properly, and not prostituted there would be more than enough money to last well into the next melinemum. In just goes to prove that no one in DC can be trusted with our money … Yes, our money because we paid into the program, and those of us who owned small businesses paid double. Just imagine our country with honorable, truth telling men and women in DC working for the citizens instead of themselves.
You are wrong. SS pays out much more money to retirees now than at any time in history. The tax rates and taxable income has gone up much faster than inflation because retirees live a lot longer than they did in the 1960’s thus each beneficiary collects SS for many years. When SS was created in the 1930’s the average person didn’t live long enough to collect the benefit now the average person collects benefits for 12+ years.
Had the social Security fund not been used to back fill short falls in the general fund by many administrations and sessions of congress there would have been more than enough to pay people living much longer. If congress had followed the laws regarding SS funds there would be no threat of insolvency. The thieves in Washington have caused this problem not the fact that people live longer.
The former VP Pence was executed in Gitmo according to humorousmathematics.com by Q List of executions . Not sure about his wife. BIDENS, CLINTON’S , BUSHES, OBAMAS, TRUDEAU, SCHIFF, DESANTIS, HARRIS and hundreds more were executed. We are seeing actors, face masks etc.
I am retired now and I do get Social Security. I started following the law and paying my designated Social Security payment many, many years ago. When I first started paying in what Federal Law said was my required payments you could buy a brand new Ford Sedan for less than $2000.00. The value of the money I paid in during my life time was worth a lot more than the money I receive now, that is dollar for dollar comparison.
Our current Government is all about spending the big bucks on things that don’t matter and of course, we taxpayers flip the bill. With all this money to be spent or given to other countries, why don’t we demand they take that money and replenish Our SSI Fund? They took Our Money and called it borrowing. It’s time it is repaid with interest. Our Government under this administration has lost its way and that has put the USA at high risk of economic collapse.
Push back, people.
“The federal program remains similar in most respects to how it functioned when it started – – ” That is simply not true. Virtually all promised safeguards to protect the integrity of the Soc. Security fund from US Government debt addiction have been gutted. It is a disgraceful sham, that exemplifies Government lack of integrity and fiscal responsibility.
back stabbing pence, lower case on purpose, another piece of shiit like his butt buddy, no cajones bush, lower case on purpose. so a stupid nitwit is talked into a hedge fund that is managed by pence’s butt buddy,”bernie madoff.” sorry kid your family is now sucking hind tit.
So, take a few bucks that the individual can invest. Sounds pretty good, better return, more control, many more options than what’s available now. Lets take the average twenty year old, has a decent blue collar job and presently has money taken out for SS. In most cases, and in my opinion, is probably living under his parents roof and is covered under his parents health plan. Most likely drives a late model, used vehicle with high mileage. Has the latest gamer equipment and a cell phone with unlimited text and data. Now, lets split the contribution to SS, say, fifty bucks to him and fifty to the govt plan. Now the average twenty year old most likely doesn’t know how to budget, save money or even write a check. Spending is done in cash or credit card. Do you really think they’re going to place fifty bucks in an investment fund? Do you think that they know how the stock market works? What does interest compounding mean? You think they know money? (Whos picture is on a dollar bill?) I believe that extra fifty bucks will go towards immediate gratification, besides, the future is far away.
This plan would work if the people this would affect were educated in money management. It won’t happen because the focus in school is not on benifical learning, rather, is focused on current events, useless subjects and worthless courses that do not prepare the person for life challanges.
For the average twenty year old to invest fifty bucks for the future takes back seat to the fifty bucks they could spend on things they want now.
It’ a nice idea that Bush, and later, Pence brought forward but it needs a solid foundation for the idea to be successful for the individual. Maybe the next generation.
“Entitlement”?! Not an entitlement! People have been forced to pay into that system before they even get their paychecks. It is scraped off of the top. That is NOT how the system was set up. It was voluntary and designed for people with no retirement fund set up by their employers. SS took a very small percentage of participants earnings and out it into an account that was just SS money. That is nothing like today. This writer is missing basic facts that are easily found on the internet. Lazy or purposefully spreading manure?
Disability was a separate fund also until Obama decided to also put it into the General Fund. Now its is also insolvent and heading for a big crash.
This is exactly what needs to happen. Privatize retirement. If all the money I have paid into SS were directed to a 401k type account, I would be enjoying a million+ retirement fund, rather than begging the government to repay a fraction of what I paid into it. The trick is handling the cut over for the next generation of SS to private funds. They have to continue to fund SS for those still on it. Maybe if we stop passing 1.6 trillion dollar slush fund bills for green energy and fund a cut over instead.
Maybe we can get The Ukraine or The Taliban to help support
The Social Security Program !
The GOP love to use the word ENTITLEMENTS. Social Security is not an entitlement, American workers pay into it every day of their lives until they retire. A friend of mine just retired last year, 2022, at the age of 70. He started working at the age of 16. He has paid into Social Security for 54 years. Entitlement Mr Pence, get your facts straight.
How about stop giving Ukraine our money or is it that the Dem’s are really putting it over there for themselves.
The double taxation on social security benefits hurts a lot of seniors. The amount that one is allowed to make without making SS benefits taxable is ridiculous. Nobody can live on SS anymore.
The federal poverty line needs to go up to at least 20k. To call 12k the poverty line is completely unrealistic. Nobody can live on that. This causes a snowball effect that affects SS benefits and many other programs. I challenge one senator to live on a poverty level wage. They will not have a home, they will be on the streets.
Pence needs to fade away. He has no concept of reality and never did. He call SS an entitlement and that’s enough for me to dismiss anything he says. Don’t run for office, Pence, you will just embarrass yourself.
Is Social Security an entitlement, it is not it is a contractual obligation between the workers of this country and the government of this country. This was not a voluntary agreement but forced on the American worker by the Federal government by a socialist president and a ignorant congress and approved by the Supreme Court. This is a guaranteed contract between the American Workers and the Federal Government and any lack of funds has to provided by the guarantor aka The Federal Government. Like all social programs this was and has always been a Ponzi scheme all along and Roosevelt knew it.
Your mandatory Social Security “deposits” earn no interest or capital appreciation. How long would any bank or investment firm stay in business if this was the savings plan they offered? About 10 seconds if that long. The SS program is just a scam to give govt an interest free loan. Same idea with income tax withholding which takes taxes before they are due on April 15 each year. Another interest free loan. Welcome to Idiocracy.
First of all, when Pence refers to social security as an entitlement, that really pisses me off!! We as American citizens have paid into that system out entire working careers which if we invested the same funds each year would pay us 5X more monthly income than what SS pays now. If you really want to reform the system eliminate all the people who are drunks, drugees and all the bullshit fake claims where people get on SSI in their early 20’s and never get off their ass off the sofa to go to work
So pence is a thief, being a shill for the wall street vermin.
Each person’s SS account should be their own. People that don’t pay in should get their retirement checks from welfare.
Do the math, if your SS funds were in simple savings or better yet some secure investment, over your working life, the payment you receive would be much more. But congress has been using SS as another welfare program, allowing people that never paid in to claim benefits.
Nobody cares what any Traitor wants.
go away now.
Social Security and Medicare are near and dear to my heart. The DNC & their allies went on a drunken spending spree, I assume as a part of their plan to destroy the country from within. The same goes for the border crisis and, well, all the other malarkey. Social Security and Medicare are the two best things the government ever did. Does anyone remember when your bank account intrest was not taxed? Remember who was President when that malarkey happened? They tax us and totally piss the money down the toilet. Less government and term limits in Congress are needed. I don’t want to see anymore Chucky Schumer’s or hypocrites like Bernie Sanders. ????
Social security is not entitlement. They took money out of my paycheck every week for social security. Pence is an idiot..
When FDR started Social Security, it was meant to be put in what amounts a personal savings account to be taken out when that individual turned 65. At that time it was never meant to be something in a common pool and especially was not meant to be put in the general fund.
It’s not just paid out to folks turning 65 – now 67 – but to a person that was married for 10 years or more before being divorced when their ex-spouse dies. My neighbor was married 11 years, the second wife was married 12 years and he was married a third time when he died. All three of the women are now receiving the same amount he was.
I worked for an attorney when a young cop murdered his wife and committed suicide. They had six young children. This was in the early 1970s. All six of the children received some $600 a month until they turned 18.
This is part of the reason that Social Security is going broke besides it being used as part of the general fund.
Pence’s idea is not good. He wants to diminish Social Security a little bit at a time. I get Social Security & would not take money out for other things.
Just a reminder…SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS ARE NOT AN ENTITLEMENT! I have been paying into that fund for almost 60 years and I am still paying into it. I believe that once a person starts taking their SS payments, they should no longer be FORCED to pay into it. If I had ownership of my SS payments over the years, having had the money invested in safe accounts with a very modest interest rate, I would be worth about 2 million dollars. Instead, thanks to Uncle Joe and congressmen like him, 85% of my SS income is taxed…AGAIN! He wants to tax 100% of SS payments. That is just so wrong.
Well then put everyone on government retirement!
Seems to be plenty of money for these folks, that never contributed to it!
Agreed or force all politicians on social security and see how fast money shows up..hmmm
Stop referring to Social Security as any kind of Govt entitlement program, it definitely IS NOT. It’s the workers money and the Government owns none of it. Repay what politicians stole from the fund. Problem solved.
All I can say to Pence is, If you like your Doctor. you can keep your Doctor. If you like your healthcare ins. you can keep your healthcare ins.
I don’t want loser Pence anywhere near our government again.
Pence is a lying, back stabbing, shabbos goy.
Excuse me Pence…Social Security Benefits are not “Entitlements”. We work & pay Uncle Sam through the nose until we retire for these “so-called benefits”. Entitlement programs are welfare, SNAP, SSI, etc. GIVEN to ppl who usually lay on their back making more babies for more $$$!!!
Americans have got all the guns they need to start a revolution – but none of the balls.
Why do politicians call Social Security an entitlement program? Most of us paid into this pyramid scheme our entire working lives. It’s become an entitlement to those who come here illegally and receive it. Get some funds from them. For those of us who actually paid, we are only receiving our own money back after 45 years of hard work.
or we could just stop subsidizing everything for the immigrants who are here illegally
Letting politicians and government control the finances is what got us into this mess in the first place!
Milquetoast Pence is not only a Judas who lacked the courage to force a legitimate examination of the 2o020 vote, he’s an aw-shucks idiot who actually believes the Lord wants him to be president. This fool actually said that the economics of Trump and Biden are alike while his is different. Can’t stand to look at Mr. Fly Bonnet and neither can most of the American voters.
Pence is on the right track; however, it will probably not play politically. Let’s look at the solutions offered:
1. Raising the retirement age: Falls most heavily on those who need Social Security the most, the lowest income groups, many of whom work at jobs where physical or medical issues have a real impact. However there is probably some income level at which Social Security is not important, but that’s variable. Good luck agreeing on what it is.
2. Raising the payroll tax cap: Falls most heavily on higher income people. Possibly the only thing out there that can be sold politically, but the salable level may not be enough to make much of a gain on the solvency issue.
3. The Pence/Bush plan: Similarities with 401K . Dependent on continued economic growth. Recession hits the lower income levels the hardest because their investments will be lower. A possible fix is to cap SS payments at some mid level but still keeping the payroll tax cap where it is. Make SS payments tax exempt below a certain level. Unless it can be shown that there is an overall benefit and NO risk for those who actually depend on SS income, it may be politically untenable.
4. Take the money equivalent to the payroll tax out of that the government has available to spend each year and invest that amount in the economy via mutual funds or the like. Keep SS payroll tax and SS payments as they are. That means no more dipping into the (non-existent) Social Security Trust Fund by Congress and reducing spending until the products of the SS investment (pension fund) catch the system up to solvency. Probably, if explained well, would be popular among those who don’t want their SS benefits to be reduced. Among politicians, especially Democrats? Not so much. Also dependent on the economy (for the government) – incentive for pro-growth policies.
SS should be privatized, about 60 years ago.
Don’t you dare touch my earned Social Security?
I suggest those making $200K or more a year need to keep paying into SS but cannot collect if their retirement income from other sources equals more than $200K a year. or maybe it should be even lower. It’s time to end the rich elites living off their retirement incomes from sources set up by their financial planners and collecting SS on top of it.
Were it not for Pence, Trump would be President, gas would be below $2 per gallon, everyone (except for Democrats) would be in high cotton, China, Russia, and the USA would all be courteous to one another without war, and …
Methiniks it’s too late. They way it is today, ALL of the money coming in is needed to pay present-day benefits – oney going out. If contributions going out are more than what’s coming in to the federal fund, the system will go belly up. If we want to create wealth in this country, privatize all the housing projects in big cities.
All traitor Pence is trying to do is buy votes.
Pence is a RINO hack! Since when did Social Security become an “entitlement program”? As I recall from every paycheck I have received since about 1975, I have paid into that scam whether I wanted to or not. And the US government promised to give it back at retirement. And these criminals in office have the nerve to call it entitlement, and on top of that, they lumped it into the general operating fund in the 60’s so they could dip imto OUR MONEY at will, without our input. THAT IS THEFT plain and simple. Further proof that we cannot, under any circumstances, trust those criminals North of Richmond.
We were required to have money taken from our paycheck and deposited into this SS Account that upon retirement we would have money to draw from for “retirement”. Yes, my money that yes I am entitled to. And it was given to Great Britisn as payment for all those that took their ships to come to this new world country, long before any if us even existed. How dumb was that. DJT, thankfully met with the Queen and said we were done paying them. It would happen no more. Further what we get each month will probably never equate to the amount we put into the account. Thus the erroneous government we have been held captive by thinks it is theirs to do as they see fit. Watch out voting for politicians like this will open doors to claim any money you have in any bank account as the government’s to do with as they see fit. Go figure.
RedCar: Pence? Really? And the higher income earners have so many tax loops that the common income earner has available that these higher earners will “beat out’ paying more. Don’t trust the errneous government we have had up to 2016, (and then the current fraudulent mess we got, in 2021) thus would not trust what they would invest in to gain any revenue. People that are the servant workers of society are not all as budget/saving savvy as others and this program was a means to an end to offset not depending completely on the government for survival. Further where would society be without the “worker bees?” Unfortunate that we kept these employees in a suppressed low income position while the elite were given tax advantages, or programs that only the elite benefit from. To top it off, not all elite wealth comes from ligament programs. Nor are the elite subject to the laws of the land, nor held accountable. (World Crime Syndicate club) What you say sounds good but again would never be honestly as well as fairly balanced because we keep voting in these embiciles to lead this country, and they abuse that power to enrich their own portfolio. Go figure.
Pay back the SS account before even thinking of reliving any college debit, THE VOTE PURCHASING PLOY.
In many areas of the USA the purchase of an automobile LEMON is, by law, to be corrected from the pocket of the dealership. If a college is providing a LEMON for an education of even a course, I believe they should stand by its value to the student or be able to prove that said student was, IN WRITING, made fully aware of its value to the student.
YES, there will always be exceptions but “A student evaluation, Aptitude, IQ AND “Held Harmless Cluse”.
If that doesn’t cause said student and parents of guardian second thoughts “PAY THE BILL”
Pretty easy for millionaire families to voice change. You can’t shame these people as billions of $ being printed driving the debt. Programs for pork barrel institutions, billions wasted by our elected officials and possibly more wasted by the permanent buracratic invisible government. But America’s forgotten you talk of reform. Sure tests for fraud, workability and accountability would be great but no part of our government can make this work. Heartless bastards and enriching power hungry politicians sure as he’ll get there’s while shoveling it down our throats. SS is an investment by Americans so poorly managed abd inclusive of so many things it was never intended to do.
I like how they call SS an “entitlement” when both you and your employers paid into it your entire life. I live in Indiana and Pence is a Jackass. He screwed me out of one of my Indiana tax deductions to give tax credits that supported Charter schools. That action weakened our public schools! He also joined the ticket with Trump in 2016. The man trashes Trump now but he put his religious nut bag beliefs ahead of the fact he was joining forces with the orange devil. Peance can’t be trusted to do what’s right for the American people.
IT IS NOT!! AND ENTITLEMENT. SS IS WHAT WE WORKERS WERE REEQUIRED TO PAY IN EVERY PAY CHECK. IT IS OUR!!!!!!! MONEY!!!!!