Social Security Is Going Bankrupt

Social Security is going bankrupt, however no one is going to do anything about it. George Bush nearly destroyed his Presidency trying to persuade people that something needed doing to save Social Security, but even a majority of Republicans really don't want to hear what he has to say. I have frequently criticized Bush for wasting political capital on Social Security while our nation is at war, however that criticism in no way means I doubt that the program is going to collapse. I simply do not believe the American people can be presuaded to do anything about it. The things that need to be fixed simply will never have the will of the American people behind them.

I received an email today whose source is not clear. I was amused by the list of historical "facts" in the email and decided to share them. I have not verified them, but the ones I remember seem to match history pretty close. In any event here is the email, for your smiles and enjoyment!

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program,

3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,

4.) That the money the participants paid would be put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the; General operating fund, and therefore,would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to"put away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants who had never paid a dime into the system?
A: Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants move into this country, and at age 65, begin to receive Social Security payments! If they arrive after they are 65, they start drawing Social Security almost immediately.

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it.
A: Lyndon Johnson and the democraticall y controlled House andSenate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking"deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice Presidentof the U.S.

After doing all of this, Democrats turn around and tell you that Republicans want to take your Social Security away!