July 5, 2005
My mom and dad have been married for 53 years, today. And on the day of their anniversary, I am growing to believe that somebody is lying to me about Social Security.
Social Security really sucks. They take more and more money away from you and they give you a tinker's dam. I have put literally hundreds of thousands of dollars into this socialist scam, and if I'm lucky, I might get slightly more than 19-hundred bucks a month back for the ten years I'm expected to live after sixty-two. Small problem: My dad will be 90 this next month and he's not dead yet. Mom will be a very strong 83 in a couple of weeks.
In 1998, President Clinton swore on a stack of bibles with cigar bookmarkers that Social Security was in crisis. Nothing changed except they took away more of our money. Oh, one thing DID happen. We were told we were rich if we made $75,000 a year, which is probably true in Puerto Rico.
It's 2005, and now all the Clintonistas are saying that there's no problem. W's people are saying that there IS a problem. Now, I may be from Columbia, but I can still recognize when two stories differ. Somebody's lying.
IS THERE A SOCIAL SECURITY CRISIS?
There is more money coming in, right now, than going out. That is a fact. Does this mean there is no crisis? I have spoken to several state Progressives, and each one buys the national Progressiveic party argument, completely: Since there is more coming in than going out, RIGHT NOW, there is no crisis.
The Republicans say, just because the tsunami isn't here yet, doesn't mean that the tsunami is not going to arrive. We should be taking the time, RIGHT NOW, while we can afford to do it, to change the system.
I have seen the numbers and run them myself. There will not be enough money to make the system work within twenty years. Could be sooner. Could be later. But it WILL HAPPEN.
Are the Progs lying? Not really. It is a matter of semantics, at this point. So, no lie here. Disingenuousness, perhaps, but not lying.
WHAT ABOUT SEN. DEMINT'S PLAN?
This gets a little more dicey. State Progs I talked too, remember, bought the ENTIRE national party argument. So, naturally, they espouse the idea that putting money into "Savings Bonds" does nothing. When I brought up the concept that Fritz Hollings has been married to until 2004 - that there is no real money in Social Security - no lock box - they now say Fritz was mistaken, that we are giving the people of America an IOU which is like a "Savings Bond."
That, however IS a lie. An IOU is not a US Savings bond or any other kind of eventually negotiable security. If the Government puts a bond away, it has a specific date certain for redemption. A general IOU is just "so many acres of blue sky," which we were warned about by several early American patriots.
WHAT ABOUT CUTTING BENEFITS?
Dems say that DeMint's plan or ANY plan that puts money away privately, will cause benefits to be cut. They don't tell you how this is so, so whatever can be said about it can be shouted down, since they haven't really said anything.
But this is dishonest, too. The fact is, that because the money is put into instruments with guaranteed principal AND return, those in the program will get three (count 'em, 3) TIMES the return of those who don't. They will not get the pitiful 1/3rd amount that the old system provides. The new system will also not bankrupt the government which WILL happen, if we continue the way we are going.
THE Progressives WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANYTHING THAT SQUIRRELS AWAY MONEY FOR INDIVIDUALS?
That is true. And it is remarkably embarrassing that they know so little about finance that they would take such a stand.
So, we have two lies, so far.
But are they WHOPPERS? - deal ending, party dissolving, finger pointing kinds of lies? Yes. But as long as the major networks and local news outlets are as astonishingly underinformed as they are about such things, who's there to call them on it? There are over 3,000,000 people in S.C. alone! No more than 77,000 different people a week read my column or listen to talk radio in all the state, combined. And they don't hear this talked about much, so take those numbers, cut them in thirds, and throw two thirds away. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that there is only one reporter in all of the state, who does not write for a website, that could actually tackle such a subject. And she's busy writing things about Anderson happenings.
I'm not talking about putting money in the stock market. I'm not talking about risky schemes.
If your Senator thinks that he or she can blindside you with fancy footwork, just print out this article, fold it into a pointy object, and blind him or her with it. You will be saving your state and your country.
