The American Spectator

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 1:21PM

"The trust fund is stuffed with IOUs"

That what you do with surpluses you dumbsh*ts.

You loan it out to make even more money.

God you people are stupid.

Tim the Enchanter| 3.9.11 @ 1:47PM

jharp... you're bringing teh stoopid a bit early today, aren't you?

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 1:50PM

Yeah right. Loaning out your surplus to make even more money is stoopid.

Everyone knows that stuffing it in a mattress is the way to go.

God you people are stupid.

David W| 3.9.11 @ 2:47PM

jharp, who is more stupid? People who believe that the government loans out the "surplus" to make money (which they laughingly don't, since the government doesn't get any interest back on what you think the government loans out) or people who believe that Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever?

also, glad to see that you ignored the request from the President to be civil in your discussions/rants.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:00PM

"jharp, who is more stupid? People who believe that the government loans out the "surplus" to make money (which they laughingly don't, since the government doesn't get any interest back on what you think the government loans out)"

The government is now loaning out money for free? To whom? I'd like to get in on that.

"or people who believe that Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever?"

Clearly you are the stupid one. One the government does charge interest on it's loans. And Social Security has a $2.5 trillion surplus.

God you people are stupid.

Mr T. Brown| 7.24.11 @ 7:48PM

I ron't understand if as has a 2.5 trillion dollar surplus how come the President says he cannot guarantee that checks will go out on Aug.2,2011 Who is full of it you or Obama

Clint| 3.9.11 @ 2:06PM

Three-quarters of the money that's collected in Social Security taxes goes right out the door again in the form of benefits to Social Security recipients. The surplus that isn't needed to pay benefits is loaned to the federal government to pay for other programs.

Momma Harp| 3.9.11 @ 2:16PM

Now, Junior will tell all The American Spectator Readers, who The Federal Government confiscates the money from to pay back the money they confiscated from the confiscated Social Security money plus the interest

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 2:30PM

Confiscates?

God you people are stupid.

How do you propose paying for our $3 trillion Iraq goodwill mission?

Momma Harp| 3.9.11 @ 2:38PM

My Son Junior is an Economic Buffoon.

NoLib| 3.9.11 @ 2:41PM

Harpy never mentions the untold trillions we've wasted on the War on Poverty. Dumb liberal.

Junior Junior Harp| 3.9.11 @ 2:42PM

More Confiscated Taxpayers' Money Pop.

Pop ain't too bright.

Lil Harp| 3.9.11 @ 2:45PM

Daddy, I Can't Hear You.

Sign Me Poopy Poppy.

pete2| 3.9.11 @ 1:43PM

Antle, how about getting off the SS bashing wagon? Most of us have paid into it all our working lives and we receive some of it back. It's not going away but it does need reforming, like taking off all those who really shouldn't be on it to begin with. I, for one, am a staunch conservative and I am getting tired of people like you. Want to really kill your support...keep bashing away at this. Eventually, people are going to get fed up, except maybe the younger crowd whom you've conned on this.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 1:48PM

"Antle, how about getting off the SS bashing wagon?"

It's what drives conservatism. Constant bashing.

Whilst offering no solutions.

See also ObamaCare.

tonypal| 3.9.11 @ 3:00PM

Wow, it's a good thing you don't bash or call names. If that was the case, you would be a hypocrite, which is the single biggest sin one can commit, at least according to liberals. By the way, how's everything going in your attempt to pay for your deaf daughter's medical bills. I see you have plenty of time to hang out here. Perhaps your time would be better spent working.

God jharp is a shitty sperm donor.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:02PM

Still obsessing about my ejaculate? Go get yourself a real live lover and then you can get all of the ejaculate you need. I have no interest in being your internet fantasy.

God you people are weird.

Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 3.9.11 @ 2:16PM

Here's the solution you're looking for, there's no money in the UnLocked Box, you've been ripped off for XX (fill in number of years you've been paying into Social Security for), you're a sucker, Sucker, so get used to it, you're going to work until the day that you die, and never see a penny back, and you can thank the Democratic Party for starting this Ponzi Scheme to begin with, and the sooner you accept all this, the easier it'll be realizing you've been a victim of a crime, and you're "never" going to retire, ever. Oops, sorry!!

But please don't hold this against us come November 2012, but if you do, we'll have a new lie to tell you by then anyway, so it doesn't matter-The Democratic National Campaign Committee.

Vote-D for Dumbass!!

God the Democrats have made us Stupid!!

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 2:49PM

You have the Social Security administration confused with Wall Street.

When Wall Street speculates with your money and loses it it's gone. It's called you gambled and lost. And about 95% of us lose.

Social Security benefits on the other hand are guaranteed. And they have never missed a payment. And as it stands today we have a $2.5 trillion surplus. And enough to pay out full benefits, as promised, until 2039. After that, with no tweaking, we can still pay 80% of promised benefits.

tonypal| 3.9.11 @ 3:04PM

Would you please be so kind as to source your statistics. If you can't, then like the rest of your leftist brethren, your just a lying sack of excrement.

God jharp is a shitty sperm donor.

Clint| 3.9.11 @ 3:36PM

The S&P 500 rose from 1,145 to 1,257 in 2010.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:22PM

The S & P 500 fell from 1498 in 1999 to 1257 today.

Not bad huh? 12 year investment yields negative -16%.

And the hell of it is it's nearly doubled in the past 2 years to only lose 16%.

And without TARP and the stimulus where do you dumbasses(not you Clint) think we'd be.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:06PM

Sure. Here it is. From the non partisan Congressional Budget Office.

They are the folks who analyze these things for a living. They are the experts.

http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11943

Oldefarte| 3.9.11 @ 2:17PM

W. James: With all due respect, YOU'RE WRONG [PARTIALLY]. Does your 'savings' in a bank/investment account stay locked up in 'your' name? Of course NOT. A bank/investment company invests/loans out YOUR savings/money in order to make money/increase its profits, and is likewise a PONZI-TYPE scheme of sorts. Do you think that if you go to your bank and ask to see your savings account money, that some teller will then lead you into the bank vault to view YOUR MONEY? Since SS is FORCED SAVINGS by the government [when anyone's payroll SS deductions could have been alternatively privately invested by its earners into much more profitable investments other than SS if not forced by the government into giving it to them], then a solution would be to force the government to [1] pay each contributor the amount of their individual deductions plus interest and projected alternative private investment returns from same [2] pay each current SS recipient likewise (and gradually tax any recipient who has recieved SS in excess of this amount) and [3] terminate/close SS thereafter. Again, you are wrong/incorrect in arguing that SS, as some sort of ponzing, should be means-tested and/or forfieted by conservatives as a taken to liberal-Democrats' agenda to use SS as a governmental budget/debt reduction tool. It is an ACCOUNTS PAYABLE to it recipients and is EARNED/OWNED by same, not the government!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 2:54PM

Watch out there comrade Oldfarte.

You'll get teabagged off this board for truth telling.

They need to raise the caps. Myself and LeBron James pay the same in social security tax. Exactly the same.

LeBron earns $50 million and pays the same as the rest of us who earn at least 106,000.

You flat taxers should simply love that.

Curtis Rasmussen| 3.9.11 @ 3:15PM

'Millions continue to draw benefits after they've already gotten back everything they paid in plus interest.'

What interest? the government is not investing the money taken from the SS retirement fund. They must be printing more money, dipping into other tax funds, or taxing us more but not calling it social security.

W. James Antle III| 3.9.11 @ 3:41PM

The ratio of workers paying into the system versus retirees drawing from it used to be more favorable. As the number of workers per retiree has dropped and quick fixes with payroll taxes, retirement age, etc. have been adopted, it has become a rawer deal.

W. James Antle III| 3.9.11 @ 3:24PM

The federal government isn't loaning out the money to make more money. The IOUs in the trust fund are non-trading "special issue" Treasury bonds. The fund contains no real economic assets that can be drawn down to fund future benefits. To redeem the bonds, the government will have to raise taxes, cut benefits or cut other spending. So no, it is not exactly analogous to your bank account.

In any event, Social Security has started paying out more in benefits than is collected in payroll taxes. So the "lock box" window has closed.

Finally, the average worker who retired in 1980 got back all their payroll taxes in less than three years of receiving Social Security. Social Security has never been about simply getting back what you paid in. But the length of time it takes to recoup the value of your payroll taxes is growing. The average worker who retired in 2003 will take 17 years to get back what they put in.

If you don't want a bad return on your investment and you don't want to cut benefits for people at or near retirement age, then that is all the more reason to want to reform Social Security now. It isn't bashing, it's just a fact.

Curtis Rasmussen| 3.9.11 @ 3:41PM

I would retire a much wealthier man if I didn't have to pay in to Social Security. If given the option to decline SS benefits without any more payroll deductions until I retire, then I'd opt out in a heartbeat.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:15PM

"To redeem the bonds, the government will have to raise taxes, cut benefits or cut other spending."

Wait a minute.

Don't you mean they'll have to cut taxes.

Tax cuts always pay for themselves right? Lower taxes and voila! More revenue!

Right?

A simple fix is to raise the cap. As a I said before, LeBron James pays the same in social security taxes on his $50 million as you stupid slobs do on your $106,000.

As somehow you dumbasses think this is in your best interest.

Go figure. God you people are stupid.

Curtis Rasmussen| 3.9.11 @ 5:50PM

2 words.

Laffer curve.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 6:04PM

5 words.

God you people are stupid.

The Laffer curve. Surely you jest. How'd that work out with George Bush's tax cuts.

Abject morons. The whole lot of you.

You folks problems aren't the government nor too many taxes. You are simply stupid.

Lebron and his $50 million, a $16,218 tax bill.

You dumbasses and your $106,000, a $16,218 tax bill.

And you effing retards think this is in your best interest.

God help us.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 6:09PM

In case you are wondering LeBron pays a rate of 3 one thousandths of a percent.

You dumbasses pay 15.3 percent.

And think this is in your best interest.

God you people are stupid.

Curtis Rasmussen| 3.9.11 @ 7:15PM

2 words that proved that deep tax cuts across the board increases tax revenue by stimulating the growth of the economy:

Ronald Reagan.

People like jharp would rather see the country run into the ground under burdensome taxes and regulation than see successful people keep their wealth, and indirectly, make us all wealthier.

Good God jharp is an ignorant apparatchik.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 7:36PM

Ronald Reagan raised Social Security taxes you imbecile.

God you people are stupid.

People like Curtis think Lebron James should pay a tax rate 3/1000ths of a percent and Curtis should pay a tax rate of 15.3 percent.

He honestly is trying to convince people that that is in their best interest.

And you dumbasses buy it. Amazing.

Curtis Rasmussen| 3.9.11 @ 10:41PM

Never mind the irrational agenda driven troll. He is an accounting major and knows about these things.

Troll synopsis:

1. Straw dog number one. Mention a specific subset of a general statement in an effort to refute the whole statement.

2.God you people are stupid.

3. What about this straw dog? In this case, it's LeBron James. Do not back the dog up with facts.

4. Make a statement about how wrong-headed we are, do not back anything up with any information or agrument.

5. Repeat line 1.

6. Repeat 1 thru 5 in various locations, changing the names to suit the reply.

http://www.realclearmarkets.co....._boom.html

Gotta run. No point in trying to get the last word with people that have too much time on their hands.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 11:40PM

"Ronald Reagan raised Social Security taxes you imbecile."

It is common knowledge. No one disputes it you ignorant jackass.

I wouldn't do it but I can see why you'd run away and hide after openly posting your ignorance to the whole word for all of eternity.

pete2| 3.9.11 @ 3:44PM

It is bashing and that's all it is. Your facts are absolutely meaningless because SS is not going away, no matter what. Too many of us have paid into the system. Let's talk true reform and address the real issues concerning SS. Why is the fund broke and why are collections lagging payouts? There is the real problem that needs to be addressed not your continous bashing of the issue.

Clint| 3.9.11 @ 3:58PM

Uh Oh !

"Social Security paid out more in 2010 than it got in payroll taxes, marking the first time the program was in the red since it was overhauled in 1983, according to the annual authoritative report released by the program’s actuary."

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 4:11PM

And in the midst of the worst economy since the great depression. Who coulda thought?

And the republicans fix? Cut the tax rate by a third. I am not joking. They actually reduced the tax rate by 2%.

That oughta fix things.

God you pukes are stupid.

Bruce Berger| 3.9.11 @ 8:15PM

Jharp,

Would you please tell me at which institution of higher learning you learned economics? I want to make sure that my kids don't go there.

Thanks.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 8:30PM

Big Ten. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Accounting major.

You?

Bruce Berger| 3.9.11 @ 8:45PM

You should ask for a refund. If you had told me you majored in social sciences I could maybe understand how you don't know the basic accounting and legal framework of Social Security, but with an accounting major it really is mind-boggling.

jharp| 3.9.11 @ 10:36PM

I figured.

No degree for you. Let me guess. You were 1 semester away from graduating and never bothered to finish.

John Carnal| 3.10.11 @ 12:41AM

Could we please show Madoff a little respect. His years long multi-billion dollar fraud makes Ponzi's house of cards look like chump change. Could we please refer to Madoff schemes in the future. Oh but wait. Social Security makes Madoff's fraud look like chump change.

Loaiine| 3.10.11 @ 2:42PM

If SS is a "Ponsi Scheme", it is the best Ponsi Scheme ever invented. It is all that many poor people have to keep them from starving to death. Get real!