Monday, May 09, 2005

Rep. John Carter's Fix For Social Security

Have you heard of H.R. 530? It's a bill your Congressman has cosponsored that's objective is
To amend title II of the Social Security Act and the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for enhanced retirement security in the form of an Individual Social Security Investment Program.
A.k.a, The "Individual Social Security Investment Program Act of 2005", how "Orwellian".

Now this has nothing to do with Social Security this is complete and total privatization. Just read the Summary. It's the end of Social Security as we know it. Here is how the summary begins:
Individual Social Security Investment Program Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to add a new part B (Individual Social Security Investment Program) to change Social Security into a system of individual accounts where workers born on or after January 1, 1984, as well as electing participants born between January 1, 1951, and January 1, 1984, have ownership of and control over the investment of their retirement funds in various investment vehicles: (1) Tier I Investment Fund; (2) Tier II Investment Fund; and (3) Tier III Investment Accounts.
I bolded that line because it helps remind us of two things. Social Security is an insurance program NOT , I repeat NOT, a retirement plan. It pays off if you reach a specific age, your parents die before you're 18 or you are disabled. Yeah, that's the other part many people either forget about or don't know. Social Security pays for survivor benefits and disability benefits. What's going to happen to Rep. Cater's "
Individual Social Security Investment Program Act of 2005" scam goes through and the investments don't pan out? Who is going to invest for the children and the disabled? Social Security is guaranteed and it's guaranteed for a reason so you can count on a certain amount of money when you retire, you die early, or you become disabled. John Carter has made it perfectly clear that he believes the Social Security trust fund was just a joke perpetrated on the American people to get them to pay more taxes to fund deficits spending and that you have no right to the money you've been paying in for your entire working life. Wow, why won't the President put forth this plan?

The purported attempt by the Republicans to, ahem, "strengthen" Social Security is nothing more than an attempt to begin the dismantling of the entire program and don't forget it.

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