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TRUSTING OUR GOVERNMENT
Should we?In the mail a few months ago, there was a letter on social security fraud by our own government. It claimed that we would have a lot more in our social security checks if the government had been honest with us. My reaction was that the calculations were exaggerated.
This morning I decided to take the time to actually calculate the amount that should be in my social security check. I went back to the amounts that had been taken from my check for the social security fund and then used the interest that a normal bank CD would have given me and a normal figure for inflation.
In my time estimating construction costs, I found that usually the interest from a CD or an IRA is about the same as that of real inflation. The government never uses what I call real inflation. Real inflation is on the items needed for survival such as food, housing, transportation, heating, etc. The figure that the government uses is much lower because they add the unnecessary items that are usually bought from companies that use out-of-country labor.
When all my figures were placed on my computer spreadsheet, I found that if the money that went to social security had been placed in an IRA or CD, and if I were expected to live to age 95, my social security checks should be at least triple what they actually are and I would still have enough to carry me to age 110 or so and leave some in my will for my children.
The above was not based upon any dollars that would have come from anyone else. This means that the government lies when they say that the system must be based upon future generations giving to the social security trust fund. Apparently, the government lies about what they need only because Congress has raided the trust fund so many times that there is nothing left. Had they kept your money in the fund at the usual interest rate, you would have enough for retirement.
So the government (Congress and the bureaucracy) lies about the social security system needing dollars from the young folks to carry the old folks - if the system were managed properly and Congress did not steal from the trust fund, your own payments would be more than enough to cover you in later life. Congress and the bureaucracy also lie about the cost of living increase (based upon their version of inflation rather than real inflation) that the elderly are supposed to have, and lie by calculating the initial social security payments on a formulae based upon giving the government the money they stole.
If social security were placed in a trust fund that accumulated interest at the same rate as any normal bank CD, and if Congress did not steal the money for pork barrel spending - or if the money were actually placed in a normal bank CD - and if it were legislated that one must pay the fund or CD at the usual rate we pay from our paychecks - we would be able to retire on an income from social security that is at least tripled over what it is today. If the dollars were placed in a CD that was insured by the government, there would be money left over - after we died - that could be willed to whomever we wished.
Yes, there are enough seniors in the population to spend more money, thus aiding the economy and most likely to cause a very slight increase in inflation. But bear in mind that the next lie the government would hand us that to cure the inflation we need have more taxes. Actually, taxes on individuals' income do reduce inflation - but taxes on corporations or businesses of any kind increase inflation. What little inflation would be caused by allowing seniors to have their own money is certainly not very much - and would hardly be visible in the total scheme of things.
The social security scam by the government is fueled by the need for each representative or senator to be re-elected. The need for re-election causes the need for dollars to the campaign fund and for voter good will. So these people need money for pork barrel projects. Perhaps we should look seriously at one-term limits for representatives and senators, and one time only to be in any Congressional office (no moving from representative to senator or vice-versa). If this means that they spend most of their time learning the ropes, maybe they won't be able to legislate enough to foist as many bad laws on us.
The Social Security Ponzi scheme has given a corrupt goverment (1) the dollars that should have been ours as interest to help offset the inflation caused by the so-called Federal Reserve, (2) the dollars that were taken from those who died before they could be given any Social Security, and (3) the dollars that should have been willed to our heirs.
One further thought - shouldn't the government pay back with interest the money the money they stole?
For more pertinent information on the social security scam by criminals in our government, see Ponzi Schemes.
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