Bernanke says Social Security is unsustainable and

social entitlement programs must be reformed or they will cause a serious burden to our budget and our economy. Was on MSNBC.

Here is a Market Watch link:

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BF2234193%2D4391%2D484B%2DB7B8%2D803841804BE3%7D&dist=newsfinder&siteid=google

reformed.

I did read the other day that Bush wants to revive the Social Security debate - he's bent on destroying it before he leaves office.

Hopefully a dem congress will shut this stuff down...and concentrate on the important stuff..for a change.

Security Trust Fund that Congress has been embezzling for the past two decades with accrued interest, then maybe it WOULD BE solvent . . .

A vote for Repukes is a vote against your Social Security.
A vote for Repukes is a vote for permanent war which will deplete your Social Security.

YOur only entitlement if you vote for Repukes is war and fear.

Vote Dems.

Add.

What a time to say this.

Because Social Security is in imminent collapse - just like last year.

that's in imminent danger of collapse - when the boomers who have propped it up for decades with their retirement savings start to retire and pull them out. Which is why they need the younger generation's SS funds so desperately.

The stock market DEPENDS on "greater fools." Less than 1% of market capitalization ever reaches the underlying business to pay salaries and purchase productive assets. The rest is distributed gains.

Too much money chasing too few commodities results in inflation (a little of which which we saw in the late 90s - about 20-25% of aggregate market value in 1999) - inflation of equity instruments or inflation of gasoline or inflation of any good. Dumping trillions into the market does nothing but hugely enrich the 'investment class' and create an unholy social dependence on such equities.

Today, the Social Security system, and it's payroll tax receipts, is the 500-ton canary in the income equity coal mine. As the "lower 90%" of wage-earners get a smaller and smaller share of the wealth they create, the social security canary shows an "oxygen deficit" - it's beak turns blue.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

I've done the "math." The declining payroll tax receipts are predominantly due to the declining payrol tax base itself. The payroll tax base of the "lower 90%" of wage earners has been decimated - wages and salaries have NOT kept apace at all.

Remember, every $1 increase in pay for the "lower 90%" yields more than NINE TIMES the increase in payroll taxes as a $1 increase in the wage ceiling. It goes without say that it also lifts people out of poverty and reduces the burden on all kinds of social services.

What's unsustainable is the money that the government borrows from me. At some point, I'll want to collect. I don't really give a flying f_ck that repaying that debt will be a challenge. We had a deal.

Social Security taxes are insurance premiums. We pay excess premiums because it is anticipated that those funds will be needed in a few years. We are within our rights to not just suggest, but demand, that the system that we prepaid will be repaid

Establish Gore's lock box.
Problem solved.

Of course with this simple solution, the Wall Street investment banks can't gouge 20% off the top in "service fees".

Was that before or after he decided that we had plenty of money to spend for his illegal war? How many weeks of his war's costs would it take to repay SS and make it solvent again?

SS. They changed the retirement age from the Std. 65 to a graduated table moving the retirement to age 67. They also raised the cap. The intent was to create a "slush fund" to cover paying benefits toretiring baby boomers.

THEN, Shrub came along, saw that nice bundle of money, and gave it all away to his wealthy buddies!

I have 2 solutions to the "SS crisis".

1. Raise the cap again!!!!

2. Take back the money given to the wealthy that was always intended to fund SS.

How damn hard it is to figure out folks? Ohhh, I forgot, we don't ever want to piss off our big contributors, especially just prior to an election!!!!!

Private sector workers rely on Social Security for the bulk of their retirement money, since they don't receive generous government sponsored pension plans.

... Or end of attempts to eliminate the Estate Tax? Or require corporations which relocated outside the US to avoid taxes to begin paying taxes or lose government contracts? Make dividend payments taxable again? Raise capital gains taxes?

NO???

Hmmmmm.... I am guessing that his solution is to raise payroll taxes for workers and to cut benefits.