Bush/McCain won: Social Security Trust Fund raided to bail out Wall Street

What they couldn't win through legislation to privatize SS they stole outright in broad daylight. Shock Doctrine at its finest.

Trillions in taxpayer money that we don't have can only come from one place: your pocket. Money set aside for our Social Security in the unlocked lock box called the Social Security Trust Fund. 12.5% of your hard earned pay every day, money that is supposed to provide a modicum of security and dignity in old age - wiped out. How in the world are we going to replenish the Trust Fund? Social Security was NOT an unmanageable problem until NOW.

During that long wild ride the bubbles were not all hot air - some walked away with millions, even billions. Where is that money now?

Payroll taxes ballooned in the early '80s for the express purpose of dealing with retirement of the boomers. The surplus was supposed to be put into a "trust fund" to deal with the day when expenses exceed revenues.

Instead, Republicans lowered capital gains and income taxes on the rich and raided this trust fund to manage the huge debts they were accruing. Even with the huge deficits run up by Reagan and the Bushes, there was enough surplus so that it only required minor tweaking to keep SS solvent.

Instead of paying it back it's now earmarked for bailing out Wall Street.

I also wonder if they'll step in to save the auto manufacturers and the associated jobs like they did to save Wall Street fat cats from their own greed.

I think it's truely disgusting and also a stop gap attempt to save McCain's election since a complete meltdown, which is actually warranted, would completely deep six McCain and that completely unqualified woman.

I still think we can keep it from happening...if we vote in Obama and the dems.

You can't steal money that's already been spent, god knows what wacky accounting they do to pay for this.

I believe that the trust fund was first raided in the mid-late 60s to help fund the Viet Nam war without having to levy higher taxes.

Treasury, Fed move to bolster money market funds
Friday September 19, 9:08 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Treasury, Fed announce steps to support nation's money market funds industry

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve announced separate actions Friday designed to bolster the nation's $2 trillion of assets in money market fund assets, which had come under threat from one of the worst financial crises in decades.

The Treasury said it will tap into a Depression-era fund to provide guarantees for the money market mutual funds. The Fed said it will expand its emergency lending efforts to allow commercial banks to finance purchases of asset-backed paper from money market funds. The central bank's move should help the funds to meet demands for redemptions.

The central bank, which has moved aggressively in recent days to pump money into the nation's financial system, also announced Friday it plans to purchase short-term debt obligations issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, a source of low-cost funding for mortgages, small businesses and farms.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080919/fund_rescue.html

my bold
dp

The Treasury Department said it would use its $50 billion Exchange Stabilization Fund to provide the guarantees for the money market mutual funds. The exchange fund was created in 1934 to provide support for the dollar.

It's going to need a lot more than $50B. I would guess there is a heck of a lot more bad paper out there than just MM funds.

That's the Social Security "crisis." There is no "lock box." Benefits are paid out of current receipts. There was supposed to be a fund, but they did away with it. They stole it. Now, they're worried that the payments to all these retired boomers will outstrip the current income. That wasn't supposed to happen.

played a huge role in this, their is going to be no incentive for the federal government to change. What an ugly world that Republicans and a small percentage of Democrats have created for us.

The "Social Security Trust Fund" is a legal fiction--an entry in a ledger and no more.

100% of any monies collected by the SSA are diverted to the general budget in exchange for an I.O.U.

The problem is that the US taxpayer is both the payor AND the payee on those notes. So we owe ourselves a lot of money. :eyes:

Last week, only minor tweaks and adjustments were needed to bring SS into solvency for the next 75 years. Today, a major overhaul may be necessary.

Thanks, Republicans. May you all rot in hell!

There is/was no trust fund to be affected by the current financial meltdown.

:kick:

Meet us behind city hall at midnight. Bring your torch and pitchfork!