Important: Summary of Soc. Sec. changes effective this year:

refer to article for the 4 basic changes.
http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/111849/social-security-changes-in-2011?mod=fidelity-readytoretire&cat=fidelity_2010_getting_ready_to_retire
I want to point out the "behind the news" of the changes.

1.The amount workers pay into the Social Security trust fund will temporarily drop from 6.2 percent of taxable wages up to $106,800 annually to 4.2 percent in 2011 only.
Look at this key quote, and who made it:

" This pretty much ends the claim that Social Security is self-financing or that it doesn't contribute to the budget deficit,"
says Andrew Biggs , a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
and a former deputy commissioner of the Social Security Administration.

Wiki says:
"The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is a conservative, non-partisan think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise......."
Some AEI scholars are considered to be some of the leading architects of the second Bush administration's public policy. More than twenty AEI scholars and fellows served either in a Bush administration policy post or on one of the government's many panels and commissions. Among the prominent former government officials now affiliated with AEI are former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, now an AEI senior fellow; former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Lynne Cheney, a longtime AEI senior fellow; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, now an AEI senior fellow; former Dutch member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an AEI visiting fellow; and former deputy secretary of defense Paul Wolfowitz, now an AEI visiting scholar."

2nd important change:

Paper checks retired.
Retirees who apply for Social Security benefits on or after May 1, 2011, will no longer have the option of receiving a paper check in the mail. Seniors can have their entitlement payments directly deposited into a bank or credit union account or loaded onto a prepaid Direct Express Debit MasterCard.
Retirees already receiving paper checks will need to switch to direct deposit or the prepaid debit card by March 1, 2013.
A word to wise about these debit type cards:
There are several fees attached, I consider them rip-offs.
Debit cards are the new future of payments for state and Fed governments,
and there is a push to have employers use them for paychecks.
Worth exploring the topic.

The other 2 changes are:
Free loan option eliminated
Retroactive benefit suspensions discontinued

...and there were no fees attached unless it was a fee charged by an ATM when I drew cash out. That only happens if you use an ATM machine that charges a fee. If you go to a bank atm that the card is associated with or you just get cash back at the grocery store, there are no fees for that.

I'm all for reducing paper when its not necessary. We need it for voting. We don't need it for much else.

From the US Government Treasury information page:

*More than one ATM withdrawal per deposit ($0.90 per withdrawal).
Since some ( mine, for example) ATMs limit withdrawals to 200.00, than means any other cash withdrawal has a 90 cent fee.

*ATM owner fees called "surcharge fees" may apply if you do not use one of the approximately 50,000 surcharge-free network ATMs.
For those living in very rural areas, like me, it may be hard to find a close by bank that is in network.

* Monthly paper statement mailed to you ($0.75 per month).
* Transfer of money from your card account to a personal U.S. bank account ($1.50).
* Card replacement after one free replacement card per year ($4.00 per card).
http://www.fms.treas.gov/directexpresscard/questions.html#fees

From News story about the cards:

Q: What fees apply to the card?

A: You'll be charged if you want monthly paper statements and sometimes for replacement cards.
You typically get one free ATM withdrawal each month; you'll pay 90 cents for each additional withdrawal.
If you use an ATM outside Direct Express' network of 48,000 machines, you could also be charged a surcharge of up to $3 per withdrawal.
Hefty fees also apply if you use the card at a merchant or ATM outside the USA.

Q: What if I want to withdraw all my money?

A: You can get your money transferred from the debit card to a bank account for $1.50.
You can also withdraw money from ATMs, though many ATM operators limit the amount you can withdraw per day to between $200 and $1,000.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2008-06-09-ss-debitcards-qa_N.htm

Debit Card Fees

The issuer of the debit card, Comerica, will profit from cardholder fees including interchange fees (which are charged to retailers when they accept a debit card as payment), and the float on funds in cardholder accounts. For example, the money residing in accounts can be invested by Comerica prior to its use by accountholders. Initial estimates, provided by Comerica, indicate they expect between 2.5 million to 10 million cardholders by 2013.
Other fees include a $0.50 charge for each online bill payment,
and a $0.75 fee to receive a paper statement each month.

http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-Planning/Buying-Insurance/Social-Security-Debit-Card/

Sure fire way to kill the Soc.Sec. system faster, I agree.

Once they start playing with it
they will not stop until the big boys own it

Anyone conflating a conservative to someone who's capable of thinking needs their head examined! LOL

And the AEI is about as partisan as they get.

AEI is governed by a Board of Trustees, composed of leading business and financial executives.

Kevin B. Rollins, Chairman
Senior Adviser
TPG Capital

Tully M. Friedman, Vice Chairman
Chairman and CEO
Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, LLC

Gordon M. Binder
Managing Director
Coastview Capital, LLC

Arthur C. Brooks
President
American Enterprise Institute

The Honorable Richard B. Cheney

Harlan Crow
Chairman and CEO
Crow Holdings

Daniel A. D'Aniello
Co-Founder and Managing Director
The Carlyle Group

John V. Faraci
Chairman and CEO
International Paper Company

Christopher B. Galvin
Chairman
Harrison Street Capital, LLC

Raymond V. Gilmartin
Harvard Business School

Harvey Golub
Chairman and CEO, Retired
American Express Company

Robert F. Greenhill
Founder and Chairman
Greenhill & Co. Inc.

Frank J. Hanna
Hanna Capital, LLC

Roger Hertog

Bruce Kovner
Chairman
Caxton Associates, LP

Marc S. Lipschultz
Partner
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

John A. Luke Jr.
Chairman and CEO
MeadWestvaco Corporation

Robert A. Pritzker
President and CEO
Colson Associates, Inc.

J. Peter Ricketts
President and Director
Platte Institute for Economic Research, Inc.

Edward B. Rust Jr.
Chairman and CEO
State Farm Insurance Companies

D. Gideon Searle
Managing Partner
The Serafin Group, LLC

Mel Sembler
Founder and Chairman
The Sembler Company

Wilson H. Taylor
Chairman Emeritus
CIGNA Corporation

William H. Walton
Managing Member
Rockpoint Group, LLC

William L. Walton
Rappahannock Ventures LLC

The Honorable Marilyn Ware

James Q. Wilson
Boston College Pepperdine University


http://www.aei.org/aei-website/managed-content/site-pages/about/board-of-trustees.html