by Jack Lee
This is probably not what you want to hear on a beautiful Sunday morning, but then the truth isn’t always warm and fuzzy. The message from the White House and Democrats in Congress goes like this: If Republicans don’t quit stalling on the budget retired folks and disabled are not going to get their social security checks.
Obama said, “”I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven’t resolved this issue because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it. This is not just a matter of Social Security checks. These are veterans’ checks, folks on disability and their checks. There are about 70 million checks that go out.” Oh yeah? Well, he’s a big fat liar!
Now for the truth: During the last major shutdown, which lasted about a month starting in late 1995, the Social Security Administration mailed checks throughout the crisis, and a close reading of established law makes clear the agency has the legal authority to do so again.
“I am absolutely sure the checks would be sent out,” said John F. Cooney, a partner at law firm Venable who designed shutdown plans for the government while employed at the Office of Management and Budget.
Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and a trustee of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, backed that view, saying claims that benefits won’t be paid are “not true.”
The legal case is clear. In 1995, President Clinton’s lawyers in the Department of Justice laid out how federal agencies should operate if Congress failed to appropriate funds. At the time, Clinton’s lawyers pointed out that Social Security checks could be mailed during a shutdown, because the program doesn’t need Congress to authorize funds for it each year. Instead, Social Security benefits are paid from the program’s trust fund.
The shutdown refers to discretionary spending that must be approved by Congress – Social Security doesn’t need that approval.
Harry Reid, Barrack Obama and all the other Democrat hacks that said social security checks would be withheld were lying and they were trying to deliberately scare the elderly. They did this for political advantage and to retain power. It’s the oldest game in Washington and when we catch em at it we need to hold them accountable. 2012 is just around the corner.
Don’t expect me to defend him. It is a rather transparently cheesy political maneuver to get the old folk on the phone to their representatives, especially the Republican ones.
The thing is, it will probably work. The electorate is beyond ignorant. Remember your fellow Tea Partiers and their “Hands Off My Medicare” signs.
Sigh.
My convertible idea would be faster and it has lots of room for others.
Good work, Jack. I thought this was the case but did not research it.
Let me chime in, President Obama Is A Big Fat Dirty Liar.
One term.
If the debt ceiling is not raised, neither Social Security nor payments on the federal debt would be at risk, at least not immediately and probably not ever. Social Security is paid from FICA taxes withheld from paychecks every month. It is separate from the general fund, or at least it was designed to be, and there is sufficient revenue from FICA coming in every month to pay the benefit checks, even without looking into the empty lock box with the IOU’s that the government has put in there while embezzling the surplus FICA money. There is a projected problem in the future when the IN/OUT balance from FICA will be upside down, but that is years away. As for the national debt, which requires interest payments for bonds and US financial obligations, that amounts to less than 20% of the monthly income from regular taxes, which are also withheld from paychecks. Furthermore, those obligations are Constitutionally protected by the 14th Amendment. They would be paid up front, no matter what. That is different from regular expenses. NASA, the Department of Education, Farm Aid, welfare, food stamps, diversity programs, green light bulbs, and a million other expenses are not constitutionally protected.
The warning of default is a falsehood. If the debt ceiling is not raised and something does not get paid for, it is the deliberate decision of the federal government, not a default. How can you “default” on funding gay and lesbian history books? Let the old people remember, if they do not receive their Social Security checks, it is because Obama decided not to pay them.
I just read a story the other day that Obama is losing his liberal base. I am pretty sure they are fired up over his threats about SSI checks. I will look for the story. Sounds to me like it would just be republicans making phone calls.
What the president said was, I cannot guarantee that SS checks will go out.”
Which is just like, “Your Social Security checks will stop!”
Almost.
Libby: “Remember your fellow Tea Partiers and their “Hands Off My Medicare” signs.”
Sure do:
http://healthreformreport.com/2010/09/how-obamacare-slashes-medicare.php
How Obamacare Slashes Medicare – Peter Ferrara, Director of Entitlement and Budget Policy at the Institute for Policy Innovation
Tea Partiers are informed citizens prepared to do battle with those lying cheating SPENDING jerks…it’s time you knew that Libby.
Jack thanks for bringing this to our attention. You and Soaps are right on the money.
I will add that the safe harbor for FICA and Medicare is closing faster than anticipated (but not a crisis now) due to the sagging economy and high unemployment. These have caused less revenue to be generated from payroll and more people going on SS early.
It occurs to me that default would quickly show the American people what constitutes unnecessary spending. Put another way…what if the administration actually had to decide, based on the Constitution and the law rather than preference or political posturing, what bills it would pay? I’d almost pay to watch the squirming.
Wow I need to lay off the coffee! The words I was looking for was “would not be” LOL oh well you get the idea or most of you will.
Thank you Laughing and thank you Libby.
Soaps, you couldn’t be more right!
Photo addition is perfect!
Twice Ive come out of my chair screaming at what Obama has said. The first was his student forgiveness program in ObamaCare and the second was him saying that SS checks may not be sent. There have been many other times I have just yelled, but this last one either showed his complete lack of knowledge, his direct attempt to scare the voters or he believes we all have the memory of a gnat.
Jack and Soap are 100% correct. FICA taxes are taken from paychecks and deposited directly into a separate categorical fund account and is NOT commingled with the General fund account. In the past the funds have been borrowed from the SS/FICA account and moved into the general funds for years if not decades leaving a big IOU. Weve all heard about this for years and years and to have Obama say there may not be sufficient funds showed his ignorance or lack of character.
I may be wrong, but I believe since congress has already approved the funds in the budget for all of the various programs it will be up to Treasury Sec., Tim Geithner as part of his duties and responsibilities as to how the funds will be distributed. Not only the amounts but also when. So, his past history of tax cheating and double book accounting may actually come in handy for him in juggling the books.
One thing Im not hearing and sure wish the conservative leaders would bring up more, is the reason for needing another debt ceiling raise. We still do not have a budget. Havent had one for over two years. Cant run a home, small business, large corporation or an educational institution without one, so how does a county operate without one. It doesnt!
For anyone concerned about social security checks being in the mail, I provide this link for further reading–http://www.ssa.gov/history/nestor.html
“How Obamacare Slashes Medicare”
It does not slash … it restructures. We are not doing that fee-for-service thing anymore. It’s fee for outcome, now.
That is, you can prescribe MRIs til the moon goes blue, but you don’t get paid unless the MRI leads to an actual diagnosis and/or outcome.
(So there is no longer any point in ownership [stock or otherwise] in the private entities performing MRIs.)
YES!!!!!
thanks Jack, can’t get the paper today! This was worth reading.
Libby let me get this right. You are saying that you are ok with a Russian roulette style billing system for diagnostic testing? I mean maybe they will get paid maybe they wont. What if the MRI comes back with nothing on it, meaning you don’t have cancer but you are still ill? Under your system the people doing the test would not get paid the guy reading it wouldn’t get paid so in all likely hood the test would not be performed. I guess that is all fine and good until it is you or a loved one who is ill and the doctors wont use all the tools in the box to find out what is wrong. Am I reading you right?
Libby: “That is, you can prescribe MRIs til the moon goes blue, but you don’t get paid…”
You could have stopped right there. Before Obamacare the docs were already not getting paid by Medicare…they were, however, subject to lawsuit and high liability insurance costs…hence the cover your ass prescribing of MRI’s. The government’s refusdal to pay and regulate the ambulance chasers (democrat funding source) caused the problem in the first place. And if you buy that restructuting BS you haven’t watched how the bureaucracy always works.
“(So there is no longer any point in ownership [stock or otherwise] in the private entities performing MRIs.)
YES!!!!!”
So you are admitting that the real purpose for Obamacare is to kill the private sector?
!
We wouldn’t be in this mess if they wouldn’t over do it on food stamps, medicare, housing and all that good stuff that the illegals get. They don’t even piss test to retreive the dang check. All they do is collect collect and collect without working. That’s why we are in this mess.BUT……the people drive an awesome car with awesome rims….wtf???
Since the government is always in need of money it can tap into an unlimited supply by enforcing the 16th Amendment which gives the Congress the power to lay and collect taxes on all incomes from whatever source derived. Congress should TAX THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, PRIVATE CORPORATION THAT EARNS ITS MONEY FROM THE GOVERNMENT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER CONTRACTOR. The private Fed Bank ABROGATED its contract with the government and IS NOT EXEMPTED by the 16th Amendment. Let’s support Ron Paul for president and end the fiat interest bearing debt money of the Private Monopoly that is destroying the economy of the middle class and the poor. TAX THE FED BANK!
I am so ashamed that our country has deterioted to having a president such as Obama. He needs to be tarred and feathered and run out of dodge on a rail and floated back to Kenya where he came from. I would rather have a common person off the street instead of Barack Obama. I don’t want a common person but if we did he would be a better choice than what we have now.
Get him out people!!
Thanks Maggie…we feel your pain!
This is some crap right here. When i heard about this i was pissed because my grandparents live off of their social security and Va checks. This isn’t right.
>:(
Tatiana, first that is one of my favorite names. Please don’t let your grandparents worry needlessly, they will get their checks. This is not the first time this budget delay has happened and social security checks were not delayed back then and they won’t be this time. We don’t need Congress to approve anything – the money is already set aside for payment.
I WOULD LIKE TOO KNOW WHEN OUR GOV WILL SHUT DOWN , THE JOB CORP CENTER FOR THOSE 17 YEARS OF AGE TO 24, I WAS AT 3 JOB CORP CENTERS, FROM WHAT I LEARNED THEY ARE A HUGE GOV SCAM, NO REAL PROMISE OF A JOB, DRUG DEALER EXIST THE CENTERS, PIMPS WHO USE YOUNG GIRL TO MAKE MONEY, ONE HAS TOO BE VERY STREET SMART AND HARD CORE TOO MAKE IT,ALL 3 JOB CORP CENTERS I WAS AT I HAD STUFF STOLEN THE FIRST NITE, AS WELL AS OTHER NEW STUDENTS, LIES TOLD BY STATE EMPLOYMENT OFFICE TOO GET YOUNG FOLKS INTO JOB CORP, LIKE CO ED HOUSEING, GOLF COURSE SWIMMING POOL ECT CO ED HOUSEING FOR MARRIED COUPLES WITH OUT KIDS.ONE GUY TRIED TO CHARGE 3000 PERCENT INTEREST ON A PACK OF NOODLES,I GOT MUG ONCE KNOCKED OUT COLD, POOR MEDICAL CARE,SO I CHOOS TOO LEAVE JOB CORP PLUS HAVE WARNED MOST OF WHAT JOB CORP IS LIKE,
Thanks Randy. You are right, the Job Core is full of criminals and they need to be weeded out. I’m sorry you have a bad experience and I hope you will find your way to a better place. There are good jobs out there who want hard working honest people so you hand in there. If you need any help with ideas, you can always write us and we’ll see what we can do.