More SS undermining

[MasterBlaster]

That's a reason for cutting benefits.
My question was about the mechanism for cutting benefits.

Would checks to retirees be reduced in their amounts? On whose authority? ?

It would have to be legislation passed by congress and signed by the president.

Or would banks stop honoring the checks? What would actually happen

All checks could be worthless along with our currency in worst case scenario(s) (eg. Greece, or 30s Germany) should this happen then problems are everywhere, not just in SS.

What is most likely, is that interest rates will go skyward, borrowing more $$ to fund everything becomes prohibitive. Then a crisis follows with ever higher taxes, cutbacks, strikes and lots of unhappy people who liked things the way they were.

Should we choose to monetize the debt, then inflation will eat away at the value of everything.

 

[haha]

That's a reason for cutting benefits. My question was about the mechanism for cutting benefits. Would checks to retirees be reduced in their amounts? On whose authority? Or would banks stop honoring the checks? What would actually happen?

It is a fallacy to think that something can't happen because you or even a room full of experts can't think of a mechanism for its happening.


Ha

 

[ERD50]

... My question was about the mechanism for cutting benefits. Would checks to retirees be reduced in their amounts? On whose authority? Or would banks stop honoring the checks? What would actually happen?

It is a fallacy to think that something can't happen because you or even a room full of experts can't think of a mechanism for its happening.


Ha

We don't even need to imagine. It has already happened:

Social Security History FAQs Internet Myths

In 1983 Congress changed the law by specifically authorizing the taxation of Social Security benefits. This was part of the 1983 Amendments, and this law overrode the earlier administrative rulings from the Treasury Department.

Adding a tax effectively cuts the benefits. I expect to see more of this, of course only for the minority of those who are collecting the higher amounts (who already receive lower payments relative to their inputs).

-ERD50

 

[jebmke]

We don't even need to imagine. It has already happened:

Social Security History FAQs Internet Myths



Adding a tax effectively cuts the benefits. I expect to see more of this, of course only for the minority of those who are collecting the higher amounts (who already receive lower payments relative to their inputs).

-ERD50

I agree. Absent a general tax increase, there are only three real needle movers to affect the deficit. SS, Medicare and Defense.

 

[keegs]

I agree. Absent a general tax increase, there are only three real needle movers to affect the deficit. SS, Medicare and Defense.

There's a fourth that doesn't involve a tax increase.

Find a world class health care system and steal it.

 

[ERD50]

There's a fourth that doesn't involve a tax increase.

Find a world class health care system and steal it.

Well, I don't want to derail this thread with the health care debate, plenty of other threads on that. But I'll just say that the Swiss system seemed like a reasonable model. We didn't get anything even close .

-ERD50