Raiding The Trust Fund: Using Social Security Money To Fund Tax Cuts For The Rich - Allen W. Smith - 9780990303664 | ReComparo.com (2024)

FAQs

Is the Social Security Trust Fund real? ›

The Social Security trust funds are financial accounts in the U.S. Treasury. There are two separate Social Security trust funds, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund pays retirement and survivors benefits, and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund pays disability benefits.

Yes, the federal government borrows Social Security funds, but it is required to pay the money back with interest.

Bush 'borrowed' $1.37 trillion of Social Security surplus revenue to pay for his tax cuts for the rich and his war in Iraq and never paid it back”.

HOW DOES A TRUST AFFECT MY SSI BENEFITS? If you use your assets to establish a trust on or after January 1, 2000, generally, the trust will count as your resource for SSI. In the case of a revocable trust, the whole trust is your resource.

A separate Experian estimate from 2017 has driver's licenses selling for $20 while, surprisingly, Social Security numbers can sell for as little as $1. Shopping logins range from $15.34 for Macy's Inc to $1.56 for Wayfair Inc and FreshDirect. Amazon.com, Inc. and Walmart Inc logins each go for $9.00.

For over three decades, however, Social Security collected more in payroll taxes and other income than it paid in benefits and other expenses, and the Treasury invested the surplus in interest-bearing Treasury securities, ultimately reaching a total of $2.9 trillion in trust fund reserves.

To sum it up, Congress hasn't stolen a dime from Social Security; every cent in asset reserves is accounted for; and the program is generating interest income on its excess cash. Image source: Getty Images.

The fact is that Congress, despite borrowing $2.9 trillion from Social Security, hasn't pilfered or misappropriated a red cent from the program.

By law, the funds are invested in special-issue Treasury securities that earn interest. In effect, the funds are loaned to the Treasury, which borrows the money just as it borrows money when it sells Treasury securities to the public.

A3. The taxation of Social Security began in 1984 following passage of a set of Amendments in 1983, which were signed into law by President Reagan in April 1983. These amendments passed the Congress in 1983 on an overwhelmingly bi-partisan vote.

Which president wanted to privatize Social Security? ›

February 2005 – Republican President George W. Bush outlined a major initiative to reform Social Security which included partial privatization of the system, personal Social Security accounts, and options to permit Americans to divert a portion of their Social Security tax (FICA) into secured investments.

All members of Congress, the President and Vice President, Federal judges, and most political appointees, were covered under the Social Security program starting in January 1984. They pay into the system just like everyone else.

The Social Security trust funds, managed by the Department of the Treasury, are the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. Since the beginning of the Social Security program, all securities held by the trust funds have been issued by the Federal Government.

There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is a U.S. Treasury account that pays Social Security benefits to retired workers, their survivors, and eligible children.

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is a U.S. Treasury account that pays Social Security benefits to retired workers, their survivors, and eligible children.

As of 2021, the Trust Fund contained (or alternatively, was owed) $2.908 trillion. The Trust Fund is required by law to be invested in non-marketable securities issued and guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the federal government. These securities earn a market rate of interest.

This will ultimately result in drastically higher taxes, reduced benefits, increased debt, or cuts to other critical government programs. The Government Has Borrowed $1.7 Trillion From The Social Security Trust Fund. The government has borrowed the total value of the Trust Fund to pay for other government spending.

Social Security benefits are paid from the reserves of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance ( OASDI ) trust fund. The reserves are funded from dedicated tax revenues and interest on accumulated reserve holdings, which are invested in Treasury securities.