Users Online Now: 494 (Who's On?)		Visitors Today: 14,965
Pageviews Today: 38,362	Threads Today: 57	Posts Today: 884
01:45 AM

News

Back to Forum

Post New Thread

View Favorites

Ron Paul - Government Statistics and Lies

RSS

SpaceCommand
User ID: 533318
11/3/2009 2:17 PM

Report abusive post

Ron Paul - Government Statistics and Lies

Quote

[link to www.321gold.com]

Rep. Ron Paul
Texas Straight Talk
Nov 3, 2009

There has been a lot of talk in Washington recently about senior citizens, mostly about how various healthcare reform models would help or hurt them. But there is another critical issue that has quietly devastated seniors financially over the last few decades. It concerns how the cost of living is calculated. How does the administration justify not giving a cost of living increase to Social Security recipients this year?

According to the official Consumer Price Index calculation, life has gotten cheaper for the first time in decades. If the government can show statistically that the cost of living has gone down, not up, then they can make the case for not giving a cost of living increase to social security recipients. But does this match reality? Using older calculations of CPI, the cost of living has actually increased - by roughly 5 percent!

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a calculation based on the average price of a fixed basket of goods that was initially designed to help businesses adjust for inflation. The government eventually started using it to determine cost of living adjustments for entitlement programs. Couple that with politicians' discovery that they could raid the social security trust fund to pay for new spending programs, and you have a perfect storm to deny seniors what they were promised, while hiding the true size of the deficit. For politicians, it is a win-win.

For seniors, it is a different story. Economist John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics has estimated that if the original methodology of CPI had not changed, Social Security checks would be nearly double what they are today. This represents a lot of money that politicians have been able to literally steal from seniors, to spend on their own wasteful programs. One example of how they do this is to substitute hamburger for steak, which lowers the average price of that basket of goods. But living on hamburger, or maybe dog food, instead of steak does not represent a constant standard of living. This renders the measurement virtually meaningless, even though politically it comes in very handy.

I have introduced legislation to keep politicians in Washington from ever raiding the Social Security trust fund again. HR 219 The Social Security Preservation Act would assure that all monies collected by the Social Security Trust Fund would only be used in payments to beneficiaries, or be placed in interest bearing certificates of deposit. This would at least stop the bleeding of the fund, and take away some incentive to tease and torture the numbers in order to give seniors the minimal amount. This would also cut off a source of funding for government growth, so it is not likely to get easy support from many politicians.

It is bad enough that Washington imposes high payroll taxes on American workers. The least Congress could do is use the tax dollars for their stated purpose. [Editor's note: highlighting is mine] Instead, seniors will have a harder and harder time trying to survive on a fixed income in an economy based on variables and deception. For them, it is too late to start over. Today's young people will be forced to pay into the system for years to come. The first step towards solving the impending crisis facing Social Security is to stop politicians from raiding the trust fund and to significantly cut federal government spending.

Nov 2, 2009
Rep. Ron Paul

Tommy
User ID: 651350
11/3/2009 2:19 PM

Re: Ron Paul - Government Statistics and Lies	Quote
your on fire today nice read!

itdincor
User ID: 588013
11/3/2009 3:15 PM

Re: Ron Paul - Government Statistics and Lies	Quote

Anonymous Coward
User ID: 786426
11/16/2009 10:26 PM

Re: Ron Paul - Government Statistics and Lies

Quote

111th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. 219

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to ensure the integrity of the Social Security trust funds by requiring the Managing Trustee to invest the annual surplus of such trust funds in marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States and certificates of deposit in depository institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and to protect such trust funds from the public debt limit.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 6, 2009

Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. JONES, Mr. PETRI, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. GERLACH, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

A BILL

To amend title II of the Social Security Act to ensure the integrity of the Social Security trust funds by requiring the Managing Trustee to invest the annual surplus of such trust funds in marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States and certificates of deposit in depository institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and to protect such trust funds from the public debt limit.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Social Security Preservation Act of 2009'.

SEC. 2. INVESTMENT OF THE FEDERAL OLD-AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE TRUST FUND AND THE FEDERAL DISABILITY INSURANCE TRUST FUND.

(a) In General- Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(d)) is amended--

(1) by inserting `(1)' after `(d)';

(2) by striking `Such investments may be made only' and inserting the following: `Except as provided in paragraph (2), such investments may be made only';

(3) by striking the last sentence; and

(4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

`(2)(A) The Managing Trustee shall determine the annual surplus (as defined in subparagraph (B)) for each of the Trust Funds as of the end of each fiscal year. The Managing Trustee shall ensure that such annual surplus is invested, throughout the next following fiscal year, in--

`(i) marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States, purchased on original issue or at the market price, or

`(ii) certificates of deposit in insured depository institutions (as defined in section 3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act).

`(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the `annual surplus' for either of the Trust Funds as of the end of a fiscal year is the excess (if any) of--

`(i) the sum of--

`(I) in the case of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the amounts appropriated to such Trust Fund under paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (a) for the fiscal year,

`(II) in the case of the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the amounts appropriated to such Trust Fund under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b) for the fiscal year, and

`(III) in either case, the amount appropriated to such Trust Fund under section 121(e) of the Social Security Amendments of 1983 for the fiscal year, and any amounts otherwise credited to or deposited in such Trust Fund under this title for the fiscal year, over

`(ii) the amounts paid or transferred from such Trust Fund during the fiscal year.'.

(b) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to annual surpluses as of the end of fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2009.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUNDS FROM THE PUBLIC DEBT LIMIT.

(a) Protection of Trust Funds- Notwithstanding any other provision of law--

(1) no officer or employee of the United States may--

(A) delay the deposit of any amount into (or delay the credit of any amount to) the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund or otherwise vary from the normal terms, procedures, or timing for making such deposits or credits, or

(B) refrain from the investment in public debt obligations of amounts in either of such Trust Funds,

if a purpose of such action or inaction is to not increase the amount of outstanding public debt obligations, and

(2) no officer or employee of the United States may disinvest amounts in either of such Trust Funds which are invested in public debt obligations if a purpose of the disinvestment is to reduce the amount of outstanding public debt obligations.

(b) Protection of Benefits and Expenditures for Administrative Expenses-

(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding subsection (a), during any period for which cash benefits or administrative expenses would not otherwise be payable from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund by reason of an inability to issue further public debt obligations because of the applicable public debt limit, public debt obligations held by such Trust Fund shall be sold or redeemed only for the purpose of making payment of such benefits or administrative expenses and only to the extent cash assets of such Trust Fund are not available from month to month for making payment of such benefits or administrative expenses.

(2) ISSUANCE OF CORRESPONDING DEBT- For purposes of undertaking the sale or redemption of public debt obligations held by the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury may issue corresponding public debt obligations to the public, in order to obtain the cash necessary for payment of benefits or administrative expenses from such Trust Fund, notwithstanding the public debt limit.

(3) ADVANCE NOTICE OF SALE OR REDEMPTION- Not less than 3 days prior to the date on which, by reason of the public debt limit, the Secretary of the Treasury expects to undertake a sale or redemption authorized under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the United States regarding the expected sale or redemption. Upon receipt of such report, the Comptroller General shall review the extent of compliance with subsection (a) and paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection and shall issue such findings and recommendations to each House of the Congress as the Comptroller General considers necessary and appropriate.

(c) Public Debt Obligation- For purposes of this section, the term `public debt obligation' means any obligation subject to the public debt limit established under section 3101 of title 31, United States Code.

END

[link to thomas.loc.gov]

bump

Back to Forum

Post New Thread

View Favorites

Disclaimer:
This website exists for entertainment purposes only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. Moderators on this forum make every effort to review the material posted on this site however, it is not realistically possible for our small staff to manually review each and every one of the more than 10,000 posts GodlikeProductions gets on a daily basis.

The content of post on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of GodlikeProductions. This site may contain adult content and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.

Not all posts on this website are intended as truthful or factual assertion by their authors. Some users of this website are participating in internet role playing, with or without the use of an avatar. NO post on this website should be considered factual information on face value alone. Users are encouraged to USE DISCERNMENT and do their own follow up research while reading and posting on this website. Godlikeproductions.com reserves the right to make changes to, corrections and/or remove entirely at any time posts made on this website without notice. In addition, Godlikeproductions.com disclaims any and all liability for damages incurred directly or indirectly as a result of a post on this website.

This site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. You should not assume that this site is error-free or that it will be suitable for the particular purpose which you have in mind when using it. In no event shall Godlikeproductions.com be liable for any special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages of any kind, or any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, and on any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of this site or other documents which are referenced by or linked to this site.

Some events depicted in certain posting and threads on this website may be fictitious and any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. Some other articles may be based on actual events but which in certain cases incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. Certain characters may be composites, or entirely fictitious.

We do not discriminate against the mentally ill!

Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C.Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information please visit:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Please be aware any communications sent complaining about a post on this website may be posted publicly at the discretion of the administration.

This Disclaimer is subject to change at anytime.

Mail Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.

Privacy Policy - Terms Of Use

Copyright 1999-2009 © GodLikeProductions.com

Page generated in 0.037s (5 queries)