Question for the SS Experts

[BeFree]

An average check is 1,000.

$1,000 times 50 million payees.... 1000 x 50,000,000 equals 50,000,000,000

Which is $50 billion.

That means the government has to sell at least $50 billion of assets to make the SS checks good?

Please.... double check the figures.

[BeFree]

1. What? No experts here?

I figure the govt. sends $50 billion a month in SS checks.

Since the SS Trust fund is owned by the govt. and the govt. have no cash, it means they have to sell assets (bonds) to make the checks good after August 3.

Am I wrong?

[former9thward]

2. You are wrong. The government does have cash.

The government brings in about $200 billion in a normal month. They currently spend about $300 billion in a normal month. Which means they have to borrow about $100 billion a month to make the difference.

[BeFree]

3. Thanks... you are brave

But as for just SS, in order for just the SS checks clear, my math says 50B.

And, from your figuring, another 50B borrowed for war?

[former9thward]

4. For everything. Not just war.

The government is far more than war and SS. There are about 3 million federal workers who get paid every month just for starters.

[BeFree]

5. Yeah

But the wars are an added expense that the country does not need.

We do need the federal workers. We don't need to be flushing 600 billion down the pentagon toilet.

[sabrina 1]

6. No they don't. That would only be the case if

there was no revenue coming in. You are forgetting that the fund is receiving money all the time, not just from payroll taxes, but from interest on the Treasury Bonds which has ALWAYS been paid.

And it won't be for many more years before it needs to dip into the surplus.

You are thinking of the surplus which was over 2 trillion dollars.

Rightwingers are trying to scare people into thinking that the US Govt won't make good on the Treasury Bonds in which the SS Surplus is invested.

We the people are CREDITORS of the US Govt. Just like any other creditor, and those Treasury Bonds are backed by the 'full faith and credit' of the US Govt.

However, many in DC want to keep the surplus rising so they can keep dipping into the fund for their wars and bailouts etc.

Which is why they are trying to 'trim' or 'cut' or whatever word they use, any way they can. Any savings they achieve WILL NOT GO TO THE DEFICIT. Sorry to yell, but they try to make people believe that. The savings will remain in the SS fund, instead of being used by the people who need that money. But that means the Govt can continue to use the funds.

The ultimate goal is to privatize that fund, to invest it in Wall St. and that should scare anyone even to think of it.

[BeFree]

7. You are right

I did forget the sums coming in.

Problem is, I think, the way they see it, is they want all of the extra sums to go right in the general fund and be spent, as they are now doing.

They have spent the extra money that came/comes in.

How much in $$ is that, I wonder?