The Great Social Security Robbery

• Published in: The Ledger (Lakeland)
• Main Author: Smith, Allen W
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lakeland, Fla Halifax Media Group 28.09.2014
• Subjects: Geithner, Tim
• ISSN: 0163-0288

  [Tim Geithner] wrote, "In treating Social Security like a slush fund, the federal government has borrowed, spent and vowed to pay back the $2.5 trillion or so 'surplus' in payroll tax revenue it has siphoned out of Social Security. The money has been spent, but the federal government has promised to pay it back." By explaining the operation of Social Security in his book, Geithner has publicly stated that the federal government has: (1) "siphoned" the surplus payroll tax revenue "out of Social Security," and (2) the government has treated "Social Security like a slush fund." Geithner became a "whistleblower" when he included this important information in his book. The Social Security trust fund holds no real assets. The IOUs that some call "trust-fund bonds" are not real bonds. They are not marketable, so they cannot be converted into cash or used to pay benefits. The IOUs are a pledge made by our government that we, the people, will pay enough additional taxes in the future to redeem the $2.7 trillion in government IOUs.