Oops. Social Security Not Paying For Itself. 6 Years Earlier than Predicted. Government Misunderestimated. Again. What a Huge Surprise.

Social Security Promo Poster, 1936 - 1937.

Social Security is no longer taking in more or the same than it's paying out.  This is an interesting development.  You see, we all knew the day would come, but it's now come 6 years earlier than expected.  So for all those politicians who in the past have felt they can just kick the can to the next bunch of elected officials, well, time to pay the piper.  I personally wonder if the politicians have felt no urgency to this matter as they don't pay into this system and are not part of it.  I'm a GenX-er.  I don't believe for one second that I'll see my SS.  But this is only because since I was small, my Mom told me that I shouldn't expect to ever see it, so be responsible for my own retirement money.  Shrewd Boomer, that one.  Anyway, my peers all feel the same way.  But the ones who will truly suffer from this aren't my generation, it's the boomers now retiring.  I think of the policiticans who have screwed and mismanaged and essentially taken the $ poured into the SSI funds and replaced these monies with IOUs, and the little old ladies who are widows, my parents and grandparents... they rely on this income because they were told that they'd have this and this is their retirement.  Now whether it is smart or not, the government made it clear that there would be this funding for retirement for people.  And when it's not there, it's a damn crime.  It's worse than that.  It's a conscious, intentional, evil deed.

Yes it may be legal, but it's W R O N G.  Not all things that are bad or wrong are illegal.

So now the day has come 6 years early (due to the unemployment I imagine, gee who could have seen that coming) where the amount being paid into the system is less than the amount being pulled out.  Time to crack open those drawers and cash some of those IOUs.

You know, I was thinking... if the government just took the running-head-start healthcare taxes and used that money to pay for social security and swapped the SSI IOUs (Those IOUs are actually Treasury bonds, did you know?)   with the healthcare "funds" we're supposed to accumulate... well, wouldn't that be creative!  Then the black hole of social security would be patched until 2014 when our healthcare is supposed to kick in.  That way, when we need the funds for the healthcare that 70% of the population opposed in its current format, well~  Social Security will still be broke (broker than it is now) and that healthcare funding we need will not be there.  So instead of 1 black hole and national healthcare, we'll have 2 black holes and all our insurance companies out of business.  Hmmmm.  Seems easy to see, so how come our brave leaders who are oh-so-much smarter than the general durr-duhh-populus (as they see us) in those backwoods flyover states can't see it?

Or can they?  I really am beginning to wonder?  How is it actually possible that they don't see this cliff they've steered us?  And now they're whipping the horses so that they'll be unstoppable.   



I am nearly convinced that those people in power who do nothing about social security are complicit in this legalized robbery of the present, past, and future generations' money for their own purposes.  But it really doesn't matter to them because it's not something that can land them in jail.  And since they and their friends and family are financially set for life, what does it matter.  I hope I am wrong, but I cannot come to any other conclusion.  I'm out of ideas.  Our leaders are lacking the common sense and decency of knowing right from wrong, that right and wrong that isn't in a law, but in the hearts and souls of most men and women.  They seem to be missing that inner compass of a moral conscience.  I don't understand it, I can't excuse it, and I see the consequences of electing persons who are put forth as candidates by people who say that "character doesn't matter, it's how well s/he does the job." Nope. Wrong. Those repercussions of that thinking is now quite obvious but the damage is done- our policy has been set by those people who believe that character doesn't matter.     


Meanwhile, back at the ranch... the American People are soiling their collective drawers  because as we all know, as the healthcare IOUs when they are cashed, are simply going to be the equivalent of the printing presses churning out more dollars.  Since the dollars aren't actually there, the Treasury [that is dead broke and running on less than zero with additional deficit every year remember] will simply issue little pieces of paper that provide little old ladies with more funds to put in their banks, or cash to use.  As the social security payments are made, our dollar is devalued as every little payment adds to our deficit and national debt.  Tick Tock....  Just hang on till November folks.  It'll be time to get fresh faces in there.

In the meantime, start planting your victory gardens, this is going to be a bumpy year.

Why Ford is Awesome.

I have never owned a Ford. But the next time that I am in the market for a car, I will be definitely looking to support them.

Why Ford's Winning By Not Taking Government Money

Would I ever buy a GM or Chrysler? Hell no. Why not? I'll sum it up this way:

If GM and Chrysler weren't competitive enough to stay in business in an up market, how are they going to do well in a down one? And this is down! They had to go hat in hand before. And they didn't learn from it. Oh wait, I take that back. They did learn from that. They learned the lesson that our government has been consistently been teaching for the better part of the last 2 decades. Here's where we are now, for the most part due to this sort of crap. This is kind of how I see what's going on.

Government Policy Makers: "We will punish success & reward mediocrity. So do your most mediocre and fiscally irresponsible-est and we'll be there to hand you the bucks that have been taken from the achievers. "

American People: "NO!"

Government Policy Makers: "And you'll like it because we say so, you stupid peon astroturf cornpone simple simpletons in the middle of the country."

American People: "WTF! No, listen to us! We are burning up your phone lines, faxes, emails and mailboxes saying no no no no. Listen to us!"

Government Policy Makers: "Go grow us some corn and wheat and cows. Meanwhile, we're going to continue with more bailouts, cap and trade, and more stuff that you can't even imagine all tucked into multi-thousand page bills that we haven't read."

American People: "Really. See you at the ballot box in 2010. We're comin' for ya. Meanwhile, we're buying Fords. "

But I digress... back to the meat of this post.

This tactic is not new for Ford. They did this back in the Great Depression. They stood up to Uncle Sam and almost folded. But they didn't. And they survived.

Ford Learned from this lesson and have never forgotten the loyalty of their customer, the American People.

Here's what happened, in a nutshell:

In order to stop deflation during the GD, FDR put price controls into place through the National Recovery Administration, which essentially set price floors for businesses who were participating in the N.R.A. (Not to be confused with the National Rifle Association.)

N.R.A. logo so it sticks in your mind:

"Businesses that supported the NRA put the symbol in their shop windows and on their packages. Though membership to the NRA was voluntary, businesses that did not display the eagle were very often boycotted, making it seem to many mandatory for survival."

(source: Wiki: National Recovery Administration)

So: FDR announced as part of some government spending programs, that he was going to purchase a whole fleet of automobiles for the government. Ford was on top of the industry at that time, being the guy who came up with the auto assembly line. So Ford bid on the job. FDR went back to Ford and said, yes, you can have the business if you raise your prices to be in line with the N.R.A. guidelines. Ford said, no. We don't participate in the N.R.A. and we belive in discounting our product to make it affordable to the customer. We're not going to hike the price on the taxpayer dollars right now in the middle of a Depression when people are out of work! No. We will NOT lower our price.

"I do not think that this country is ready to be treated like Russia for a while. There is a lot of the pioneer spirit here yet.”

~Henry Ford

So what happened? Well, a piece out of today, actually~ FDR said, no deal. President Roosevelt retaliated with executive order requiring that Ford either comply with NRA or be barred from governmnet contracts. Ford refused to yield. At the end of 1934, the pressure from the public was too great and government agencies returned to Ford for purchases.

"Although Henry Ford was heavily criticized for his attitude toward the NRA during August and September 1933, the tide of public opinion, as the stalemate continued, began to run heavily in his favor. "The cheering and marching for NRA," said Business Week in October 1933, "seems to have generated little if any public resentment against Mr. Ford." The magazine added that a newsreel's fleeting shot of Henry Ford, which followed several hundred feet of film on General Johnson [NRA administrator] and NRA activities, elicited applause in the theatres when it was shown."

[source: "The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Fold Hero and his Company." by David L. Lewis. (July 1987) Wayne State University Press.]

So I say to Ford: Cheers. Hip Hip Hooray. You GO! The American People are behind you. They see. They read. They pay attention. They talk. They notice. They've got your back.