The great social security heist began with Reagan.

[shockey80]

Have you ever noticed when you trace the origins of many of the problems we face, it starts in the 1980s. It was Reagan who increased the SS surplus and instead of investing it, he raided it. The presidents that followed did the same thing.

In one of the cruelest acts in our history, in my opinion, Reagan raised the full retirement age on the millions of men and women who built this country proudly, with their arms and backs. The people who wrote this law, the heaviest thing they ever lifted in their lives was the pen to write the law that raised the retirement age for the people who do the heavy lifting for our country, absolute cruelty.

[OhNo-Really]

1. A 15% Flat Tax On Self-Employed

I remember it well. SS gave me no credit for employing a few dozen people and paying them $10/hr+ for over 10 years before S & L crash killed all lending.

Had I been more greedy, my SS check would be larger.

Also, had I known you had to be married for 10 years to qualify for husbands SS benefits, I might have made a different decision 😳

It wasn’t just Reagan, it was the whole bunch of heartless racist miscreants.

[shockey80]

2. You said something very important, "Had I known".

They rig the game and we don't know until it kicks our ass.

[OhNo-Really]

8. Oh yes they do! Banks killed off small businesses

All banks have to do is turn off the lending faucet.

I lost interest in early 1990s when even $3 million in real estate equity couldn’t get a $40k 90-day labor bridge loan. My 3 businesses were snuffed in 30 days as customers also were forced to shutter their doors

To then watch the same banks get bailed out in 2008/9 while the kicked millions out of their homes stealing $Billions in equity I threw in the towel.

And now zillions of apartment complexes are filling once food-producing lands and charging rents for dinky-sized homes requiring both parents to work full time is destroying family life!

I’m so put off by the short-sighted, destructive stupidity and heartlessness of America.

Greedy ignorant bahsteds!

[katmondoo]

3. I know and have always known this started with Reagan.

Includes the way women are treated today by Republicans. I think they have grown more stupid with each generation.

[Hoyt]

4. Honestly, the increase in retirement age from 65 in 1980s to 67 in mid-2020s is not that big of a

deal. One can still start collecting SS at 62 years of age, although at reduced benefits. For what it is worth, I'm not suggesting the full-retirement age should be increased again.

Where would you suggest that any surplus in the Social Security system be invested other than treasury securities?

[stopbush]

5. Reagan also imposed an income tax on SS benefits. Before Reagan, SS benefits

were exempt from income taxes.

He gave big tax cuts to the wealthy, then made retirees on fixed incomes pay for it.

[BigmanPigman]

6. The true iconic Repug.

That ass screwed the US almost as much as the current ass in the Oval Office.

[Kaleva]

15. I pay no income tax on the SS benefits I get.

You have to be making some pretty good outside income in order for the tax on SS to come into play.

[MichMan]

7. Why did the SS changes get passed by the house?

I understand why Reagan wanted the changes, but why did Tip ONeal pass the legislation?

[Captain Zero]

9. They've screwed with the formulas over the years too

It was based on avg of last five years income at the start of the 80s. Then when that started screwing the layoffs in the Greatest Generation it got changed to the avg of highest five years of earnings. For some reason they never wanted to screw over the Greatest Generation, except I guess taxing it did that to them. Then over time the formula kept changing until today. Know what it is based on? The avg of your previous 36 years incomes prior to retirement. Think about that one for a minute. Although I also know if someone has been on disability for a number of years, they will continue giving that amount at retirement age if its higher than the formula gives based on the 36 year avg.

[stopbush]

13. Because Tip O'Neill took the position that the people had spoken in electing Reagan

and it was up to the House to give him and his policies a chance.

Big mistake.

BTW - I well remember all these Reagan policies passing with D help, after which Reagan would have a signing ceremony surrounded by Rs, without a D in sight.

[Recursion]

10. "Investing" the trust fund makes no sense

Neither does holding the trust fund. There's no reason for the US government to ever hold a dollar.

[Igel]

11. It was invested.

It was invested in what the law said it had to be invested in. Because nobody trusted banks, stocks, bonds, it was invested in special issue T-bills. The alternative would be to have it sit in a government account, not even earning passbook short-term interest.

Even if the US ran no deficit for 5 years, the excess SS money would still be placed in T-bills.

So it's still invested in special issue T-bills. This hasn't changed.

Discussion of putting the money outside of the government treasury-bill system was called "privatization." At the time, it was a minority opinion even among (R). Still is.

The SSA still has those T-bills. They haven't been voided or reneged. Nobody except rage- or panic-inducing pundits have suggested anybody will or wants to do either.

The interest from those T-bills is part of the SSA's budget, year after year. As the interest rate goes up and down, the amount earned goes up and down.

It's "raided" because it was spent. Or, as many like to call government expenditures, "invested." Just like all the other money invested with the government in the form of (other) obligatory taxes and voluntarily invested in the form of Treasury securities.

And just as with other kinds of Treasury securities where the money invested was spent, they can still be redeemed.

[Igel]

12. Reagan signed the bill into law.

https://www.ssa.gov/history/tally1983.html shows how Congress voted, the steps necessary to get the bill to Reagan's desk. Since taxation bills must originate in the House, and this increased taxes, I assume it originated in the House. The (D)-controlled House.

In the (D) controlled House, it passed with nearly 2 (D) votes for every (R) vote. The number of (R) and (D) nays were about the same.

In the (R) controlled Senate, it passed with a few more (R) voting yea than (D), but the numbers are still roughly even for yea, nay, and abstentions.

In neither house could it have been passed without significant support from the minority party.

[roamer65]

14. In the end, most will get very little back...in inflation terms.

The gov’t bonds will have to be converted to cash...in other words...QE. The vastly increased money supply will lead to inflation and Shazam the heist is complete.