So Sharron Angle wants to transition Social Security into personal accounts that the politicians can't raid ... And this is supposed to be controversial?
GOP Senate Nominee Sharron Angle Breaks Her Silence
Her website calls for "transitioning out" Social Security and Medicare.
"Why do you want to eliminate (Social Security) for younger folks, because your plan calls for transitioning out," Baca asked.
"You believe the Harry Reid lie," Angle replied.
When asked to define "transitioning out", Angle said, "Transition into a personalized account… personalized Social Security accounts that they can't raid."
An Interesting Bit of “Gotcha” Unearthed By Dan Riehl
I, and every other person on the planet, do not think that Ben Smith found this article on his own. It was obviously sent to him by the idiot hit man reporter featured in the post below this one.
That is what’s known as a coordinated effort.
Of course it's a hit piece, but who cares? She's right! She should have stood up stronger for herself too.
Look people. There is no money. Not in the social security "trust fund," nor anywhere else for that matter. Let me say it again, THERE IS NO MONEY!
The politicians promised you they'd put your savings away for your retirement. Heck, they confiscate the money from your paycheck before you can even put your hands on it! But they didn't save it, nor invest it. They spent it! Every single penny.
This is a hard thing for people to believe, that their money is all gone. But it's true! Why do you still look to these people for, well, anything? They robbed you blind!
Hey, I feel your pain. I'm right there with you. They took my money too. It sucks, but here we are. We can either start doing the right thing for tomorrow today, or we can play political games and pretend there's a giant mountain of cash sitting in retirement accounts earning interest until it's time for us each to retire.
I'm a retired stockbroker. When you invest, no matter how prudently you do it, sometimes you're going to lose money. This will be true at least until someone invents a working crystal ball (and will probably remain true even then). That's life.
One of the hardest thing for a client to do, was to take a loss. "Let's just hold onto it a little while longer" they'd say, thinking hoping the price would magically go up. More often than not, this only resulted in a bigger loss. "You don't lose if you don't sell" is a popular motto.
What I would try to explain to them is that they had already lost the money on that position. Whether you continue holding it or sell, your account balance remains the same. But if you continue to hold onto that bad position, you're taking on additional risk. Instead, move that money to a more conservative investment.
Social security is the same thing. Whatever any of us has paid into the system, the money is all gone. Keeping the status quo won't change this fact either, yet transitioning into a more conservative system (or none at all) will give us a better opportunity for a more secure future.
You know, talk about a RISKY investment ...
Social Security does not save or invest a single penny of your "contribution." Instead, they take your money and use it to pay current retirees. If there's any money leftover, it goes to fund the general budget of the federal government - welfare, war, you name it. The government is simply betting that it can continue to collect enough in taxes to keep the Ponzi Scheme going.
C'mon ... You don't need to be a financial guru to understand how risky an "investment" like that is!
More on Social Security:
- There is NO SUCH THING as a Social Security Trust Fund
- Gambling Uncle Harry’s Retirement
- Social Security?
More on Sharron Angle:
Excellent post CL. We all know whether we want to admit it or not that SS is unsustainable. We need to think outside of the box and all Angle is doing is trying to be part of the solution. These folks that are in complete denial about SS are the people that are part of problem. They are the ones that should be questioned for accepting the status quo. When are going to finally come to terms with this issue???
Unsustainable is putting it mildly. Just ask Bernie Madoff! We need to deal with life as it is, not how we wish it could be. Regarding Social Security, that starts with accepting the fact that it has not one penny. It has saved/invested nothing. The money is all gone.
Great article! Nice blog too. I wanted to invite your readers (and you) to see also my analysis of the Sharron Angle/Social Security debacle at http://moveonreid.wordpress.com/.
For Sharron: from what I have heard about your stand on Social Security, please remember that SS of not free or any handout as workers pay into this system every time they receive a payroll check. I have worked the numbers and a worker who has worked all their adult lives cannot live long enough to get back even a small portion of what they have paid in. But the BIGGEST point is that SS is solvent IF the loans to the US General Fund are in any financial equation as they should be. Of course, that point is hardly ever mentioned in the ongoing melodrama of SS as a handout. Again, I am 68 and cannot live long enough to retrieve any decent % of what I have paid in at the present amount paid to retirees monthly(the highest amount possible based on earnings). Sharron, your ignorance is showing. I am a conservative Republican.