An e-mail forward I actually agreed with:


The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal Benefit Payment."  Damn it, this isn't a benefit or gift -- its earned income!


Granted that many are now receiving Social Security who never worked or paid into the program, but for those of us who did work and did pay in, not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too.

This investment of ours totaled 15% of our income before taxes.

If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to

$180,000 you invested in Social Security.

 

If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social security ($375/month, including both your and your employer's contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3 million dollars saved! This is your personal investment.

 Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month.

That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (Google it - it's a fact).

 And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65).    Imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.

Instead, the con-men in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did. They took our money and used it elsewhere. They disregarded the fact  that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them.

And they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently, they've told us that the money won't support us for very much longer.

But is it our fault the bastards misused our investments?  They spent the money that was in the social security trust fund, and replaced it with an IOU from a government that was bankrupt.

And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a "benefit," as if we never worked to earn every penny of it.

Just because they "borrowed" the money, doesn't mean that our investments were a charity!  We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare.  Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government   Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going, for the sake of that 92% of our population who need it.

Then call it what it is: Our Earned Retirement Income.

Another good informative topic, Matthew.  Thank you.

This former "bleed red white and blue" military family member came to the painful conclusion that it's a government of the freemasons, by the freemasons, for the freemasons; that is, deceit and chaos at all levels because it serves the evil one.
Best to joyfully consecrate our suffering and continue to pray for restoration.  We cannot lose hope.

Another good informative topic, Matthew.  Thank you.

This former "bleed red white and blue" military family member came to the painful conclusion that it's a government of the freemasons, by the freemasons, for the freemasons; that is, deceit and chaos at all levels because it serves the evil one.
Best to joyfully consecrate our suffering and continue to pray for restoration.  We cannot lose hope.

Just to clarify: I didn't write the article. It was an e-mail forward sent to me, which I thought made a lot of good points.

I agree that we shouldn't get too frustrated by what's going on in the USA or we'd go crazy.

One solution: Live on less. Instead of needing $50,000 a year to pay your bills (needing $50K means $50K is the minimum income needed), try to need just $30,000 a year -- or less. Then you can go ahead and make less, and still be debt-free. That way, you're paying less into "the system" and the government makes that much less money to wage wars in other countries around the world, etc.

It's not the same to need $70K and make $75K vs. needing $40K and making $45K. A simple-minded person might say, "Well, you have $5K in savings each year either way, so what does it matter?" But there are several crucial differences.

1. It's easier to find low paying jobs than high-paying ones.
2. If you need $75K to keep your household afloat, by means of both spouses working, what happens when one of them is laid off? This has happened thousands of times in the past 5 years. Homes go into foreclosure, etc.
3. Your taxes are higher when you earn $75K vs. $45K.
4. You qualify for less tax cuts, government aid, etc.

Many of you know of "Cryptogon" -- a blog run by the agnostic Kevin Flaherty, an expatriate who now lives on a farm in New Zealand. I disagree with him on religion, but agree with him on just about everything else.

He scorns and completely ignores American 2-party politics. He is against TV, vaccines, government brainwashing, public school, processed food, the Police State, the American Imperial goals, GMO, etc.
He's even against chemical birth control! (He recommended the LadyComp to his readers -- an electronic solution which supposedly does a better job. It still goes against Catholic morality, but at least it doesn't harm a woman's body like The Pill)

He has often said the best way to "gouge the enemy's eyes out and kick him in the ____" is to practice voluntary simplicity. Earn less, spend less.

You know how the Baby Boomer answer is to "go back to school, improve your degree, and earn more"? Well, don't do that. Instead, find ways to CUT expenses. That's the other way to balance your budget, and much more fool-proof.

That extra college is NOT going to necessarily pay off. It might, and it might not. But if you cut expenses, it's a sure thing. Plus you don't pay as much in taxes, you might qualify for various welfare programs, etc.

A few tips...~take no loans
                 ~pay cash if at all possible
                 ~live within your means or do without
                 ~most "necessities" aren't!
                 ~own nothing that can be stolen from you
                 ~take care of your soul, and the souls of your family--nothing
                    else really matters

According to this docuмent on the SS admin website the total contribution for all "Social Security" is 7.65% each for employer and employee, as of 2010.  "Social Security" is the sum of disability insurance, hospital insurance, and old-age, survivors, and disability.  Scroll down to table 2.A3.

SSA table

Perhaps some of the confusion comes from the way the tax is labeled.  It comes out under "FICA" which is SS + Medicare, but most of us just think of it as "Social Security" even though  Medicare has no wage cap and SS does (SS cap is $110,100 for 2012).  

Since both contributions are taken out at the same time and under one label I would consider them the same thing; both are part of a social safety net, involuntary though it may be.

I do remember seeing stories on the news many years ago about how hundreds of Mexican nationals crossed the border into Nogales, AZ to collect their SS checks each month.  They had PO boxes where the checks were sent.  I saw the film footage myself, hundreds milling about waiting their turn to get into the PO.  This was in the years before auto deposit.  It would be interesting to see if/how it is being done now.


Marsha