Obama knows that he’ll have to accept a SS ‘deal’ with lower benefits to get his tax plan, he’s just not admiting it because if he does – He Loses; Romney also knows Congress will never ‘privatize’ SS, AARP would never go for it – He’s already Lost; it’s all just Campaign BS..
Here is what is going to happen regardless of which of those 2 clowns in in the whitehouse;
- Higher payroll and medicare taxes (2013);
- Higher tax cap on SS along with a gradually increased retirement age and lower COLA (2014);
- Higher Income Tax rates for middle class and the Rich (2013);
- Higher Cap Gain tax rate for investment income (2013);
- Sluggish growth and high Unemployment >8% (2013 – ?);
- Significantly lower Fed Spending, but not lower than 22% of GDP which becomes the ‘new norm’ (2014);
- Economy falls back into recession by 2014;
- Inflation increases to 4%/year by 2014;
- Hillery announces in late 2014 she’s forming ‘a committee to explore a potential candidacy’…
- Obama endures 4 more years of gridlock, no growth and increasing inflation and becomes universally recognized as a failed president.. with 8 years of no meaningful accomplishments..
- America suffers from 16 years of ‘bookend presidents’; two Losers in their own way.. End of Story.. Very sad..

Such reductions in interest income can only be made up be cutting benefits or raising FICA taxes.

If Social security funds were privatized then the entire economy of the US and perhaps the world would have to be put under even stronger than Chinese government regulations to ensure there could never be a crash.

People should become used to the idea that money is an abstraction. It is part substance and part idea and the part that is idea – the bulk of it’s existence in any modern economy – is actually a matter of numbers in ledgers. They can vanish in an instant. It is subject to rumors and innuendo and panic attacks. I have a hunch some of it is so insubstantial it doesn’t even live long as ink on paper or even electronic charges on hard drives.

And the trouble with precious metals is they cannot easily be made abstract enough to prevent the world from sinking to dark ages levels of economic activity. And they can be subject to panic attacks too. Precious metals can become too valuable. The housing crash is proof that anything can be made too valuable. And nothing has value if there aren’t enough people who want it at the price you want.

I think Bill Clinton is right that this country needs a vibrant middle class or the whole economy will, sooner or later, collapse on itself. Social Security helps to support a middle class.