SOCIAL SECURITY IS A PONZI SCHEME AND PRESIDENT OBAMA JUST PROVED THAT HE LIES AND LIES ABOUT IT...HIS OWN WORDS!

Trying to score political points against the GOP by recently warning that retirement checks were in jeopardy if the debt ceiling isn't raised, President Obama exposed the fraud at the heart of Social Security.

The closer the self-imposed deadline for raising the debt ceiling come, the more oddly politicians in Washington were behaving — and that's saying something.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner ridiculously insisted on a plan within 48 hours. Sen. Mitch McConnell proposed a Rube Goldberg idea to let President Obama increase the debt by vetoing a bill denying him a debt increase, or something like that.

Obama beat everyone, however, with his scaremongering claim that Social Security checks are at risk if he doesn't get his way on the debt ceiling. "I cannot guarantee that those checks go out if we haven't resolved this issue," he told CBS News, "because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."

Wait! What happened to Social Security's "guarantee"? You know, the iron-clad assurance of Social Security benefits in exchange for paying into the program your whole working life? It's something Democrats constantly talk about, particularly when attacking Republicans who propose privatizing the program.

As Nancy Pelosi once put it: "Social Security has never failed to pay promised benefits, and Democrats will fight to make sure that Republicans do not turn a guaranteed benefit into a guaranteed gamble."

The AFL-CIO warned in 2005 about "President Bush's plan to replace Social Security's guaranteed benefits with risky private accounts." The AARP describes Social Security as "the guaranteed part of your retirement plan." Etc., etc.

Turns out, this "guarantee" is a lie.

In 1960, the Supreme Court ruled that workers do not have a legal right to their Social Security benefits. Congress can cut them any time it wants, which it's done several times. And, because there are no ownership rights, if you die the day you retire after making a lifetime of payments into Social Security, your heirs get nothing.

Indeed, Social Security's only guarantee is that today's workers will get an incredibly lousy return on the huge amount of money they've "invested" in the program.

And what about that Social Security "Trust Fund" the Democrats rhapsodize about? Isn't it supposed to guarantee benefit payments for another 30 or 40 years?

Truth is, the fund is nothing more than an accounting gimmick designed to make the program look healthier than it is. Obama exposed this scam as well by showing that retirees can't trust the "Trust Fund" for anything.

These are, by the way, all shortcomings that Social Security privatization advocates have tried to point out for years, only to be shouted down by Democrats.

In the current debt debate, Republicans could easily waylay Obama's threat about cutting off grandma's Social Security checks with a resolution ordering the Treasury to put retirees first in line for any government spending after Aug. 2. Let Democrats try to block that.

Whatever happens, the fact remains that Obama has accidentally made a pretty good case for Social Security reform by revealing the program for what it really is. A BIG PONZI SCHEME.

COMMENTS:
Posted By: billmeek

When Lyndon Johnson was president he and his Democratic Congress quietly moved Social Security funding from a separate pool of money ("Lockbox") into the general fund. He did this to hide the true cost of his Vietnam war from the taxpayers. Am I the only one who remembers this?

Posted By: moebellini

Thank you and can someone please see that Bernie Sanders, the delusional moron from Vermont, reads this. He has steadfastly held to the idea that there is no problem with social security and that republicans are fear mongers. Well Bernie, your guy, the president has just blown your cover. One of you guys is a total liar and should be removed from office.

Posted By: JohnQLiberty(5) on 7/14/2011 | 3:13 PM ET

Unlike other federal expenditures, Social Security is a separate program with its own income stream of FICA taxes, which will continue to be paid regardless of the debt limit. To the extent that FICA taxes are enough to cover the outgoing checks, no social security recipient need lose a dime. Michele Bachmann pointed this out on cable news last night.

Posted By: mrtriax

Isn't it time to stop the 'which party is responsible for what' squabbling and addressed the real problem? Both parties have been fiscally irresponsible for decades. The ratio of productive workers to consumers has tanked. Small businesses have seen their operations choked by mindless regulation. Entitlements have gone through the roof with no additional income to pay for them. 4 indecisive wars they lacked the guts to win. Medical costs have soared ... the list goes on.