Right-Wing politicians and pundits who advocate destroying Social Security have two rationales: 1) As part of their antipathy to "big government," they do not believe that the federal government should provide retirement benefits to the elderly or support for disabled people, widows and orphans. 2) They would like to see gtheir friends on Wall Street make billions by administring retirement accounts if Social Security is ended.
Unfortunately, in their battle for the hearts and minds of Americans, Right Wingers have been shameless about distorting the truth about Social Security. Some of their lies are listed below, along with the true facts.
LIE: Social Security is going bankrupt
TRUTH: Social Security is NOT going bankrupt. In fact, Social Security today
has a $2.6 trillion surplus and can pay out every benefit owed to every eligible American
for the next 27 years. From that point forward, it will be able to provide 75-80 percent
of all benefits.
LIE: Social Security is contributing to the federal deficit
TRUTH: Not just a lie, but impossible!
By law, Social Security is funded by the payroll tax and has not contributed
one penny to the federal deficit. With a separate funding source and separate fiscal system,
it is completely detached from the federal operating budget.
The federal deficit was caused primarily by three things: 1)unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2) Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest, 3) a toothless financial regulatory system that let Wall Street and banks destroy our economy, losing millions of jobs and the income tax revenues that went with them.
LIE: We have to raise the retirement age because people are living longer
TRUTH: Retirees are living about the same amount of time as they were in the 1930s.
The reason average life expectancy is higher is mostly because many fewer people die as children
than they did 70 years ago. What's more, what gains there have been are distributed very
unevenly --since 1972, life expectancy increased by 6.5 years for workers
in the top half of the income brackets, but by less than two years for those in the bottom half.
But those intent on cutting Social Security love this argument because raising the retirement age
is the same as an across-the-board benefit cut.
LIE: Benefit cuts are the only sure way to "fix" Social Security
TRUTH: Social Security doesn't need to be fixed.
But if we want to strengthen it, here's a better way: Make the rich pay their full share.
If the very rich paid taxes on all of their income,
Social Security would be sustainable for decades to come. Right now, high earners only pay
Social Security taxes on the first $106,000 of their income. But conservatives insist benefit
cuts are the only way because they want to protect the super-rich from paying their fair share.
LIE: The Social Security Trust Fund has been raided and is full of IOUs
TRUTH: The Social Security Trust Fund is NOT fullof IOUs,
it is full of U.S. Treasury Bonds.
And those bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
The reason Social Security holds only Treasury Bonds is the same reason many Americans do:
The federal government has never missed a single interest payment on its debts.
President Bush wanted to put Social Security funds in the stock market -- which would have been disasterous --
but luckily, he failed. So the trillions of dollars in the Social Security Trust Fund,
which are separate from the regular budget, are as safe as can be.
LIE: Illegal Immigrants are collecting Social Security
TRUTH: Neither immigrants -- legal or illegal -- nor anyone else is able to collect Social
Security benefits without someone paying Social Security payroll taxes into the system.