Final Rules Disclosed for How Social Security Admin. Plans to Disarm Its Beneficiaries

Final rules on how the Social Security Administration (SSA) plans to prohibit its beneficiaries from owning firearms were published in early May, but it took several weeks for observers parsing the 41-page document to realize its implications for the Second and Fifth Amendments.
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Obama Claims Power to Make Illegal Immigrants Eligible for Social Security, Disability

Does the president of the United States have the power to unilaterally tell millions of individuals who are violating federal law that he will not enforce that law against them now, that they may continue to violate that law in the future and that he will take action that makes them eligible for federal benefit programs for which they are not currently eligible due to their unlawful status?
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Social Security Administration Beneficiaries Top 60,000,000

The number of people receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration topped 60,000,000 for the first time at the beginning of 2016.
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Budget deal would nix popular Social Security claiming strategies

A budget agreement reached by congressional leaders and the White House would kill popular Social Security claiming strategies shortly after the measure becomes law, cutting off payments in midstream for beneficiaries, according to experts.


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Things to know about Social Security at 80: Is It Overhaul time?

Social Security turns 80 on Friday, and the massive retirement and disability program is showing its age.
Social Security's disability fund is projected to run dry next year. The retirement fund has enough money to pay full benefits until 2035. But once the fund is depleted, the shortfalls are projected to be enormous.
The stakes are huge: Nearly 60 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get monthly Social Security payments, and that number is projected to grow to 90 million over the next two decades.
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Did You Ever Notice the Asterisk on Your Social Security Statement?

While engaging in the mundane task of gathering financial statements for a “secure retirement” meeting with my husband’s and my adviser, this Baby Boomer stumbled upon documented proof that our nation does not have the guts to confront one of its most serious economic problems. The realization came when I pulled from my files a document statement innocently titled, “Your Social Security Statement.”
At first glance, the statement did not appear menacing. I was told I could expect to receive a benefit of “about $2,136 a month” upon reaching age 70 — which certainly seems like good news. But immediately I thought of a parallel of President Obama’s infamous Obamacare promise: “If you like your Social Security, you can keep your Social Security.”


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'Unauthorized' Aliens With Jobs Outnumber Non-College-Grad Adults Seeking One

Aliens illegally holding jobs in the United States outnumber all unemployed people who are not in management, professional or related occupations as well as all unemployed who are 25 and older and who do not have a college degree, according to an estimate of "unauthorized workers" published by the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration and employment data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The BLS only counts as "unemployed" people who have actively looked for a job in the past four weeks.  “We estimate that the number of unauthorized workers grew from 4.8 million in 2000 to 8.0 million in 2007, the peak of the last business cycle,” the Office of the Chief Actuary of Social Security said in an analysis published in April 2013.

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How Three Texas Counties Created Personal Social Security Accounts and Prospered

FORBES, 5/12/2011 by Merrill Matthews, Contributor (h/t: Benton County Americans for Prosperity/Facebook) - Across the country, state and local governments are facing huge unfunded liabilities for their employee pension plans. And then there’s Social Security. ✧ But three neighboring Texas counties, which opted out of Social Security 30 years ago by creating personal retirement accounts, have avoided a fiscal train wreck while providing retirees with even more retirement income. ✧ Galveston, Matagorda and Brazoria County employees, many of them union members, have seen their retirement savings grow every year, even during the Great Recession. If state and local governments—and Congress—are really looking for a path to long-term sustainable entitlement reform, they might start with what is referred to as the “Alternate Plan.” Read more at Forbes... Read More......

Our burgeoning budget and the politics of avoidance

WASHINGTON POST, 11/22/2010 by Robert J. Samuelson (Hat tip: John H. Detweiler) - America's budget problem boils down to a simple question: How much will we let programs for the elderly displace other government functions - national defense, education, transportation and many others - and raise taxes to levels that would, almost certainly, reduce economic growth? What's depressing is that this question has been obvious for decades, but our political leaders have consistently evaded it. This includes and indicts Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals and every president since Jimmy Carter, particularly Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, who clearly understood the problem. Read more at Washington Post...

"Our political culture prefers delusion to candor." Could Samuelson be talking about Corvallis? --JHD
Did Samuelson forget that GWB crossed the country stumping for SS reform, which fell on deaf ears? --bc Read More......

Poll: Seniors See Bleak Future for Their Children, Grandchildren’s Retirement Future

Excerpt: When asked, “Do you anticipate that the opportunities understood to be part of the ‘American Dream’ will be – the same, easier or more difficult – to achieve for your grandchildren,” 75.9 percent of the retirees polled said it would be “more difficult.” Read more at CNSNews... Read More......

Social Security: More Going Out Than Coming In

CNN, 8/5/2010 by Annalyn Censky It's official: Social Security will reach its tipping point this year. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the system will pay out more benefits than it receives in payroll taxes both this year and next. Read more at CNN... Read More......

53% Now Trust Republicans More Than Democrats on Health Care

RASMUSSEN REPORTS, 4/3/2010 - Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on nine out of 10 key issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, but the gap between the two parties has grown narrower on several of them. ∴ Following the passage of the health care bill, 53% now say they trust Republicans on the issue of health care. Thirty-seven percent (37%) place their trust in Democrats. A month earlier, the two parties were essentially even on the health care issue. Read more at Rasmussen's... Read More......

Republicans Warned to Focus on the Economy

BELMONT CLUB, 2/26/2010 by Richard Fernandez, The Gathering Storm - Jay Cost says the Republicans have got messaging on Obamacare completely wrong. He believes it’s wrong to be talking in terms of repealing the health care “reform” bill since that somehow sounds like being against mom and apple pie. No. Cost says the Republicans should simply talk about the economy. Focus on it like a laser beam. Because once the economy is [in] front of everyone like a dead and gutted fish it will be perfectly obvious to everyone there’s no way Obamacare can be funded. Or maybe not. Maybe if we think happy thoughts all the bad things will go away. Ezra Klein at the Washington Post says talk like that is dangerous. It’s “fear-mongering”. Read more about the economy at the Belmont Club...

Related: FOXNews.com - GOP Sees Risks in Push to Repeal Health Law Read More......

Catching Up

Iran to test-fire more missiles - After claiming to successfully test-fire two short-range missiles during drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran will test-fire a missile on Monday that could have the capability to hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf region, Reuters reported. Read more at FOX News...

Iran Fires Missile Tests After Secret Nuclear Facility Disclosed - U.S. Officials Say Secret Iranian Nuclear Facility Details Must Be Disclosed. Read more at ABC News...

Obama Issues Ultimatum to Iran - President Barack Obama is offering Iran "a serious, meaningful dialogue" over its disputed nuclear program, while warning Tehran of grave consequences from a united global front. Read more at AOL...

Spate of terrorism arrests not connected, analysts say - In the past week, U.S. officials have announced charges in five terrorism probes in five states (New York, North Carolina, Texas, Illinois and Virginia). It is a confluence of cases unlike anything the country has seen since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Read more at CNN...

Support for Free Market Economy Up Seven Points Since December - Seventy-seven percent (77%) of U.S. voters say that they prefer a free market economy over a government-managed economy. That’s up seven points since December. Read more at Rasmussen...

Social Security's January Surprise - Come January, seniors may do a double take after seeing their Social Security checks. The 2% to 3% increase in benefits they usually get each year won't be there. Read more at the Wall Street Journal...

Can't we just kick the U.N. out? Please, please, please? --bc

Skepticism Over G20 Pledge Of New Era - World leaders promised a new era of economic co-operation at the close of the G20 summit on Friday, endorsing new guidelines for bankers’ pay, a tight timetable for regulatory reform and a new framework for balanced growth. Read more at Financial Times...

MOJO4M POLL: "The people have questions! We are asking our fellow citizens to help us develop a list of The Top Ten Health Care Questions President Obama Has Not Yet Answered. You can vote on up to ten of the questions we've proposed below, or you can also submit your own question for inclusion in the list.

9/24/2009, FOX News - Brave New Schools: Kids taught to sing Obama's praises: School children in New Jersey have been taught to both chant and sing praises to President Obama, with a YouTube video revealing them singing, "Mr. President, We Honor You Today" to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." See video at Fox News... Read More......

2008 Social Security Trustees Report Continues to Show the Urgent Need for Reform

HERITAGE FOUNDATION, By David C. John, Senior Research Fellow in Retirement Security and Financial Institutions in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation (Hat tip: Lou Copes) - "We are increasingly concerned about inaction on the financial challenges facing the Social Security and Medicare programs. The longer we wait to address these challenges, the more limited will be the options available, the greater will be the required adjustments, and the more severe the potential detrimental economic impact on our nation." --2007 Trustees Report

"The 2008 Social Security Trustees Report was released on March 25. This WebMemo explains the important facts and answers the frequently asked questions about Social Security's financial outlook." ∴ How will this report affect the Social Security debate? Read more at Heritage...

Also see Social Security Basics at Heritage Foundation Read More......

WND: Federal obligations exceed world GDP

Does $65.5 trillion terrify anyone yet?
WorldNetDaily, February 13, 2009 by Jerome R. Corsi (Hat tip: Patrick Wills) - As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world. The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account. The real 2008 federal budget deficit was $5.1 trillion, not the $455 billion previously reported by the Congressional Budget Office, according to the "2008 Financial Report of the United States Government" as released by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Read more at World Net Daily... Read More......