I have not heard the disabled addressed. Only the
people over 55 have been told that they will see no
change. So I do not know why ARRP should be concerned
at all. The younget ones will be given options to have
some 2-4 % of their total SS tax put into a private
account to earn more. I can only say that in the early
80’s 6 local municipal and county governments opted
out of SS under a loophole that was promptly closed.
Those 6 have people getting raises when they retire.
Yes, more retired than they were getting while
working. Also the country of argentina had a SS plan
modeled after ours, but, privatized in in the early
90’s and were viewed with much suspician. It has been
very successful. The investment choices in all of
these are much the same as being proposed now.
   Yes, trish you are right about SS being a pool of
worker paying for present retirees. It was set up by
FDR that way, but his origional plan was to gradually
have it go private later because of the great
depression. Later was put off by the WWII, and then
later was put off again until later is finally now.
   The SS taxes come in and the benefits are paid out.
 The surplus left has been and is being spent on other
things with thre Treasury giving SS a  IOU. The IOUS
are stored in a vault in West Virginia. That is the
famous “lock box.”  No money, just IOUS when the taxes
have been raised in the past, congress has continued
to used the overage AND GIVE ss IOU’S.  here is the
problem. Now the pool of worker has gotten thin. In
the beginning of SS over 15 workers supported one
retiree. Now it is down to 3 worker are supporting one
retiree. It will soon be two workers supporting one
retiree.  According to who you listen to, in 2018 the
first deficet in taxes to benefits will occur. The
treasury will have to start making good those IOUs.
But the money was not invested and is spent. The IOU’S
will have to be paid by income tax or increased SS
taxes, Or benefits dropped to hold down the number of
IOU’S call in. private accounts or not, this problem
is there. The more boomer retire the more IOU’S called
in to cover them, the more pressure on general fund
becosed the money was not invested to cover this.
President Clinton called this a Crisis: no one really
wants to take the medicine.
   How to fix it? That is the rub.
   And again, I have thought about but, not heard
anything on how the disabled would be treated.

--- Trisha Cummings <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Greetings,
>
>   While skimming the washingtonpost.com today - I
> see AARP is against the SS reform Bush is trying
> for. I am concerned if it is overhauled in this
> manner - what happens to all the disabled and kids
> on SSI - who don't contribute but draw off it? My
> understanding of SS is its a large pool we workers
> contribute to and the money goes to the ones who are
> retired, disabled and children. If I invest the
> money for myself - how does that help anyone else? I
> don't want to start an argrument - but I would like
> to hear opinions. I am seriously concerned for the
> disabled and the kids, and those old people who live
> off SS.
>
>                                            Trisha
>
>
>

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