Abby Huntsman Promotes the Wall Street Banksters’ Big Lie
By Thom Hartmann A...
Last week, Huntsman, a co-host on MSNBC’s “The Cycle” and the daughter of former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, went off on what she said was the biggest issue facing her generation: Social Security. The program, she said, is going “bankrupt,” and will need serious fixes over the next few decades to make sure it lasts for generations to come. You know, serious fixes like raising the retirement age to 75.
Take a look:
If Abby’s rant sounds familiar, that’s because it’s pretty much a carbon copy of every Social Security scare piece put out by Beltway deficit “hawks” over the past few years. Like Abby Huntsman, those deficit hawks say that while Social Security was nice while it lasted, it just won’t be able to keep up with our aging population and will therefore run out of money soon.
Saying that Social Security will go bankrupt has become so popular it’s easy to believe that it’s true. But it’s actually one big lie.
Here’s why: When people like Abby Huntsman talk about Social Security running out of money, what they actually mean is that the Social Security trust fund is going to run out of money. And believe it or not, they’re actually right about that. The Social Security Administration estimates that the trust fund will empty out by 2033. This isn’t a bad thing, though - it’s how the trust fund is supposed to work.
From when it was created in 1935 up until the 1980s, Social Security was paid for by taxes coming in from people who were currently working. In other words, people currently in the workforce paid for the Social Security benefits of people who had already retired and started collecting Social Security checks. But in 1983, the Reagan administration changed things around. It raised Social Security taxes so that, in effect, working people from the Boomer generation would pay for both their own retirement and the retirement of people older than them.
The Reagan administration did this so that Social Security could afford the benefits surge that would come about once all the Boomers retired. The extra money it got from raising Social Security taxes was invested in government bonds. Today we call that extra money the Social Security trust fund. And right now, that fund is working just swimmingly. In fact, it’s running at a $2.6 trillion surplus!
As a result, Social Security, will continue to pay out 100 percent of its scheduled benefits, until 2033, when the trust fund runs out of money. Again, though, this isn’t a problem. It’s part of the plan. The trust fund was created to pay for Boomers’ retirements, and since by 2033 most Boomers will be well into their eighties and nineties, it makes sense that the fund will run out by then.
It’s important to point out, though, that after the fund runs out, Social Security will only be able to pay out 75 percent of its benefits. But while this sounds scary, we can easily make up for it by eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes so billionaires like Bill Gates have to pay Social Security taxes throughout the year just like everyone else does.
If everything I just said sounds shocking to you, that’s because people like Abby Huntsman and all the deficit hacks, excuse me, hawks, have conflated the Social Security trust fund with the Social Security program in the minds of the public. The Social Security trust fund is running out of money; Social Security is not.
So why do the deficit hacks spend their time lying about Social Security? Money, of course! The biggest backers of Social Security “reform,” are people like Pete Peterson of Fix the Debt, Wall Street bankster types who want to get their hands on the $2.6 trillion in the Social Security trust fund. People like Pete Peterson think that if they can convince enough people that Social Security is going bankrupt, the government will do crazy things like raise the retirement age or, as George W. Bush tried to do, privatize Social Security altogether.
If the government does go ahead and privatize Social Security, Peterson and his bankster friends will make billions leaching off the retirement savings of working Americans that otherwise would gone to fund Social Security. They want you to think Social Security is going bankrupt so they can skim the top off your retirement account and toss it into the stock of companies owned by friends of theirs.
Abby Huntsman really does seem like a nice person. I just hope she knows who she’s shilling for.
Comments
#2
Abby Huntsman isn't a "nice person". Like all rich pigs, she couldn't care less about working people's earned benefits, long as she has no skin in the game. If Ms. H "seems" like a nice person, Thom, it's because looks can be very deceiving.
"ckrob"- AGREED. Bernie Sanders for president! Ms. Warren for vice prez, then Ms. Warren for president!! And if more American voters would get off their lazy behinds and VOTE, for chrissakes, then maybe we could secure ourselves a functional Congress as well. Sounds like a plan! - Aliceinwonderland
#3
AIW: From your keyboard to God's computer screen!! Two standup, real progressives who are not afraid to point out the right is dreadfully wrong. Any party which just five plus years ago was losing 750,000 jobs per month has no business suggesting a budget for us. (They just might sneak another off-the-books war in on us while we have our backs turned. I heard they may already have one in mind somewhere.)
#4
No one can beat the Bush wars. Then he walked out before the bill came due. When President Obama steped in, that 750,000 jobs per month loss was already in progress. I guess that means that Republicans should not be suggesting budgets.
#5
The Social Security trust fund is pretty much all that remains to steal from the working class...In addition, the Fascist hogs also want the working class to pay for their god damn oil wars with "our" bond money.....which is another motivation for repeating over and over again that the fund is broke.
I'll say this about the Fascist Corpse Media Weapon ....all earning a living as participants in this mass dissemination of lies, collectively are ripping the heart and soul out of our democracy and their paychecks and hands are stained with the blood of the working class. We're all going to go down together.....both the Foxmerized and the enlightened. The barbarians have already crossed the Danube and seized power....only the names have changed....instead of names like Attila and Alaric we have names like Koch and Murdoch!
#6
Ckrob says: "Any party which just five plus years ago was losing 750,000 jobs per month has no business suggesting a budget for us." - Bingo, Ck! I don't reckon I could've said it any better. - AIW
#7
WW: Exactly! --- They keep forgetting that they left a shambles. Now they blame Obama for not cleaning up after them fast enough. (while they gridlock the gov.) You think they're used to their black help not being so uppity that they would actually live in the Massa's House?
#8
Here's a bit of news to cheer us all up! Of course, some may ridicule it for having come from Pakistan but...pretty scarey.
Quote pakalertpress.com:
As soon as GATA’s Secretary Treasurer, Chris Powell, heard the news, he directly confronted the New York Federal Reserve and the US State Department as whether the New York Federal Reserve had “taken custody” of Ukraine’s entire gold supply? The New York Federal Reserve responded with a terse message: “Any inquiry regarding gold accounts should be directed to the account holder. You may want to contact the National Bank of Ukraine to discuss this report.” This is the classic “We cannot confirm, nor can we deny…” Very strangely, the Western media is totally silent on this event. Yet, this event is highly significant.
...
According to Iskra News: “At 2 a.m. this morning [March 7] an unmarked transport plane was on the runway at Borispol Airport [Ed. Note: East of Kiev]. According to airport staff, before the plane came to the airport, four trucks and two Volkswagen minibuses arrived, all the truck license plates missing. Fifteen people in black uniforms, masks, and body armor stepped out, some armed with machine guns. They loaded the plane with more than 40 heavy boxes. After that a mysterious man arrived and entered the plane. All loading was done in a hurry. The plane took off on an emergency basis. Those who saw this mysterious special operation immediately notified the airport officials, who told the callers not to meddle in other people’s affairs.”...
US Martial Law Is CloseFor the past 18 months, I have been quite clear on one point. The establishment of martial law in the United States will precede any global conflict. The people and the resources of the United States must be secured and its people must be controlled prior to the roll out of the draft and total warfare.
The looting of the gold from Ukraine by the New York Fed and the State Department serves a number of purposes. First, when Ukraine is invaded, the backers of the Petrodollar do not want to see Russia obtain any more gold from which to purchase Iranian oil. Secondly, the seizure of Gold represents an insurance policy to the Federal Reserve. I believe this move signals the intention of a coming currency collapse inside of the United States and gold will be the safety hedge against any such occurrence.
...
On March 10, 2014, Republic Broadcasting talk show host and former Green Beret/military intelligence officer, along with Bob Gaston, called for an economic collapse by April 11, 2014. The cause of the coming collapse is tied to Putin’s plans to totally dump the dollar. This would wreak havoc on the Stock Market and could definitely lead to an economic collapse. Isn’t it coincidental that Tom Clancy’s last work, Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit, was based upon a Russian attack upon the Stock Market. Clancy is now dead and he died under mysterious circumstances.Adding conspiratorial fuel to this fire is tied to the fact that it has been a well-established fact that “Yats” is the manifestation of the Western banking plot to overthrow the Russian friendly Ukrainian government and replace that government with a Western banker. There can be no question that Yats cooperated with the looting of Ukrainian gold which is most likely tied to the fact as to why he was installed as the leader of Ukraine.
The gold reserves are in place, the conditions are ripe for a stock market collapse. Surely, there will be unrest in the streets as Americans lose everything and martial law will be declared. With martial law in place, the path will be clear and World War III will be coming into plain view.
http://www.pakalertpress.com/2014/03/17/world-war-iii-is-close-martial-l...
#9
Quote ckrob:Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would be a dream ticket in '16! Eight years for Bernie and then eight years for Warren as president might be enough to get the U.S. straightened out (with a functional Congress) after over thirty years of Republican malfeasance.
ckrob ~ A brilliant idea! Let me second that motion!
#10
Quote Aliceinwonderland:Abby Huntsman isn't a "nice person". Like all rich pigs, she couldn't care less about working people's earned benefits, long as she has no skin in the game.
Aliceinwonderland ~ Well said! The only other viable alternative is that she is a very stupid person; and, we all know that isn't true. It's time to unveil the truth about social security.
While we are at it, we should also encourage people to set up their own 401K type long term retirement accounts. You should be the only one in control of your retirement savings. Eliminate the middleman and with him all the conditions that make skimming and stealing by a third party possible. There are plenty of legitimate financial firms that would love to assist.
#11
Palindromedary ~ Interesting stuff, yet I assume all is completely unverifiable? It would fit with the Republicans commitment to plunging the world into WWIII, yet, I still don't get what is in it for them? Control? Everyone would lose everything and what was left wouldn't be worth controlling. I don't buy it.
#12
I think Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren should stay in the Senate, Congress is where the real power is. The Republicans know that and look how it works for them. The President isn't very powerful without a cooperative Congress.
#13
DAnnemarc: It's not exactly science, is it? A lot of people come up with ideas, prognostications, or prophesies, that don't exactly fit what actually came to pass yet many will still believe they foretold of what will be. I guess we'll see in about another month...April 11, 2014. I certainly hope there is nothing to it! Although, there are a number of economists that think we are in for a really big change for the worse very soon! And the nitwit politicians sure act like they are committing folly in putting pressure against Russia. ;-}
I had a very weird dream last night that there were a number of Arab Muslims around and one was expressing his hatred for the US and he had told me that something that the world will never forget will happen on ...it was a palindromic date, I think, but I can't remember now exactly what the date was...was it 3/23, 4/14, 4/24, 5/15, 11/11, etc. Can't remember. And then my dream flashed to where I was inside an elevator and some sinister force had put the elevator into free fall. I found that by pushing the power button on the panel it brought the elevator to a stop just before it hit bottom.
#14
She's a nice person alright, con artists always work really hard to be likeable. People who have the truth, on the other hand, don't care that much about being likeable. They're delivering the goods.
#15
Marc, I'm very skeptical about 401Ks being a reliable long-term retirement source. I've heard they were never really designed for that. I only wish there was a way to protect Social Security from Wall Street's thieving hands.
A few years ago, in one of our online correspondences, I got into a big fight with an old girlfriend over this. She was telling me SS is broke. I went ballistic. This is a very educated person (PhD, no less!) and I was disappointed in her. I knew it was a lie and she should have known it too. It had me wondering who the hell she'd been listening to. Anyone as intelligent and highly educated as this person should know better than to parrot the lies of oligarchs and thieves.
It was Thom who enlightened me to the facts about Social Security. If I remember correctly, my generation (the Boomers) were the only generation to pay for the retirement of their parents & grandparents. Then to pay for our own retirements, Reagan doubled our SS tax. So all these years we've been picking up the tab for older folks' retirement, having to pay double just to cover our own. Now that it's finally getting to be our turn, we get to hear these lying sacks of shit telling us "Social Security is broke!" The hell it's broke. Gimmie my friggin' money you scumbags!
Literally for decades, we boomers have been paying for other people's retirement, just to get handed this crap when our turn comes up. We've been played a rotten deck of cards. What suckers we are. - Aliceinwonderland
#16
Aliceinwonderland ~ I'm sorry. I thought I said 401K type retirement investment program. Perhaps I should have said ROTH IRA type retirement investment program. IRA stands for Individual Retirement Account which has most of the perks of any 401K with you as the boss. I've been a bit torn between two evils this week and probably should have refrained from responding at all. I terribly regret any misunderstanding. I hope I didn't get in your craw too much. I will prepare my words a little bit more carefully next time; but, I think you should be able to get the gist of what I meant. Kudos.
Palindromedary ~ If you are right I certainly hope it is 6/16. That is supposed to be a Monday. If the world is going to end I have no problem with it being on a Monday. Friday, is out of the question. Thanks for sharing.
#17
Marc, it takes a lot more than that to get "in my craw". We've had our disagreements from time to time, but I can't think of a single occasion where you've pissed me off. Not once. And by the way, I'm with you on that Monday thing... - AIW
#18
You're welcome, DAnnemarc! I was torn between two weevils too, giant ones, but then I woke up...gotta change my diet! ;-}
#19
Quote Aliceinwonderland: Now that it's finally getting to be our turn, we get to hear these lying sacks of shit telling us "Social Security is broke!" The hell it's broke. Gimmie my friggin' money you scumbags!
Well put! I certainly agree!
#20
Quote hartmann:If the government does go ahead and privatize Social Security, Peterson and his bankster friends will make billions leaching off the retirement savings of working Americans that otherwise would gone to fund Social Security. They want you to think Social Security is going bankrupt so they can skim the top off your retirement account and toss it into the stock of companies owned by friends of theirs.
Scumbags! Scumbags! Scumbags! I think if they do this there will be a mob lynching of a few of these Scumbags....televised!
#21
I noticed that bank tellers, on average, only make about $10-$12 per hour. And this web site shows who earns what...an amazing amount of data here.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/index.htm
how about CIA or FBI salaries?
http://cryptome.org/2014/03/cia-salaries.htm
http://cryptome.org/2014/03/fbi-salaries.htm
John Young of Cryptome.org has been visited by various 3 letter agencies numerous times trying to get him to stop posting so much 'sensitive information'...oftentimes very embarrassing information on high rollers and government hot shots. Although, I believe that he got some of this salary information from the glassdoor.com .
#22
"...a mob lynching of a few of these Scumbags....televised!" Wishful thinking, PD. Not as long as we've got this corporatized neocon takeover of our media! It'll be ignored by all the networks. (SIGH) - AIW
#23
True, unfortunately, unless the mob includes a few network CEOs!
#24
I do not understand the math of the righties.... at the trend we are going the whole nation will go backrupt, not just SS.... but to "FIX" SS.. all we have to do is put people back to work.. more working., more goes into SS.. AND a decent wage.. more money you make, the more goes into SS... problem solved!! and for future generations to come!
And the larger problem would be solved if a mental test would be given to fine out if you "like" your job... have "faith" in your job... and that would rule out ALL rightwingers.... they hate govenerment... so they don't get the job!!
#25
I "Love" the idea... but I think we have too many watered down Democrats throughout the land..... what you call for is a "progresive" ticket.. I think most are moderate at best.
But I so much agree Sanders/Waren and then Warren/Sanders..
#26
Koolnightes ~ Well said! I'll second that mental test!! It should be a genuine requirement for any job; and, a standard in career counseling in every school.
I also second that Sanders/Warren dream ticket. We can dream, can't we?
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Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would be a dream ticket in '16! Eight years for Bernie and then eight years for Warren as president might be enough to get the U.S. straightened out (with a functional Congress) after over thirty years of Republican malfeasance.