We can only hope so...You'd think our conservative brothers-in-arms would be holding daily press conferences reminding the public of what Obama said less than a year ago about Social Security while debunking this defaulting on our debt hysteria. Are we just going to continue to let him lie from his bully pulpit ????

If Republican leadership had the intestinal fortitude of a Ben Shapiro to tell the truth, to say what they mean and mean what they say, people might trust them more. As it is, their propensity to toss any and all first principles overboard at the first sign of progressive disagreement only signifies weakness.

You can call me hard hearted but I have trouble finding sympathy for SS recipients not getting checks. They are the ones who votged for the last 60-70 years to kick the can down the road and send the bill to their grandchildren and great grandchildren. The SS trust fund wasn't raided and spent in secret. They knew for years they weren't paying their own way but continued to support more and more government goodies. It is unfortunate that they have elected leaders for all these years that have led us to this point, but they should not be suprised when the generations they planned to stick with the bill don't just roll over and pay it.

Obama the Bully strikes again!

Hold on thar,Chuckie boy.I am now 78 years old, and I did not volunteer for the governments ponzie scheme.A portion of my hard-earned paycheck was ripped from me at gunpoint each and every payday for 48 years.As for the trust fund being raided in plain sight,that too is a slight stretch of the truth.It was done by a liberal thug named Lyndon Johnson, along with his conniving friends in congress.I have never,ever voted for a Democrat thank you, and never will, so leave me out of your stupid post! I might suggest you exempt many,many more conservatives who are victims of the liberal thuggery and thievery that has gone on in DC over the years.

Richard Ryan

Lamar,Missouri - Birthplace of Harry S Truman

To Chuck: You are a complete idiot. Since when does any working man not have to pay SS unless they are in another form of retirement. It's like saying we are fools for not paying our income tax, like we had a choice. You m;ust be a left wing meathead that knows very little about the system.

Actually, I think that what Chuck is saying is that what is happening now, with a lot more people revolting against the tax and spend government should have happened a long time ago. Or the people should have never permitted the gov. to get to this point.

But citizens liked the idea of getting a check from the gov. and that is why we are here today. The fact that you, Richard, didn't, doesn't change the truth of it.

The people of this country have been asleep at the wheel for a long time, and allowed the wheel to be taken from them, for a variety of reasons. Now it may be too late.

My point is this. No matter how much the government steals from me to pay previous generations, I do not have a moral or ethical claim to steal from the next generation!

Well Chuckie boy, I can only assume,based on your last post that you either are currently, or will in the future,return your SS check to the IRS.Am I correct in that assumption?I am also sure that Mr.Obama is going to return the hundreds of thousands he claims he dosen`t need.Oops, I`m turning blue in the face waiting for either one to happen.I was born with cerebral palsey and could easily have laid around on welfare all my life.Instead I chose to work and contribute to society.I was out of work one time for a total of 3 weeks.Instead of drawing unemployment I got busy and found another job.I never made big bucks, but my wife and I raised 3 good kids who are also giving back to society.Not only did I have SS taxes stolen from me at gunpoint, but thousands of dollars of other taxes ripped from my paycheck.Don`t you dare stand there and tell me I`m stealing from future generations.It`s a lie and insulting to boot!

Richard Ryan

Lamar,Missouri - Birthplace of Harry S Truman

The talk about not sending out retirement checks - I say we should start by withholding Congress's paychecks - they're not doing the job they were hird for, so they shouldn't get paid until they do! I wonder how quickly they might come to a reasonable (MAJOR cuts) conclusion if it was their own salaries at stake?

I have worked since the age of 16, during school years and after graduation, and continue now at the ripe old age of 51 and relinquished my taxes sadly, but proudly because it was the "American way". My father is a 3 war vet, and my mother also served. It is a travesty that they are little pawns on the Washington chess board who reap a large salary for a job that was never meant to be a career, live a lifestyle that you and I will never know, own multiple homes and vacation cottages we could never afford and send their children to schools our kids will never attend ~ all on our nickel. We are slowly piecemealing this country down to a 4th world status because our illustrious leader is not a proud American, and unravelling the fabric that was once this great country! Shameless!!

To Chuck and all those who believe us "old folks" voted for things like Social Security in the first place and then agreed with the raiding of the trust fund:

Let me state emphatically that we did NOT vote for these things. They were done by our representatives in our name, but they were largely done under the radar.

I agree that older people, such as myself, deserve the blame. But our fault was NOT an excessive love of "government goodies." Our fault was trusting the people we sent to Washington to represent us. We didn't know that they were thieves and liars who were intentially stealing from us and our children. We should have been watching MUCH more closely. And for THAT AND NOTHING ELSE, we will accept the blame.

To Richard - when $.40 of every dollar in your SS check is borrowed (there is no trust fund) with the expectation that it be paid back in the future, you ARE stealing from the next generation. The dollars "ripped" from your paycheck were spent by politicians elected by your generation before I was born. Those your generation elected spent all they could get from you and $14 trillion that is expected to be stolen from my generation and it is an insult and a lie to point out the fact?

To Jody- I am not trying to assign blame. I am pointing out the fact that promises made to older generations vastly outpace the ability of younger generations to pay. I am tired of so called "conservatives" talking of SS as something that is "owed to them". SS was ,is and always will be simply another tax to be paid. There is no right to benefits and Congress has absolute authority to change it at any time.

I don't advocate throwing everyone out in the street, but I do advocate changes be made gradually so my children and grandchildren are not robbed at gunpoint to provide for me as I have been to provide for you.

I agree with Chuckie that we need to gradually make changes in SS.Paul Ryan`s plan does that without hurting those currently drawing SS.However; I still did not receive a reply on whether Chuckie is going to give back his SS.Arguing with someone like Chuckie is like swapping spit with a jackass.

Richard Ryan

Lamar,Missouri - Birthplace of Harry S Truman

I can't speak for Chuck, but I know I intent to return every penny of SS I receive...which is easy to commit to because I fully expect to receive absolutely nothing by the time I retire. I'm only 34 and not one cent of my retirement planning depends on receiving money from SS. Every time I get a statement telling me what my retirement "balance" is in the "trust fund" I break out in a laughing fit for a good 10 minutes! And if by some miracle I do receive a check...well, I'm sure my church can put that money to better use than the IRS.

Mr. Shapiro's logic is so basic you have to ask yourself "How can anyone see it any other way?"

Unless they had ulterior motives of justifing their existence by being re-elected.

Richard, your invective is misplaced. We live in a Republic, and therefore elect our reps; we don't vote, per se, on everything - but that doesn't excuse our choices, whether of commission or omission.

Frankly, my grandparent's generation deserves the bulk of the blame for allowing FDR and his ilk to foist a Faustian transfer program - one that pays based on faulty principles and, pragmatically, horrible assumptions. My grandparents were kind but willing dupes who, if they had any financial sense, would have seen what the "out years" must look like. They paid maybe $500 into SS and collected about $50k over their lives. My grandfather, not coincidentally, was usually found complaining about the little guy and how he didn't stand a chance.

Onto us. My parents' and my generation also share the blame, though perhaps it could be argued to a lesser extent since the inertia of largesse is so powerful. This all said, you need to take a look in the mirror and check motives - is your anger based on conservative principle or utilitarian calculation? Why do we "deserve" anything a faceless, soulless government promises? This is the necessary underpinning for tyrants everywhere, and has NOTHING to do with the ad hominem of whether Chuck collects a SS check or not.

Respectfully,

Bubba

Social Security and Medicare would not be in trouble if Congress and the Senate were made to be part of it - then we would see how fast the money borrowed from it was repaid and how fast it was "fixed". This entire issue is an emotional smoke screen designed to take our attention away from 3 war zones costing us trillions to operate, bribe miney paid to Pakistan to prevent the proliferation of nukes, out of sight military spending, Welfare that has become a legacy with unwed moms setting up a new cottage industry staying pregnant, goofy government grants most of which are useless, Congressional raises and golden parachute retirement programs, to name just a few. Need I go on?

OK, how about the first Lady's entourage of about 100 personal staffers that travel everywhere she goes with her husband on business trips which are more acation than anything elase and at our expense. Consider the extra airfare, crews that man the extra planes, body guards, all requiring food and lodging.

How about government waste in general? Letr's see, government supplied vehicles being used for personal use, not to mention thay are often the largest SUV's on the market. Government pensions that allow for unused vacation and sick time to acrue and artificially inflate an employees last years salary upon which retirement is based? Social security is not an entitlement - we paid for it without choice, from our hard earned money, and deserve better representation than what we are getting from millionaire Congressmen that never had to budget for anything. My suggestion is to outsource Congress.

The greedy government took what did not belong to them they took from the fund and never put it back. We are the creditors of this such find therefore its unconditional read the14th amendment. Stop giving handouts to foreign countries. Lord people wake up