Well, I don't know if Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn) is working for Gov. Rick Perry or not, but his remarks go quite a ways to Perry's basic point: That SS IS a Ponzi scheme.
Democrat Congressman: Gov't Has No Contractual Obligation to Pay Social Security Benefits
(CNSNews.com) – Democrat Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) said that most Americans do not understand that federal entitlements are not “bank account” programs that hold their money, adding that Social Security is not even a legal guarantee.
Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.)
“Are these vested benefits? Are these contractual benefits?" Cooper asked of Social Security benefits. "Well, it turns out they’re not. Legally, they’re not even promises. They’re scheduled benefits and most Americans are not even aware of that.”
Cooper, asked about potential reforms to Medicare and Medicaid, said that the core problem was that the public does not understand the true nature of entitlements.
“Many Americans don’t really realize that Medicare is a government program,” Cooper said at a press conference with fellow Blue Dogs on Wednesday. “We have to start first with diagnosing the problem, helping all Americans understand the true nature of the programs.”
“Many people think that Social Security and Medicare are bank account programs, and money that they’ve paid in is stored up in their name just for them,” he said. “That is a widespread misconception.”
Cooper said that Congress could do itself a favors by explaining to Americans that the payroll taxes deducted from their paychecks go into the government’s coffers and are used to pay benefits for current retirees and are not saved for their retirement.
“There’s a lot we could do to help people understand that the payroll taxes they pay in this month are paid out next month to somebody they’ve never met, a complete stranger,” he explained.
More:Cooper also said that Congress should be explaining that it does not account for entitlement spending in the normal way, but puts it off on what he called a “government credit card,” rather than accounting for it through the normal budgeting process.
I am not a Perry supporter: I appreciate Christian leadership as much as the next conservative but Bible-Thumpers routinely lead us into trouble (Right, Jon Russell?) while setting impossibly high standards for others that far too many blow off for themselves. Besides, government fiat is no way to rule for Obama... or Perry. (Gardasil comes to mind.)
That said, Perry's claim that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme is difficult to intelligently dismiss; the question, as yet unresolved, is do we keep it, or cut it lose?
Because when a member of congress tells us that, in fact, the government has no obligation to pay it, well.... that just makes me warm and fuzzy all over.
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