Date: 11/08/2010
Reject the Welfare/Warfare State
by Ron Paul
Last week’s midterm elections have been characterized as a victory for grassroots Americans who are fed up with Washington and the political status quo. In particular, the elections are being touted as a clear indicator that voters demand reductions in federal spending, deficits, and debt.
If the new Congress hopes to live up to the expectations of Tea Party voters, however, it faces some daunting choices. For all the talk about pork and waste, the truth is that Congress cannot fix the budget and get our national debt under control by trimming fat and eliminating earmarks for “Bridges to Nowhere.”
Real reductions in federal spending can be achieved only by getting to the meat of the federal budget, meaning expenditures in all areas. The annual budget soon will be $5 trillion unless Congress takes serious steps to reduce spending for entitlements, military, and debt service. Yet how many Tea Party candidates who campaigned on a platform of spending cuts talked about Social Security, Medicare, foreign wars, or bond debt?
With regard to entitlements, the 2010 Social Security and Medicare Trustees report tells it all. It paints a stark picture of two entitlement programs that cannot be sustained under even the rosiest scenarios of economic growth. No one, regardless of political stripe, can deny the fundamental problem of unfunded future liabilities in both programs.
We should understand that Social Security was intended primarily to prevent old widows from becoming destitute. Life expectancy in 1935 was only about 65, when there were several workers for each Social Security recipient. The program was never intended to be a general transfer payment from young workers to older retirees, regardless of those retirees’ financial need. Yet today Social Security faces an unfunded liability of approximately $18 trillion.
First, Congress needs to stop using payroll taxes for purposes not related to Social Security, which was a trick the Clinton administration used to claim balanced budgets. Second, Congress should eliminate unconstitutional spending – including unnecessary overseas commitments – and use the saved funds to help transition to a Social Security system that is completely voluntary. At some point in the near future Congress must allow taxpayers to opt out of federal payroll taxes in exchange for never receiving Social Security benefits.
Medicare similarly faces a shortfall of $30.8 trillion in unfunded future benefits. The Part D prescription drug benefit accounts for approximately $15.5 trillion, or half of the unfunded Medicare liability. Congress should immediately repeal the disastrous drug benefit passed in 2003 by President Bush and a Republican Congress.
Fiscal conservatives should not be afraid to attack entitlements philosophically. We should reject the phony narrative that entitlement programs are inherently noble or required by “progressive” western values. Why exactly should Americans be required, by force of taxation, to fund retirement or medical care for senior citizens, especially senior citizens who are comfortable financially? And if taxpayers provide retirement and health care benefits to some older Americans who are less well off, can’t we just call it welfare instead of maintaining the charade about “insurance” and “trust funds”?
Military spending and interest on the national debt similarly represent large federal expenditures that Congress must address by rethinking our foreign policy and exercising far greater oversight over the Federal Reserve and the Treasury department.
I have for a long time criticized our interventionist foreign policy and the Fed, and I will continue to do so. It’s time for Congress to face the fundamental problems that affect Social Security and Medicare, and show the courage necessary to make real changes to both programs by rejecting the welfare/warfare state.
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- You’re a fucking liar. On your profile you said:
“I’m 5’6 and 130 lbs of pure muscle!”
Now you’re saying you’re on Social Security disability. You’re a fucking liar. People do think. They think that lazy, con artists like you have been mooching off of the rest of us for far too long. People are sick and tired of paying for shitbirds like you who lie so you can sit at home and play on the internet. Your inability to work is not my responsibility and your lying isn’t helping.
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My god..amazing how many uneducated and clueless morons comment on this website. If you idiots would listen more carefully and study more Ron Paul’s ideas you’d actually think 1o times before opening up your mouths..he doesn’t want to take away from you your HARD-EARNED benefits and live intact the rest of the government. . quite the opposite.
He wants to make sure only those ones that really are entitled to get them and above all to cut-off the damn fraudsters and the wastes that surround the SSA. We all know how many lazy-asses come to this country from well known countries from “part of our continent” and live off the good life on uncle sam’s expenses. The program needs to be restructured cause in no way young americans are willing to pay 30% of their income to fund this sinking ship of the Social Security in the next decades. It’s true that Ron Paul wants to get rid of many Federal and money wasting programs,but over time and these processes takes DECADES for a smooth transition. He’s not gonna get rid of SS in 2 years in case he gets elected you idiots…
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social security-disability- people such as myself need it to live on. My son has a mental challenge, he too should get disability, but he doesn’t. He cant hold down a job, I support him! Therefore my son can’t take care of me. What should we do–live on the streets and eat garbage? I worked for more than 20 yrs, paying into the system, then I became unable to work. People don’t think! Perhaps they’ve never even been close to a situation where there’s no money to support themselves.Are we lazy?
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referring do disablity cheques? i wish i could get that. KEEP SSI and MEDICARE!
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ron paul, you suck! my mom needs ss! how can we live without it?
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Social Security for me is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT!
Let me repeat….Social Security is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT. I have payed in since I started working over 30 years ago. Hands off! And don’t even think about privatizing it!
If somebody is dumb enough to think that I’ll give up the Social Security that I have payed in they are simply too stupid for my vote!
De-fund the American empire, eliminate all foreign aid(global welfare), and bring American jobs back home!
And if anyone wants to seriously look at entitlements they should grow a pair and look in Washington D.C. That city is ripe with entitlements that can and should be cut first!!!
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Quit pretending like you lazy selfish dumb ass americans care about your children, grandchildren or elderly, or anything else you don’t have a clue or country. one good thing you bastards can’t take nothing with you when you die. so bow down to your real god money.
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Quit pretending like you lazy selfish dumb ass americans care about your children, grandchildren or elderly, or anything else you don’t have a clue or country. one good thing you bastards can’t take nothing with you when you die. so bow down to your real god money.
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And your God …..oh yes by your tone and words you bow to the religion of empirical stupidity.And it what part of the universe do you live where those in power or want to be do not bow to the dollar.You don’t like Americans from your words,but you have access to the net…hmmm.Either you pay or supplied by some social funding. Lazy selfish well I agree we are too lazy to police and ratify our own govt in a lot of cases…the myth social and welfare programs grew directly from the depression…caused yes by the greedy in finance and government…same as our recent history but….selfish…no.Guilty of too many fingers in pies,but definitely we are the pigs that weak minded idiots that hate us so much turn their whiny little voices when they are in need…usually proving there stupidity while denouncing us at every turn..oh your rant Great Example!
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Social Security was exactly as you said–for the elderly. Unfortunately it has grown into a program in which 20 yr old’s who have Bipolar disorder or who are depressed are collecting 4 life!! Medicare originally intended to help senior Citizens with Hospitalization expenses–now provides everything from diapers to free Hover-rounds. “Call today” the huckster says in the ad..”we guarantee it won’t cost you a dime or well pay for it ourselves.” No, we’ll just keep raising the debt ceiling.
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I think the entitlement that needs to be looked at is medicaid and welfare programs. I’ve seen on so many numerous occasions healthy, able bodied people who should be contributing to society, helping rebuild this country, doing nothing but draining it. I see many of these people continue to have more and more children just to continue and increase their government assistance. This isn’t just about medicaid and welfare services either. So many times I’ve seen these very same people create fake physical and mental disabilities so they can collect on social security not just for themselves but on their children as well. Social Security that is collected on many of these children from birth and throughout their lives. I have two nephews who would be much better off with my brother but their mother won’t let them go. She knows they would be better off with my brother but will not allow this because she would then lose all the benefits that cause her to be a drain on society. She doesn’t work or contribute to society in any way. She just has kids to pay her way through life just as so many out there do. Social Security should only be for those who have contributed to it. Not for people like my nephew’s mother who have never contributed to it but yet take advantage of it to pay their bills and cost of living just because they’re too lazy to do it themselves!!! Social security should not be paying people over complete lifetimes! It is for the retired and disabled, not the lazy!
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Social Security is far too big to fail. That money is one, their own money they put into it over their lie time, they get 3 times more back, because of the time value of money. It is worth 3-4 times less then what they put in 40 years ago, so fuck off.
Also that money goes to pay bills, rent, food, doctors, medicine. The ripple effect on the economy would kill the western world you fuckign dip shits.
Think, and never listen to evil kosher people.
I love Ron P, he is wrong here.
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Social Security is far too big to fail. That money is one, their own money they put into it over their lie time, they get 3 times more back, because of the time value of money. It is worth 3-4 times less then what they put in 40 years ago, so fuck off.
Also that money goes to pay bills, rent, food, doctors, medicine. The ripple effect on the economy would kill the western world you fuckign dip shits.
Think, and never listen to evil kosher people.
I love Ron P, he is wrong here.
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Social programs breed laziness and incompetence, even worse they lead individuals into thinking that the only way to fix any problem is to have someone else do it for you. Its not my fault some people have 5 kids and no income, why should I help them out? its not my fault that person x never saved enough to retire on or pay for medical care, or never had an original thought in their heads and turned that idea into a profit stream.
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GOP wants to insure those that have earned there own money keep there own money.. Those that have been on entitlements all there life should they get the same or more than i do in SSI? well?
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GOP wants to insure those that have earned there own money keep there own money.. Those that have been on entitlements all there life should they get the same or more than i do in SSI? well?
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Not everyone wants to pay into SSI as he said that social security stared off taking care of little old ladies who had a couple years of life left before they died. Bottom line our life expectancy is around 78 years old and you draw out every dime you put into SSI way before then. Are we going to strap our children and our grandchildren with the responsibility to take care of us? And no SSI was never meant to take care of crippled kids or old people that never lived in the country before…
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Not everyone wants to pay into SSI as he said that social security stared off taking care of little old ladies who had a couple years of life left before they died. Bottom line our life expectancy is around 78 years old and you draw out every dime you put into SSI way before then. Are we going to strap our children and our grandchildren with the responsibility to take care of us? And no SSI was never meant to take care of crippled kids or old people that never lived in the country before…
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How are you talking to? Are you kidding? Are you a Neo-Nazi? So you would rather our elders die and the disabled as well. You are a truly mean person.
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No RonPaul,
He is not for The american values or THE CONSITUTION which he said he is for.
Gun control, against the consitution
Open the boarders
Being all US troops home from countries which are our allieds, leves us open to terror attacks
Defund the Military
New Monatary system
End SS, Medicare and assistance to those who really need it
Make all illegals citizens of the USA
Please read up on Paul’s platform
It’s NOT for the consitution or the American people. This man is dangerous
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Honestly; we should just get rid of all taxes. Now back to reality, I would rather pay a tax that helps my fellow human than to pay for some $1,000 toilet in the white house or some other ridiculous thing. How you can just pick and choose; we have taxes so what? I am poor and I realize. Are we overtaxed? Yes but we need some form of taxiation to keep our current lifestyle in tact!
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Social Security is a not a Ponzi scheme. People live off of this I am not talking about people who are healthy or young these are disabled and seniors who can only work part time at best. This is not about politics but making sure our weak and elders are taking care of. Do you not have respect for your elders? They have put in their time. FDRs New Deal was the best thing to come out of the Great Depression!
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Social Security is a not a Ponzi scheme. People live off of this I am not talking about people who are healthy or young these are disabled and seniors who can only work part time at best. This is not about politics but making sure our weak and elders are taking care of. Do you not have respect for your elders? They have put in their time. FDRs New Deal was the best thing to come out of the Great Depression!
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So by cutting SS benefits for those of us who paid into the system for 25 years or more should just piss all of that away and never get a return? You’re an idiot…there are people who can barely make it on SS benefits as it is and you want to cut them? It’s politicians like you that make me ill and esp. you rotten ones who started raiding the benefits back when Carter allowed the fund to be borrowed against and used as collaterol…and everybody was pissed for what Enron did? What’s the difference….both raid and rob a fun that was meant for those who paid into it not to use as a safety valve to fund Gov’t spending. Congress is still using it to fund their BS programs but who is going to cut their benefits…certainly not them cuz they have retirement for life after serving one term…ONE TERM! Who gets that and then have it guaranteed for life?
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Read and understand the whole article. Understand what he’s trying to do to not only make sure that the people the TRULY need help get it and the ones that don’t are not wasting our tax dollars. These programs need a complete overhaul and reorganization. Fixing the messes our government has made and that we allowed to happen is gonna take time, hard work and sacrifice. If you’re not ready for TRUE reform now, you will be when our economy collapses and we become a 2nd or 3rd world country. This is history repeating itself people. We are heading down the same path the U.S.S.R. did and Ron Paul is the only man with the principles and determination to prevent it.
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You shouldn’t cut the social programs, it’s not the people who receive the benefits that take the lion’s share, it’s those who administer them that does.
We do need better transition programs for people who are poor, disabled, & retired to transition into the work force in but not limited to full time.
We need jobs,not cuts, not to be docked if you’re in one of these social programs trying to rejoin the workforce, bring back the training & education programs to wean people from these programs without starving.
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SS:
The best way to improve social programs is to get government out of the business of administering and funding them — to abolish the government programs altogether — thereby allowing private social programs to flourish.
Government programs, by virtue of their use of the naked force of coercion to perpetuate their morally corrupt and economically unsound practices, are immune form the natural regulatory forces of the free market.
Government’s role should be limited to preventing private programs from using coercion. without the use of coercion, they will be unable to escape the powerful regulatory forces of the marketplace .
Only the free market can be trusted to regulate social programs, keeping them efficient and honest. The government cannot be trusted to regulate them
(other than to prevent them from using coercion) because the government cannot be trusted to regulate itself.
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SS:
The best way to improve social programs is to get government out of the business of administering and funding them — to abolish the government programs altogether — thereby allowing private social programs to flourish.
Government programs, by virtue of their use of the naked force of coercion to perpetuate their morally corrupt and economically unsound practices, are immune form the natural regulatory forces of the free market.
Government’s role should be limited to preventing private programs from using coercion. Without the use of coercion, they will be unable to escape the powerful regulatory forces of the marketplace .
Only the free market can be trusted to regulate social programs, keeping them efficient and honest. The government cannot be trusted to regulate them
(other than to prevent them from using coercion) because the government cannot be trusted to regulate itself.
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You shouldn’t cut the social programs, it’s not the people who receive the benefits that take the lion’s share it’s those who administer them that does.
We do need better transition programs for people who are poor, disabled, & retired to transition into the work force in but not limited to full time.
We need jobs,not cuts, not to be docked if you’re in one of these social programs trying to rejoin the workforce, bring back the training & education programs to wean people from these programs without starving.
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Which members of Congress have the integrity to tell those of us who have been subjected to payroll taxes all our lives that the money is gone, that it was not securely invested so that it would be available for us to collect as pensions or medical insurance benefits in our retirement years, that it was stolen by the US Congress to pay for government programs.
Which members of Congress have the integrity to us tell that, had the money not been collected by the government as payroll taxes, had we invested it instead in private funds, expecting to collect it in our retirement years, and had the private fund managers fraudulently squandered our money elsewhere and had no honest means of ever recovering the money they lost, then neither they nor we would have have any moral right whatsoever to steal from our grandchildren in order to cover our living and medical expenses. To survive, we would simply have to come out of retirement and get jobs — the best jobs we could handle given our physical condition, or rely on charity — private, voluntary charity.
Which members of Congress have the integrity to us tell that being victims of Uncle Sam’s ponzi scheme doesn’t entitle us to steal from our grandchildren?
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Social Security should be terminated because the federal government has no authority to tax citizens for a “retirement” program. However, immediate termination is not politically possible. Grandfathering present and near-present recipients and tax credits for other participants might be politically possible although presently expensive. For example:
1. Terminate SSA
2. Continue to pay present recipients as provided by current law
3. Give those 55 (or so other arbitrary age) or older the option to continue to pay taxes and get benefits or receive tax credits for what they have paid in
4. Those 54 or younger receive tax credits for money they paid into the SSA
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it really will be on grand kids if they have to take care of parents with no SSI or Medicare paying for housing food and healthcare for them it really will cost our kids when other countries take over this one because our kids haven’t had proper education to keep up with teq, space, air, weapons, money, medical and so on. our grand kids will suffer for sure but not with money in the way republicans like to think.
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This coming from a man who does not need social security benefits.This program is paid for this is a retirement program for all even the rich. Bush and Reagan each removed $350 million out of social security for their debt. So the answer is through every body under the bus. We are moving to a dictator ship and a third world country.
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Hi Ron Paul, I agree with you on so many issues…end the warfare state, end the free prescriptions, let people buy their meds from Canada and other low-cost providers…But please do not end Social Security for the elderly.
First, you cannot get elected if you try to end social security. Secondly, my parents live on it.
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I think Yor Ecnareves Is Much Better He will give us all Control of the Legislature & Congress Day 1 in the Whitehouse. Via Petition with your Vote. Look him up facebook Yor Ecnareves Yor Ecnareves on twitter and you tube. .Then he plans to Build a new UN for the People of all the Earth to vote on ending war & Climate issues & Freedoms Logic on the issues not spin.
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Just cut out all welfare and food stamps, section 8 housing and free lunches for black children!
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Just cut out all welfare and food stamps, section 8 housing and free lunches for black children!
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This is theone thing i disagree with him over.Look ive payed into this system for 30yrs,If we could get politicians to leave the cookie jar alone,and pay back those IOUs instead of bailing out the banks,and pocketing half the money they apropreate for pet projects,their wouldnt be a shortfall,So we suposed to just take 30yrs of payments,and ruffly 20 more years and just say here ya go i expect nothing back.I dont think so.infact i see the whitehouse burning in my eyes,we need to expand medicade to the young so not only the sick participate,and trash the insurance compaNYS,BUT ENDING THE FED,REPEALING THE PATRIOT ACT,AND STRICKT CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOMS,AND EQUALITY FOR FATHES,I AM FOR.SO WE SUPOSED TO JUST KEEP LETTING THEM OFF THE HOOK OR WHAT?And lets get ridd of the illegals.
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why does every party went to cut social security? There are people who are disabled and can’t work. Social Security needs to continue.
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