Congressman Kinzinger backed ‘backdoor attack on Social Security’

To the editor:

Earlier this year, Rep. Kinzinger voted for the so-called Balanced Budget Amendment. On the surface this might seem like a good idea, but in reality it is actually a backdoor attack on Social Security. Let me explain.

By design, the Social Security Trust Fund has built up a reserve account for the time when “baby boomers” start retiring in record numbers and put a large demand on the Social Security system. This planning goes back to President Reagan when responsible parties saw the need for additional revenue in the future and raised Social Security taxes to provide for it.

This reserve account was built up over time by lending money every year to the federal government in the form of treasury securities backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Those of us who have paid into the Social Security Trust Fund over decades have built up a huge reserve fund of $2.9 trillion today to cover future needs.

Well, the future is almost here, and that money will be needed soon to help pay full Social Security benefits for retirees like me. However, the Balanced Budget Amendment proposes that federal expenses for a given year cannot exceed federal taxes received in that year. Therefore, the Social Security reserves could not be used to help pay current benefits because they were collected in previous years.

The net effect is that Social Security would not be allowed to use its own $2.9 trillion savings account that was created exactly for this purpose! This, in turn, would force cuts in Social Security payments because there would not be enough money to pay full benefits without using some money from the reserves.

This is obviously wrong. Seniors would be denied their full, earned benefits that have been fully paid for over a lifetime of work. A bill like the Balanced Budget Amendment is so bad that it should not even see the light of day in the United States Congress.

Fortunately, this bill, which was supported by Congressman Kinzinger, did not pass. But it raises the disturbing question: who does he represent? Clearly, Adam Kinzinger does not represent seniors.

Barry J. Mayworm

Princeton

Above is from:  http://www.bcrnews.com/2018/09/20/congressman-backed-backdoor-attack-on-social-security/akzgdh9/