More on the social security scare

Has anyone heard of FICA? The other day, Sean Hannity was interviewing Laura Ingraham and was ranting about Obama’s threatening seniors regarding social security checks. Recall the president said that he does not know if the money would be there in August to pay seniors if the debt ceiling were not raised. Hannity said that there were enough revenues to pay seniors. Ingraham rightly pointed out that social security is a pay as you go system with current payments coming out of FICA receipts. Hannity was confused. He said “I thought they had depleted the lockbox.” Ingraham patiently pointed out that yes: those monies had been siphoned off into the general tax fund and spent but still there were enough coming in from FICA to pay current recipients. I don’t think Hannity ever understood. Fast forward to an interview of an Obama supporter and Stuart Varney of the Fox News network. The Obama apologist said that the payments to the government were lumpy and the needed amount may not be at the treasury when the checks had to go out. Varney then insisted that the treasury secretary could then make a decision as to who would get paid when and the president was being irresponsible. At no time in the conversation were FICA payments even mentioned. At present the estimate is that we have another 25 years or so until FICA receipts no longer cover promised payments. Perhaps that is why Harry Reid said that we don’t have to worry about social security until 2036. Maybe Harry Reid should tell this to Obama in the debt ceiling talks.