security

Newt Gingrich on Amnesty | In his own words

/ L. M. Walker / 1 Comment

Updated: During the CNN GOP National Security Debate on 11/22/2011, Newt Gingrich recommended a comprehensive approach to address illegal immigration. Just for the record, what Mr. Gingrich really said about Amnesty follows:

Mr. Gingrich said that any such plan must (A) start with securing the border, then (B) establishing a guest worker program, and finally (C) setting up a board to review the status of each person here illegally. Such a board would distinguish between those who recently came here, and those who are more established. He said that those who recently came here, who don’t have family ties, or are otherwise not established, should be sent home. While those who are established, who have been here for 25 years or more, who have children and grandchildren in America, who belong to churches, who have obeyed the laws, and who have paid their taxes, should be allowed to stay legally, but not automatically granted citizenship. For the latter, he recommended using something similar to the Red Card Solution, which would be used as a form of identification, to grant legality, but not as a path towards citizenship.

The Krieble Foundation’s Red Card Solution is a proposal which would allow companies to recruit workers from Mexico. The Red Card would permit workers to enter America, and would allow employers and immigration authorities to track them. It would aid in enforcement of immigration laws, with less intrusion by the government. According to the Krieble Foundation:

“It’s a simple solution. Private employment agencies would be allowed to open offices in foreign countries, and authorized to issue temporary non-citizen worker permits. The permits would be “smart cards” with a microchip that includes a photograph, fingerprint or other biometric identification data, and information needed so that border agents, police, and employers could swipe the card and know who the holder is, where he works, where he lives, who issued the permit, when it expires, and any other required information. Employment agencies would be licensed by the government and would be required to run criminal background checks before issuing non-citizen worker permits, much like gun shops do today. Employers would simply post jobs with employment agencies like they do today. Best of all, the program would be funded by user fees, not taxpayers.”

Gingrich also recommended that H1 Visas be granted with every graduate degree in math, science and engineering, to encourage foreign students to stay in America.

For the most part, I concur.

Getting Honest About Social Security – Part 3

/ L. M. Walker / 3 Comments

We begin with the Congressional Budget Office’s Estimate of the President’s Budget (above). Why wait until tomorrow? It’s on the CBO’s website at http://cbo.gov/?

You will recall from Part 2, that entitlement spending (aka mandatory spending) is comprised of the following:

Entitlement Spending, at $1.595 trillion in FY 2008, is over half of the U.S. Federal Budget. The largest entitlement spending programs based on FY 2006 were Social Security and Medicare, as follows:
  • Social Security – $544 billion
  • Medicare – $325 billion
  • Medicaid – $186 billion
  • All other mandatory programs – $357 billion. These programs include Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, Child Nutrition, Child Tax Credits, Supplemental Security for the blind and disabled, Student Loans, and Retirement / Disability programs for Civil Servants, the Coast Guard and the Military
In FY 2009 and 2010 alone, entitlement spending is projected to exceed government revenue by some $290 billion. So the United States is facing a budget deficit, in just two years, before spending one dime on our defense, education, veterans pensions, and other vital programs. And this wasn’t supposed to happen for another 31 years?

Is anyone still seriously considering dumping another $1 trillion dollars into this government-run ponzi scheme?

Obama said he wanted an ‘honest debate’ on his health care proposal. Well, here’s the problem. We can’t afford to waste another dollar on some misguided government program, no matter how noble. Social Security is little more than a government-run Ponzi Scheme. Medicare is only 1/2 funded by premiums. Isn’t Medicare an example of government-run health care?

What kind of health insurance company would only collect 1/2 of what it spends on claims year-after-year, after year? I’ll tell you. A government-run health insurance company. Like that commercial says Mr. president, “You Need A Plan!”

Solutions abound, but what Obama is proposing isn’t one of them.

To even begin an ‘honest’ discussion on Social Security, Medicare, Government Option Health Care, or any other ‘reform’ proposed by ‘government workers’, you first need to get honest with the public, and then your proposals had better include the following:

  • Reductions in government spending
  • Reductions in government programs
  • Privatization of government entitlement programs
  • Budget balancing initiatives
  • Incentives for private investment
  • Incentives for private business growth
  • Incentives for private job creation
  • and, Policies that promote individual liberty

Getting Honest About Social Security – Part 2

/ L. M. Walker / Leave a comment

What are Entitlements?

Entitlement Spending, at $1.412 trillion in FY 2006, is over half of the U.S. Federal Budget. The largest entitlement spending programs are Social Security and Medicare, as follows:

  • Social Security – $544 billion

  • Medicare – $325 billion

  • Medicaid – $186 billion

  • All other mandatory programs – $357 billion. These programs include Food Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, Child Nutrition, Child Tax Credits, Supplemental Security for the blind and disabled, Student Loans, and Retirement / Disability programs for Civil Servants, the Coast Guard and the Military

How Is Social Security Funded?

Social Security is funded through payroll taxes. Through 2017, Social Security collects more in tax revenues than it pays out in benefits because there are 3.3 workers for every beneficiary. However, as Baby Boomers start to retire and draw down these benefits, there will be fewer workers to support them. By 2040, the revenues to pay for Social Security will be less than the expenditures.

How Is Medicare Funded?

Unlike Social Security, Medicare payroll taxes and premiums cover only 57% of current benefits. The remaining 43% is financed from general revenues (i.e. including any surplus remaining from Social Security). Because of rising health care costs, general revenues will have to pay for 62% of Medicare costs by 2030.

Medicare has two sections:

  • The Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance program, which collects enough payroll taxes to pay current benefits.

  • Medicare Part B, the Supplementary Medical Insurance program, and Part D, the new drug benefit, which is only covered by premium payments and general tax revenues.

How Will the FY 2008 Budget on Entitlement Spending Affect the U.S. Economy?

Through 2012, entitlement spending is budgeted at about 10.5% of GDP, with payroll tax revenue at about 6.5% of GDP, so that these unfunded obligations add to the general budget deficit. For example, in FY 2006 Social Security brought in $608 billion in “off-budget,” extra funds from payroll taxes. However, other entitlement programs had expenses that far outweighed this “extra” revenue, creating a mini-deficit of $574 billion within the entitlement spending budget alone. The amount increases to $784 billion by 2012.

Long-term Impacts

Long-term, however, the impact of doing nothing about these burgeoning unfunded mandates will be huge. The first Baby-Boomer turns 62 this year, and becomes eligible to retire on Social Security benefits. By 2025, those aged 65+ will comprise 20% of the population.

As Boomers leave the work-force and apply for benefits, three things happen:

  1. The percentage of the labor under 55 stops growing, providing less payroll taxes to fund Social Security.

  2. GDP growth declines to less than 2% due to fewer workers.

  3. By 2040, Social Security alone brings in less than it spends.

Getting Honest

Obama has stated that any further debate on his health care reform proposals needs to be “honest debate”. He implies that critics have been dishonest, which means we’re just lying.

In looking at the facts above, one need only ask the following question:

Are the budgetary problems facing ‘government workers’ in Washington, DC caused by the private sector, or by the government?

Obama wants to overthrow the private health insurance industry and fold it into a government run entitlement. Yet, the federal government has proven itself incapable of managing its current programs. How is adding more of the burden to the government going to resolve the baby boomer issue?

With all due respect, as a wise man once stated, “government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.”

What we need to be discussing is a way to turn over the government’s primary entitlements: Social Security and Medicare to the private sector, not the other way around. If not, the next thing ‘government workers’ will be proposing is how they can fold State, and private pension money into the black hole of the Social Security Ponzi Fund.

Obama’s solution: Solve a problem by compounding it. “We have to spend more money to keep from going bankrupt.”

American’s are simply saying, “No”.