Thread: Each US Household Owes $500,000 For Government Benefits

Each US Household Owes $500,000 For Government Benefits -Report

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Taxpayers owe more than $500,000 per household for financial promises made by government, mostly to cover the cost of retirement benefits for baby boomers, USA Today reported, citing its own analysis.

Federal, state and local governments have added nearly $10 trillion to taxpayer liabilities in the past two years, bringing the total of government's unfunded obligations to an unprecedented $57.8 trillion, said the report late Wednesday.

That is the equivalent of $510,678 for every household in the U.S., said USA Today.

The cost of retirement programs will start to soar when baby boomers - 79 million people born between 1946 and 1964 - begin collecting Social Security in 2008 and Medicare in 2011, the newspaper said.

"This is a monster financial problem that both parties are going to have to solve," says Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., a member of the House Budget Committee. " Most Americans and Congress members don't realize the terrific burden we are putting on future generations."

The report said government obligations for U.S. citizens are five times what people owe for mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other personal debt. The $ 57.8 trillion liability is the amount that government needs now, stashed aside and earning interest, to generate enough cash to pay future obligations. The obligations are valued in today's dollars and come due as early as in a few days, when Treasury bills mature, to as long as 75 years for Social Security and Medicare.

The balance, the newspaper said, grows about $25,000 per household annually. Taxpayer liabilities grew 20% in the past two years, 13% above the inflation rate.

The report said the increase is due to the following:

-Medicare - the health care program for the elderly saw its long-term deficit grow $4.5 trillion from 2004 on higher medical costs and an aging population.

-Social Security - the deficit for workers and beneficiaries already in the system grew $2.5 trillion over two years because each generation gets benefits greater than the last, automatically putting the program more out of balance every year.

-Government retirement benefits for civil servants and military personnel are more generous than those for private-sector workers, but government has not set aside as much money as private companies to pay the costs.

"These numbers show our long-term financial problems are even greater than our short-term ones," Ed Lorenzen, policy director at the Concord Coalition, which promotes fiscal responsibility, told the newspaper.

Economist Dean Baker of the liberal Center for Economic Policy Research says the nation can afford Social Security but not the current health care system. " If we don't fix health care, it's hard to imagine what our country looks like in 20 years," he said, the newspaper reported.

Newspaper Web site: usatoday.com

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsS ... h=20060525\ACQDJON200605251132DOWJONESDJONLINE000757.htm&

And this is before Bush legalizes 20 million illegals, plus the additional 40 million or so that they'll bring in later.

The one difference between the baby boomers is the money they receive will mostly be returned back to the economy to create jobs, pay property and other taxes.

While it does bother me that my children who are working to build a life and business are being saddled with this as well as the expense of the illegals.

BILL ME!!!!

Send my bill to Bush

All the more reason to opt out of Social Security and create your own retirement and hospitalization plan.

I do not owe anything!!! I have paid taxes and social security all of my working life. Also if this government thinks when we reach retirement age that they are not going to pay social security they have another thing coming as the baby boomers represent a majority in this country

That was my very next question. How do I opt out of SS? Especially since I will never see it anyway.

Originally Posted by dlm1968

That was my very next question. How do I opt out of SS? Especially since I will never see it anyway.

The best way is to never obtain an SSN. If you have already received one, there are actions you can take under common law to rescind it. The Social Security Administration may or may not ackowledge the recission, but as long as you have documentation or properly filed notice and a default (failure to respond where required by the SSA) then you are on pretty sound footing. I am not providing any legal advice here, so if you want out then I suggest you have someone competent assist you in the process.

The other way to opt out is to have your country opt out. Galveston County in Texas opted out in the early 1980s. Retirees from Galveston County jobs typically are rewarded with retirement payments that are two to three times their monthly pre-retirement salaries. Also, their retirement fund is an actual account that belongs to the retiree and his or her heirs. I believe that legislation has been passed that allegedly prohibits "opting out" at the state or county level, but my guess is that it could easily be challenged or changed. Here's a link to a story on the success of the Galveston program:

http://www.libertyhaven.com/politicsand ... ston.shtml

Does anyone remember back to probably Carter, Regan time? Didn't they "dip" into social security for something then? I know that's when my dad got involved in AARP coz he said once the government got their slimy hands on it we'd never see another dime. I didn't follow up on any of it at the time and don't know what happened.

I have had enough from a government that just spends, spends, spends. I owe nothing as well. They need their salarys and perks cut big time. Seems there needs to be an independant committee there to screen some of this nonsence. Millions are spent on pork projects and there will be a bunch of angry old crones if they take what little is left and cut it from the elderly. Unfortunatly I think they have a plan to make sure we aren't the majority when S hits the fan. Plus what little they would have as someone said earlier would be AGAIN for taxes. I just have a feeling they're going to do whatever they can to get these properties back into the gov. hands. And they can for not paying taxes alone. I know you can't take anything with you when it's your time.......but you'd like to just be able to live and not have to worry about loosing a home you already paid for just because the gov. can't control their spending. Get a few savy housewives up there and I bet there'd be a balanced budget in no time. They might be brown bagging it with PBJ's but so do we.