Thread: Scare: Obama Admin Says Social Security Payments In Jeopardy

Scare: Obama Admin Says Social Security Payments In Jeopardy

by Samian Paletta, The Wall Street Journal | published on October 8, 2013


The Social Security Administration has begun warning the public it cannot guarantee full benefit payments if the debt ceiling isn’t increased.



When asked by the public, the agency is notifying beneficiaries that “Unlike a federal shutdown which has no impact on the payment of Social Security benefits, failure to raise the debt ceiling puts Social Security benefits at risk,” according to a person familiar with the agency directive.

The warning was assembled after the agency consulted with the Treasury Department, which would play a lead role in determining how the government handles payments if the borrowing limit isn’t raised soon.



Read the full article: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/10/07/social-security-warns-benefits-could-get-cut/

http://www.1776coalition.com/featured-content/scare-obama-admin-says-social-security-payments-in-jeopardy


All this corrupt administration knows how to do is use scare tactics, they all need to be impeached, bettor yet they all need to be walked right out of office....

But we never hear a threat to not pay welfare.

This administration is in get even mode and it will only get worse, IMO this is to see how much the American public will tolerate.
GOD help us if the GOP loses the house in 2014 then the true goals of the far left will come forth and it will not be kind.

Lew: Medicare, Social Security, military checks first on chopping block if debt deadline missed

Published October 10, 2013
FoxNews.com

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew delivered a stern warning to Congress on Thursday about the consequences of not raising the debt ceiling, saying Social Security checks and benefits for veterans are among the payments that could be halted in such a scenario.

Lew testified Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. He spoke amid claims from some corners that missing the Oct. 17 deadline does not necessarily trigger the doomsday scenario of default on the debt.

Lew also did not go so far as to claim payments on the debt would be jeopardized after Oct. 17. However, he said myriad other payments inevitably would be -- which he described as a "default" in the general sense.

"Under any scenario, we will be defaulting on obligations," Lew said.
Lew, in a written statement, warned that upcoming payments for the following could all be jeopardized before Nov. 1:

• Social Security payments
• Medicare payments
• Veteran benefit payments
• Active-duty military salaries

"The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens," Lew said.

Lew said missing that deadline would cause financial chaos, hurting the economy and shaking the financial markets to a degree that could cripple the economic recovery. He urged Congress to promptly raise the debt ceiling and pass a spending bill to restore confidence.

The appearance was yet another public restatement of the administration's stance that Congress needs to pass a spending bill and lift the U.S. borrowing cap before President Obama will negotiate over the nation's budget ills.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, though, argued that the nation's overspending needs to be dealt with, and he bristled at Obama's repeated claims that the debt ceiling should be raised to pay for spending Congress racked up. "It is a problem that all of us ... need to deal with," Hatch said.

He also said it is "disconcerting" to hear Social Security and other payments could be stopped.

In a glimmer of hope for a possible deal, some Republicans are discussing the possibility of permitting a short-term increase in the debt ceiling to allow for further negotiations. Obama is hosting top House Republicans on Thursday afternoon to discuss the impasse, which so far has resulted in a partial government shutdown.

The next big deadline is Oct. 17, when the Treasury Department says the government will exhaust ways to pay all its bills without an increase in the debt ceiling.

Credit-rating agency Moody's, though, released an analysis on Wednesday that claimed even if the government missed that deadline, a default on the debt would not happen. Moody's argues that the Treasury Department would find a way to pay interest on its debt above all else.

"We believe the government would continue to pay interest and principal on its debt, even in the event that the debt limit is not raised, leaving its creditworthiness intact," the analysis said. "The debt limit restricts government expenditures to the amount of its incoming revenues; it does not prohibit the government from servicing its debt. There is no direct connection between the debt limit (actually the exhaustion of the Treasury's extraordinary measures to raise funds) and a default."

The analysis also noted that the next interest payment -- of $5.9 billion -- is not due until the end of the month.

Still, few would claim that the implications of not raising the debt ceiling are minor. Even if the government can pay interest on the debt, it would be unable to pay myriad other obligations -- officials say the government would have to choose between priorities like Social Security checks and many other functions of the federal government.

The uncertainty could severely damage the economy and shake the financial markets.

Some officials argue, though, that since this is uncharted territory it's ultimately unclear whether the Treasury Department could prioritize payments -- and that a default on debt is a possibility.

"A default would be a financial heart attack," Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Thursday.

Lew on Thursday also questioned his ability to prioritize payments.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...mty_twitter_fn

Why isn't Foreign aid to countries that hate the first thing cancelled?