|
tazzygirl -> RE: Perry OpEd On Social Security (9/12/2011 5:49:21 PM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Sanity
Well then, I am sure you have a logical explanation for the following headline:
Obama says he cannot guarantee Social Security checks will go out on August 3
quote:
ORIGINAL: farglebargle
Q2 2011 $ 2,669,215,081,000
quote:
ORIGINAL: Sanity
And what is the worth of these IOU treasuries
quote:
ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy
I get the feeling that no one in this thread knows what a "lockbox" for Social Security means. It is simply accepting tax payments and buying Treasuries with them, exactly what happened (or happens when tax payments exceed benefit payments"). It doesnt refer tp some safety deposit box holding a bunch of cash, which would make no sense.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney addressed the question during his Feb. 24, 2011, press briefing. Asked by a reporter why checks might not go out in 2011 like they did in 1995, Carney suggested that at least some beneficiaries may not be able to receive adequate customer services during a shutdown due to workers being furloughed.
"The president was pointing out some of the consequences, the potential consequences of failing to act, of failing to prevent a shutdown," Carney said. "And some recipients, new retirees, new applicants might not receive their checks. If retirees have questions about their checks, if they didn't get their check in the mail, if they had a change of address, all those things could prevent them from getting their checks. So there are, obviously, consequences that directly affect people who are recipients of Social Security benefits."
This statement -- which is noticeably more nuanced than Obama’s original comment -- comes close to the assessments of experts we spoke to. They told us it’s likely that payments will once again be made -- but there’s no guarantee. As CRS put it, while "past experience may inform future OMB and agency decisions," past precedents on activities and personnel "would not necessarily hold for any future shutdown."
The president and Congress "could decide whether to send out Social Security checks in the event of a shutdown," said Alice Rivlin, who headed OMB under Clinton. "Congress could mandate that enough workers be declared 'essential' to get the checks out or the president could decide to take that action—or not."
John Palguta, a former federal official who is now vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service, agreed, saying that it’s "probable" that Social Security payments will continue, but added that "it’s not an iron-clad guarantee."
So at the very least, we believe there’s considerably more uncertainty on this issue than Obama stated in the news conference. While Obama had said that if there’s a government shutdown, "people don’t get their Social Security checks," the reality is that the law provides significant leeway for employing federal workers to carry out Social Security functions during a shutdown, which allowed most checks to go out in 1995.
On the other hand, making that approach work depends on the president utilizing his authority, and on Congress not blocking him from carrying it out. It’s also possible, as Carney suggests, that depending on the number of Social Security employees assigned to work, certain customer services may become unavailable during a shutdown, such as checks not going out to new beneficiaries or those with address changes.
Ultimately, the law and history suggest that it’s likely that checks will go out, though it’s not a certainty. On balance, we rate Obama’s statement Barely True.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/feb/24/barack-obama/barack-obama-says-if-theres-government-shutdown-so/
Sanity, it had nothing to do with money being available.
|
|
|
|
