Position Paper on Social Security Trust Funds

By Ricky Martin

Your support of this campaign is a statement for: Protecting Social Security Trust Funds for the sole use of the program's lawful beneficiaries.

A. I appreciate the rightful aspirations of the aged to live in dignity and economic security. If elected I will support legislation to require the Federal Government to protect Social Security funds in a special trust solely for the purpose of providing benefits to the beneficiaries. I also believe Social Security recipients should be able to earn additional income without penalty. They worked for it , they earned it, they deserve it. A Social Security promise made should be a Social Security promise kept. It's unfortunate that for to long our elderly citizens have been the victims of irresponsible government-fostered borrowing from their Social Security Trust Fund. It must stop before it's too late! On December 11th, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill notified Congress that the ceiling on the national debt could be reached as soon as February. He requested that the ceiling be boosted to $6.7 trillion. The current limit is $5.95 trillion. O'Neill blamed Black Tuesday and "the ongoing war on terrorism" for the upsurge in borrowing that now "requires" an increase.

But had the federal government been required to protect Social Security funds as a special trust, there would never have been such a gigantic debt accumulated. Instead of raising the debt limit and heaping a ticking time bomb on the elderly retirement and a burden on your children, we should begin to pay off the Social Security IOU's to avoid a costly collapse.
Just three days after the O'Neill request, an Associated Press story appeared with the headline, "Senators Load Nearly $400 Million in Pet Projects," The article described how over 100 spending amendments were tacked on to the "must-pass" appropriations bill for the Defense Department. They voted by rapid voice votes with little or no debate -- even though many spending amendments had nothing to do with defense or fighting terrorism. When the final tally is made, Fiscal 2002 federal spending will likely exceed two trillion dollars!
In Fiscal 2001 (which ended last September 30th), interest on the national debt cost over $359.00 billion as much or more then our entire defense budget.
The Elderly are the victims of irresponsible government-fostered borrowing from the Social Security fund. I believe the next congress must act to pass legislation to require the federal government to protect Social Security funds as a special trust, using those funds solely for the purpose of providing benefits to the beneficiaries.