Author Allen Smith has been a lonely voice crying in the wilderness bearing unwelcome news about Ronald Reagan and the Great Social Security Heist: How Reagan Gave Birth to the Looting of Social Security (Ironwood Publications).
"The money's gone," Smith says. "Social Security doesn't have trillions stashed away for paying benefits, as so many people believe. It cannot pay benefits for another 20 years, as is often claimed. In fact, Social Security does not have enough money to pay full benefits, even for 2014, without borrowing money from China or another of our creditors."When President Reagan signed the Social Security Amendments of 1983, Smith continues, the American people were told that it would fund Social Security for decades. Instead, "It laid the foundation for 30 years of government embezzlement of Social Security funds. The money was used to pay for wars, tax cuts for the rich, and other government programs.Videos