Your Social Security Checks Could Be Impacted Soon: Here’s Why
The
Epoch Times
By
Jack Phillips
May 10, 2023Updated: May 11, 2023
Jack
Phillips
By
Jack Phillips
Treasury Secretary Janet Warned that if the United States
defaults on its obligations amid a congressional impasse over raising the debt
ceiling, Social Security payments could be interrupted.
“Treasury
finds itself in the position where we’re unable to pay all of the bills that
come due that day. And this would be really the first time in the history of
America that we would fail to make payments that are due,” Yellen told ABC News
earlier in the week. “And, you know, whether it’s defaulting on interest
payments that are due on the debt or payments due for Social Security
recipients or to Medicare providers, we would simply not have enough cash to
meet all of our obligations.”
Recently, Yellen
projected that the federal government will hit its debt limit by as early as
June 1, coming months after “extraordinary measures” were implemented to stave
off defaulting. If the government reaches its debt limit, the federal
government wouldn’t be able to pay all of its obligations.
According
to data provided by
the Social Security
Administration, the agency will
make some $1 trillion in Social Security payments to about 67 million people,
with the majority being retirees. Some 48.6 million recipients are retired,
while 7.6 million are disabled, and another 9.8 million are survivors and
dependents, the data reveals.
This
week, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) held
talks amid the debt ceiling impasse, but neither side has appeared to
budge. On Wednesday, the House speaker accused the Biden administration
of ignoring the “crisis” for “97 days” since the two last met, while Democrats
like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) accused Republicans of
pushing a “partisan bill” to raise the debt ceiling.
Republicans
say they won’t raise the debt limit without federal spending cuts in return.
But Democrats said that the ceiling should be raised without any preconditions,
saying that negotiations over cutting spending should be separate.
July’s
first Social Security payment is slated for July 11 for Americans with
birthdays on the first through the tenth of the month. Subsequent payments for
people born later in their respective months will get payments on July 18 and
July 25, respectively, according to the payment schedule (pdf).
Unprecedented?
Because
the United States has never defaulted, officials say it would be unprecedented.
But top congressional leaders and Biden have said in recent days that the
country won’t default on its obligations.
During
a Senate Appropriations hearing in March, Yellen said her job as secretary of
the Treasury is to make sure that bills are paid. She did not indicate what
payments would be prioritized—including Social Security.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) listen as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“Prioritization
is default by another name,” she told members of a Senate panel. “Not paying
any of our bills is default. When you think about the pain that it would cause
to Social Security recipients, to food stamp recipients, to vendors who have
supplied services, to the government who have their own payrolls to meet, to be
told they are not going to be paid, the government is not going to honor those
bills. That’s a default.”
The
secretary said that payment systems are set up to pay all government bills when
they are due, noting that they’re not set up “to divide payments into different
types as a general matter.” And, she added, “for many agencies, payments of all
different types are mixed together in ways that couldn’t be disentangled.”
Shai
Akabas, the head of economic policy with the Bipartisan Policy Center, told a
local media station that many questions remain if the federal government
defaults.
“We
have never been there as a country,” Akabas remarked to
10 News in San Diego. “What would occur, likely, is an economic downturn, which
could affect pocketbooks of Americans in a number of different ways. First, we
could see delayed payments that Americans are anticipating from the federal
government in the form of programs and other assistance. We could see
significant increases in interest rates.”
But
one thing is for sure, according to Yellen, is that there would be widespread
financial chaos if a default occurs.
“We
would simply not have enough cash to meet all of our obligations,” she warned
during the ABC News interview. “And it’s widely agreed that financial and
economic chaos would ensue.”
The
standoff has rattled investors, sending the cost of insuring exposure to U.S.
government debt to record highs, as Wall Street grows more concerned about the
risks of an unprecedented default.
Biden
signaled an openness to Republicans’ demand to claw back some unused money for
COVID-19 relief, which is less than $80 billion. Meanwhile, the White House
reiterated its backing for legislation speeding government permitting of energy
projects by setting maximum timelines.
A
White House fact sheet distributed on Wednesday said the administration “supports
the important reforms” contained in a bill by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Republicans have not endorsed that bill but say permitting reforms would help
the United States maintain its edge in oil and gas development. Democrats see
it as boosting the development of “clean” power projects.
The
last time the nation got this close to default was in 2011 when Democrat
President Barack Obama was in office. Republicans led the House, and the Senate
was controlled by Democrats.
Reuters
contributed to this report.
Connecting
the Dots:
James Roosevelt
Jr. was an associate commissioner for the Social Security
Administration (SSA) and is a governor at the Roosevelt Institute.
Jonathan Soros is a senior fellow
at the Roosevelt Institute, George Soros’s son, the
vice chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the vice
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for
the Roosevelt Institute.
George Soros was the chairman
for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, is Jonathan
Soros’s father and the founder & chairman for the Open
Society Foundations.
Open Society Foundations was a funder for
the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).
Charles O.
Rossotti is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and was a commissioner for the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS).
Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) is a division of the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
Timothy D. Adams is
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and was an undersecretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
David D.
Aufhauser is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and was a general counsel for the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
James A. Baker III is
an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank) and was a secretary for the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
Kenneth W. Dam is
a lifetime director for the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank) and was a deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of
the Treasury.
Stuart E.
Eizenstat is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank) and was a deputy secretary for the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
Robert M. Kimmitt is
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and was a deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
George P. Shultz is
an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States
(think tank) and was a secretary for the U.S. Department of the
Treasury.
Herbert M.
Allison Jr. was a director at the Atlantic Council of the
United States (think tank) and an assistant secretary at the U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
Teresa M. Ressel was
a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank)
and an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Resources:
Past Research
Social
Security Update: Agency Backpedals as NRA and Pro-Gun Officials Press for
Answers (Past Research on the Social Security
Administration)
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER 18, 2015
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/10/social-security-update-agency.html
Rep.
Ken Buck on D.C.’s Swamp: Politicians Are ‘Bought with Taxpayer Dollars’
(Researchers Note: Follow the Money!) (Past Research
on the U.S. Department of the Treasury)
SATURDAY,
APRIL 15, 2017
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2017/04/rep-ken-buck-on-dcs-swamp-politicians.html
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