{"id":1242,"date":"2015-06-09T05:15:54","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T12:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=1242"},"modified":"2015-06-12T19:38:05","modified_gmt":"2015-06-13T02:38:05","slug":"walking-the-walk-my-114000-challenge-to-uncle-sam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id1242-walking-the-walk-my-114000-challenge-to-uncle-sam.html","title":{"rendered":"Social Security and My $152,000 Challenge to Uncle Sam"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"social<\/a>I’ve been a proud, full-time, member of the American workforce since 1988.<\/p>\n

Since then, I’ve earned approximately $2.4 million in base salary — excluding bonuses, stock option cash-outs, and other income streams. It also excludes the money I earned working part time while I was in school.<\/p>\n

Since 1981 when I took my first part time job as a 16-year-old kid, I’ve paid more than $120,000 in Social Security taxes. I’ve also paid roughly $32,000 in Medicare taxes. Add it all up and that comes to roughly $152,000.<\/p>\n

Wake Up: The Social Security Trust Fund Is A Ruse<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2010 it was announced that Social Security paid out more<\/a> in benefits than it received in taxes for the first time since 1983 — and that has been the case every year since.<\/p>\n

And although we are also told there is no reason to worry, that claim is an unabashed sham<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The truth is there’s no money in the trust fund and there hasn’t been for years — if ever. That’s because our politicians have been using all of the Social Security surplus collected over the years that was supposed to go into the Trust to pay for their pet projects and an ever-expanding government instead.<\/p>\n

The sooner you understand that sobering news, the sooner you’ll stop believing the feel-good Social Security office propaganda they send you every year that shows how much cash you’ll be getting each month after you retire.<\/p>\n

According to my most recent statement, one lovely day many years from now I’ll be entitled to the following benefits:<\/p>\n