Plunder and Deceit (22 page)

65
. Id.

66
. Bonnie McGeer, “Millennial Morass: Worrisome Trends for a Debt-Ridden Generation,”
American Banker
, November 21, 2013,
http://www.americanbanker.com/magazine/123_12/millennial-morass-worrisome-trends-for-a-debt-ridden-generation-1063604-1.html
.

67
. Id.

68
. Id.

69
. Hadley Malcolm, “Millennials' ball-and-chain: Student loan debt,”
USA Today
, July 1, 2013,
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2013/06/30/student-loan-debt-economic-effects/2388189/
.

70
. Id.

71
. Bruce Drake, “6 new findings about Millennials,” Pew Research Center, March 2, 2014,
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/03/07/6-new-findings-about-millennials/
.

72
. Press Release, “New Census Bureau Statistics Show How Young Adults Today Compare With Previous Generations In Neighborhoods Nationwide,” U.S. Census Bureau, December 4, 2014,
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-219.html
.

73
. Id.

74
. Bureau of Economic Analysis, “Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2014 (Third Estimate).” March 27, 2015,
http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/2015/pdf/gdp4q14_3rd.pdf
.

75
. Laura Saunders, “Top 20% of Earners Pay 84% of Income Tax,”
Wall Street Journal
, April 11, 2015, B8.

76
. George Washington, “Farewell Address, 1796,” The Avalon Project, Yale Law School,
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washing.asp
.

3. On Social Security

1
. Social Security Administration, “Research Note #19: Social Security Benefits as a Percentage of Total Federal Budget Expenditures,”
http://www.ssa.gov/history/percent.html
; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?” March 31, 2014,
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258
.

2
. Social Security Administration (SSA), Monthly Statistical Snapshot, May 2014, Table 2,
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/index.html
, Social Security Administration, Social Security Beneficiary Statistics, “Number of beneficiaries receiving benefits on December 31, 1970–2013,”
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/STATS/OASDIbenies.html
.

3
. Social Security Administration, History, “Ratio of Social Security Covered Workers to Beneficiaries Calendar Years 1940–2010,”
http://ssa.gov/history/ratios.html
. The ratio in 2013 was 2.8. Social Security Administration, 2014 OASDI Trustees Report, “Covered Workers and Beneficiaries, Calendar Years 1945–2090,” Table IV.B.2,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2014/IV_B_LRest.html#493869
.

4
. Social Security Administration, 2014 OASDI Trustees Report, “Covered Workers and Beneficiaries, Calendar Years 1945–2090,” Table IV.B.2,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2014/IV_B_LRest.html#493869
.

5
. As of December 31, 2013, according to the administration's chief actuary, there were 57,978,610 total recipients. Social Security Administration, Social Security Beneficiary Statistics, “Number of beneficiaries receiving benefits on December 31, 1970–2013,”
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/STATS/OASDIbenies.html
.

6
. Social Security Administration, “Understanding the Benefits 2014,” p. 5,
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10024.pdf
. Note that the self-employed pay Self Employment Contributions Act (SECA) taxes and not FICA taxes.

7
. Social Security Administration, “Social Security & Medicare Tax Rates,”
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/ProgData/taxRates.html
.

8
. Social Security Administration, “Contribution and Benefits Base,”
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html
.

9
. Dawn Nuschler, Congressional Research Service, “Social Security Primer,” June 17, 2013, p. 4.

10
. Associated Press, “New Retirees Receiving Less in Social Security Than They Paid in, Marking Historic Shift,” August 2, 2012,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/07/new-retirees-receiving-less-in-social-security-than-paid-in-marking-historic/
.

11
. Laurence Kotlikoff, “44 Social Security ‘Secrets' All Baby Boomers and Millions of Current Recipients Need to Know—Revised!”
Forbes
, July 3, 2012,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kotlikoff/2012/07/03/44-social-security-secrets-all-baby-boomers-and-millions-of-current-recipients-need-to-know/
.

12
. Associated Press, “New Retirees Receiving Less in Social Security Than They Paid in, Marking Historic Shift,” August 2, 2012,
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/07/new-retirees-receiving-less-in-social-security-than-paid-in-marking-historic/
.

13
. Social Security Administration, A Summary of the 2014 Annual Reports,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
.

14
. Id. Note that this is the same year predicted in the previous Annual Report.

15
. Id.

16
. The 2014 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, p. 191,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2014/tr2014.pdf
; A Summary of the 2013 Annual Reports, Table IV.B6.—Unfunded OASDI Obligations Through the Infinite Horizon, Based on Intermediate Assumptions,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/tr/2013/IV_B_LRest.html#417122
.

17
. Henry Hazlitt,
Economics in One Lesson
(New York: Three Rivers Press, 1979), pp. 16–17.

18
. Id., p. 16.

19
. Milton Friedman, “Social Security Socialism,”
Wall Street Journal
, January 26, 1999, A18.

20
. Larry DeWitt, Social Security Administration, “Research Note #23 Luther Gulick Memorandum re: Famous FDR Quote,” July 21, 2005,
http://www.ssa.gov/history/Gulick.html
.

21
. Mark R. Levin,
Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto
(New York: Threshold Editions, 2009), p. 98.

22
. Robert J. Myers and Richard L. Vernaci,
Within the System: My Half Century in Social Security
(Winsted, Conn.: ACTEX Publications, 1992), pp. 93–94, as quoted in Gary Sidor, Congressional Research Service, “Fact Sheet: The Social Security Retirement Age,” January 24, 2013, p. 1.

23
. Franklin Roosevelt's Statement on Signing the Social Security Act, August 14, 1935,
http://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odssast.html
(emphasis added).

24
. Eric Pianin, “CBO Warns Unchecked Entitlement Spending Is ‘Unsustainable,' ”
Fiscal Times
, July 16, 2014,
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/07/16/CBO-Warns-Unchecked-Entitlement-Spending-Unsustainable#sthash.PoH0feEm.L72B8J4M.dpuf
.

25
. Social Security Administration, “The 2014 OASDI Trustees Report.” Letter to the Hon. John Boehner, July 28, 2014,
http://ssa.gov/oact/TR/2014/709letter_DI_House_2014.pdf
(emphasis added).

26
. Rep. Raul Grijalva, Letter to President Obama, October 15, 2010,
http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/Letter3.pdf
; Dave Johnson, “Over 100 Members of Congress Demand Deficit Commission Keep Hands Off Social Security,” Campaign for America's Future Blog, November 15, 2010,
http://ourfuture.org/20101115/Over_100_Members_Of_Congress_Demand_Deficit_Commission_Keep_Hands_Off_Social_Security
.

27
. Michael D. Tanner, “Piketty Gets It Wrong.” Cato Institute Blog, April 23, 2014,
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/piketty-gets-it-wrong
.

28
. Herbert Stein, “Herb Stein's Unfamiliar Quotations.” Slate, May 15, 1997,
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/it_seems_to_me/1997/05/herb_steins_unfamiliar_quotations.single.html
.

4. On Medicare and Obamacare

1
. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, “NHE Fact Sheet,”
http://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NHE-Fact-Sheet.html
.

2
. Dan Munro, “Annual U.S. Healthcare Spending Hits $3.8 Trillion,”
Forbes
, February 2, 2014,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2014/02/02/annual-u-s-healthcare-spending-hits-3-8-trillion/
.

3
. The World Bank, “Health expenditure, total (% of GDP),”
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.TOTL.ZS
.

4
. Patricia A. Davis, “Medicare: Part B Premiums.” Congressional Research Service, March 12, 2014, p. 1,
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40082.pdf
.

5
. Penny Starr, “11,588,500 Words: Obamacare Regs 30x as Long as Law,” CNSNews.com, October 14, 2013,
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/penny-starr/11588500-words-obamacare-regs-30x-long-law
.

6
. Social Security Administration, “A SUMMARY OF THE 2014 ANNUAL REPORTS,”
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
.

7
. “The 2014 Long-Term Budget Outlook,” Congressional Budget Office, July 2014, p. 3,
https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/45471-Long-TermBudgetOutlook_7-29.pdf
.

8
. National Association of State Budget Officers, “State Expenditure Report (Fiscal 2012–2014 Data),” p. 49,
http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/State%20Expenditure%20Report%20%28Fiscal%202012-2014%29S.pdf
.

9
. Kimberly Leonard, “Americans Vote Against Greater Medicaid Reach,”
U.S. News & World Report
, November 5, 2014,
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/11/05/us-voters-say-no-to-obamacare-medicaid-expansion
.

10
. Jason Millman, “Obamacare paradox: Medicaid is expanding, but doctors are facing a huge pay cut,”
Washington Post
, Wonkblog, December 10, 2014,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/10/obamacare-paradox-medicaid-is-expanding-but-doctors-are-facing-a-huge-pay-cut/
.

11
. Nina Owcharenko, “Why the Obamacare Medicaid Expansion Is Bad for Taxpayers and Patients,” The Heritage Foundation, March 5, 2013,
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/03/why-the-obamacare-medicaid-expansion-is-bad-for-taxpayers-and-patients
.

12
. 
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/07/medicaid-expansion-under-obamacare-raising-costs-concerns-for-opt-in-states/
.

13
. “The 2014 Long-Term Budget Outlook,” Congressional Budget Office, July 2014, p. 3,
https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/45471-Long-TermBudgetOutlook_7-29.pdf
.

14
. Id., pp. 3–4.

15
. Social Security Administration, Social Security History, “Remarks with President Truman at the Signing in Independence of the Medicare Bill,”
http://www.ssa.gov/history/lbjstmts.html
.

16
. Id.

17
. Patricia A. Davis, “Medicare: Part B Premiums,” Congressional Research Service, March 12, 2014, Summary,
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40082.pdf
.

18
. C. Eugene Steuerle and Richard B. Fisher, “How Lifetime Benefits and Contributions Point the Way Toward Reforming Our Senior Entitlement Programs,” National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, August 2011,
http://nihcm.org/images/stories/EV-Steuerle-Rennane-FINAL.pdf
, and C. Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane, “Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Benefits Over a Lifetime,” Urban Institute, June 2011,
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/social-security-medicare-benefits-over-lifetime.pdf
.

19
. Social Security Administration, A Summary of the 2014 Annual Reports,
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/
.

20
. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2014 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Funds, p. 9.

21
. Id., p. 70.

22
. American Medical Association, “Overview of the RBRVS,”
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/medicare/the-resource-based-relative-value-scale/overview-of-rbrvs.page
.

23
. Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating, “How A Secretive Panel Uses Data That Distorts Doctors' Pay,”
Washington Post
,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/how-a-secretive-panel-uses-data-that-distorts-doctors-pay/2013/07/20/ee134e3a-eda8-11e2-9008-61e94a7ea20d_story.html
.

24
. Kathleen M. King, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, “Medicare Fraud: Further Actions Needed to Address Waste, Fraud and Abuse,” June 25, 2014,
http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/664381.pdf
.

25
. Id.

26
. American Medical Association, “CPT® Process—How a Code Becomes a Code,”
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/cpt/cpt-process-faq/code-becomes-cpt.page
.

27
. Julie Miller, Behavioral Healthcare, “What you need to know about the latest ICD-10 rule, August 1, 2014,
http://www.behavioral.net/article/what-you-need-know-about-latest-icd-10-rule
.

28
. Anna Wilde Mathews, “Walked into a Lamppost? Hurt While Crocheting? Help Is on the Way,”
Wall Street Journal
, September 13, 2011,
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424053111904103404576560742746021106?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424053111904103404576560742746021106.html
.