Interview with Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
Today a former US Treasury Official warned King World News that investors around the world need to be prepared for a frightening “black swan” that will shock the financial world. He also cautioned, “the whole (global financial) situation is headed to hell in a hand basket.” Below is what Dr. Paul Craig Roberts had to say in part I of his powerful interview series.
Dr. Roberts: “A lot of people think of ‘entitlements’ as welfare, but (these) ‘entitlements,’ strictly speaking, are welfare and medicare, and both are funded by the payroll tax. They are not unfunded, and they are not welfare. The current payroll tax is 15% of welfare and that goes to fund these programs. These programs are not the problem. For the last 30 years, the federal government has been collecting far more social security revenues than they have paid out in social security benefits — the difference is about $2 trillion.
So, what happened to this $2 trillion? Is it safely in the bank for social security? No. The Treasury took it and spent it, and stuck in its place non-marketable I.O.U’s. So, what’s in the Social Security Trust Fund is $2 trillion of non-marketable Treasury I.O.U.’s….
h/t Tom R
