Lyndon Johnson on Social Security

1968: raided the Trust Fund to help pay for the Vietnam War

Today, the federal government automatically puts all of the money that should be set aside for the Social Security Trust Fund into the General Fund. Raiding the Social Security Trust Fund was a precedent set in 1968 by another progressive president, Lyndon B. Johnson, to help pay for the Vietnam War. To date, the federal government has borrowed over $2 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund to spend on other programs.

Contrary to what many Americans believe and what progressives love to say, there is no money in the Trust Fund to pay future benefits. Furthermore, the fundamentally flawed program faces a severe demographic crisis as members of the baby boom generation begin to retire. The mess we face with Social Security, a program so many are now dependent on, is yet another example of a failed progressive policy, where the potential for unintended consequences was ignored at the program's inception.

Source: Now Or Never, by Sen. Jim DeMint, p. 80-81 , Jan 10, 2012

Click here for definitions & background information on Social Security. Click here for a profile of Lyndon Johnson. Click here for VoteMatch responses by Lyndon Johnson. Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Lyndon Johnson.
*Other past presidents on Social Security:*	*Lyndon Johnson on other issues:*
*Former Presidents:* George W. Bush(R,2001-2009) Bill Clinton(D,1993-2001) George Bush Sr.(R,1989-1993) Ronald Reagan(R,1981-1989) Jimmy Carter(D,1977-1981) Gerald Ford(R,1974-1977) Richard Nixon(R,1969-1974) Lyndon Johnson(D,1963-1969) John F. Kennedy(D,1961-1963) *Past Vice Presidents:* V.P.Dick Cheney V.P.Al Gore V.P.Dan Quayle Sen.Bob Dole V.P.Walter Mondale *Political Parties:* Democratic Party Republican Party Libertarian Party Green Party Reform Party Natural Law Party Tea Party	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty

Page last updated: Apr 28, 2013