Bits and Pieces

Bears Stadium: The Chicago Bears football franchise begged the city and state to fund a giant portion of building the Chicago Soldier Field into a modern sports bowl facility. Taxpayers paid a huge price for that project. The Bears signed a long-term lease to use the facility, thus promising to pay a portion of the building’s cost. They reneged on that deal when they bought the Arlington Heights Racetrack. I said at that time no further taxpayer financial support should be granted to the Bears franchise.

Some scoffed at my penury, but it is galling for the Bears to ask and get funding for the Soldier Field facility to keep the Bears in Chicago (yes, that was the promise), then go ahead and leave the city for a suburb to get an even better facility. Of course, they planned a major facility and I wondered then and now if they hoped for state funding of the new facility. Surprise, surprise, they now feel more certain that city and state funding will again be available to keep them in Chicago if they ask for a new stadium on Chicago’s lakefront.

I say no. They caused the Soldier Field investment as a bowl some years ago. It is now their responsibility to fulfill their contract with the city and state. If they want a new stadium, let them first pay their debt to the city, then raise their own funds to build their own new facility. And yes, they can do that anywhere they want. I just hope the next community doesn’t fall for the steep taxpayer bailout of a private business like the Bears.

Social Security Funding: Yes, Social Security is included in the Federal annual budget. That is because it is a federal program administered by the government. However, the revenues and expenses are solely Social Security’s. We taxpayers are on the hook if Social Security needs a bailout of funds at some point, but insureds and insureds-to-be pay a Social Security payroll tax to cover the premium for running this large health insurance scheme.

It is a scheme well worth supporting and we have ever since FDR’s day. He started it. Doing so revolutionized the role of government in the everyday lives of Americans.

Today, Social Security spends benefit dollars from the premium/tax collections. They invest what they don’t use annually to pay for future benefit costs of the program. This is how life insurance companies finance their current and future obligations of their insurance contracts. The only difference with Social Security is Congress borrows Social Security’s investment pool at low government bond interest rates to fund its deficit spending. Congress owes Social Security a huge debt.

Raising the payroll tax rate to support Social Security benefit increases, or lessening benefits to remain within spending limits of the program, are business decisions appropriate to the program’s operation. However, such financial adjustments ought not be to lessen Congress’ debt reduction with the program. The debt is not the result of Social Security. It is the result of Congress spending for other things and borrowing against the Social Security Fund to get at cash to balance their spending.

Keep Social Security finances separate from Congress. Maintain the program like an insurance program it actually is. The program should never be used as fodder in political arguments. It is not the creator of public debt but rather public investment.

March 13, 2024

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