[quote=SK in CV][quote=livinincali][quote=SK in CV]So without any legal basis, China gets paid before SS and other federal pension recipients?[/quote]
Social security is the easiest one to cut from a legal perspective. Your social security statement says social security can be changed with an act of congress.
Work already performed probably has legal standing as a debt, but I think they can probably pay that as well. They can also say cease and desist all future work and if that order wasn’t obeyed then obviously they could withhold payment.[/quote]
Who is going to vote to cut SS benefits?[/quote]
I don’t think they’ll vote to cut SS benefits but it’s possible a court would rule that when congress shut down government and refused to raise the debt ceiling it was an act of congress. Therefore SS benefits can be cut if the treasury chooses to go down that path and it’s the easiest path from a legal perspective. There’s already some wording in the SS benefit law that demands cuts when the trust fund runs out, maybe you can make a legal argument that the trust fund already did run out as it’s nothing more than non marketable IOUs.
I’m not saying the government will do that but I am saying that when push comes to shove SS and other welfare benefits probably have the lowest standing in terms of have to be paid. Congress defunding those programs does not constitute a breach of contract in my eyes. We didn’t vote to end social security but we didn’t allocate any money to pay for it.
