Ron Paul: There has been a lot of talk in Washington recently about senior citizens, mostly about how various healthcare reform models would help or hurt them. But there is another critical issue that has quietly devastated seniors financially over the last few decades. It concerns how the cost of living is calculated. How does the administration justify not giving a cost of living increase to Social Security recipients this year?

According to the official Consumer Price Index calculation, life has gotten cheaper for the first time in decades. If the government can show statistically that the cost of living has gone down, not up, then they can make the case for not giving a cost of living increase to social security recipients. But does this match reality? Using older calculations of CPI, the cost of living has actually increased – by roughly 5 percent!

The CPI (Consumer Price Index) is a calculation based on the average price of a fixed basket of goods that was initially designed to help businesses adjust for inflation. The government eventually started using it to determine cost of living adjustments for entitlement programs. Couple that with politicians’ discovery that they could raid the social security trust fund to pay for new spending programs, and you have a perfect storm to deny seniors what they were promised, while hiding the true size of the deficit. For politicians, it is a win-win.

For seniors, it is a different story. Economist John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics has estimated that if the original methodology of CPI had not changed, Social Security checks would be nearly double what they are today. This represents a lot of money that politicians have been able to literally steal from seniors, to spend on their own wasteful programs. One example of how they do this is to substitute hamburger for steak, which lowers the average price of that basket of goods. But living on hamburger, or maybe dog food, instead of steak does not represent a constant standard of living. This renders the measurement virtually meaningless, even though politically it comes in very handy.

I have introduced legislation to keep politicians in Washington from ever raiding the Social Security trust fund again. HR 219 The Social Security Preservation Act would assure that all monies collected by the Social Security Trust Fund would only be used in payments to beneficiaries, or be placed in interest bearing certificates of deposit. This would at least stop the bleeding of the fund, and take away some incentive to tease and torture the numbers in order to give seniors the minimal amount. This would also cut off a source of funding for government growth, so it is not likely to get easy support from many politicians.

It is bad enough that Washington imposes high payroll taxes on American workers. The least Congress could do is use the tax dollars for their stated purpose. Instead, seniors will have a harder and harder time trying to survive on a fixed income in an economy based on variables and deception. For them, it is too late to start over. Today’s young people will be forced to pay into the system for years to come. The first step towards solving the impending crisis facing Social Security is to stop politicians from raiding the trust fund and to significantly cut federal government spending.

Most likely, your parents applied for an SS number for you when you were born. They then would have received your Social Security card in the mail. If for some reason you lost your card or you never received one, you will need to apply for a Social Security card. You also have to re-apply for a Social Security card when you name changes due to marriage, divorce or for children, adoption.

Getting a Social Security card is not difficult but you must make sure that you have all the required identification and forms filled out to expedite the process.

To get a Social Security card you must fill out a Form SS-5. This form can be downloaded from the Social Security Administration website or you can get one from your local Social Security Administration office. Fill out the form completely and honestly.

Along with the completed Form SS-5, you will need proof of who you are. A driver’s license, school identification card, employee identification, health insurance card (not Medicare), or a state issued identification card. You will also need to provide proof of your citizenship with a birth certificate, passport, certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship.

If you are getting a new Social Security card due to a name change you will also need to provide proof of that legal name change. Such documents that you can use for this is a marriage license, a divorce decree, or a court order for a name change. For a marriage or divorce name change you will also need to provide the Social Security office with documentation with your old name on it along with documentation with your new name.

Once you have your Form SS-5 completed along with your documentation for proof of identity and citizenship, you can mail your items to your local Social Security office or you can go to the local office and do the application in person with a Social Security worker. If everything is correct, then you should receive your new Social Security card in the mail within the following two weeks.

To get a Replacement Social Security Card, all you have to do is following the procedure that follows.

An Application for a Social Security Card, Form SS-5 has to be completed and should be submitted. The SS Administration will be in need of documents that proves your identity. If the agency doesn’t have records proving your U.S. citizenship, then you will have to submit the documents that prove your citizenship. If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, then you will have to submit your original residency and work authorization documents. All the documents should fulfill the needs of the agency as per the rules and regulations.

A new SS number can be obtained if you realize that your number is being abused by identity thieves. If there is no proof of identity theft, then obtaining a new Social Security number will be very difficult. It is applicable for genuine reasons only.

The Social Security Card has an impressive history. When it started in 1936, it was a huge hit and in three months one card became 25 million cards. Before 1986, children below 14 weren’t given SS numbers, and the card was mainly used for income and taxation purposes. In 1986, the age limit lowered to 5 years and in 1990 it was dropped to 1 year. The age limit was abolished entirely shortly thereafter. Now the Social Security Number is demanded with the birth certificate.

The three different types of Social Security Cards are as follows.

• The most common card is the one given to U.S citizens and permanent residents. This card will have the card number and the owner’s name.
• The second type of the card is of a restricted type. It reads “Not Valid for Employment”, which means that it cannot be used as proof of work.
• The other type of restricted card reads “Valid for work only with DHS authorization.” This card can be used to look for work with the work authorization card. This card is given to temporary residents of the United States.

The purposes of the Social Security Card are as follows.

• Primarily it is for tracking individuals for monetary excise duties.
• Now the SS number has become the national identification number.
• It is the license to live, work and pay taxes that every American should possess.

How to obtain a Social Security Card?

Form SS-5 is the answer. The “Application for a Social Security Number Card” should be used.

The Social Security Card, an integral part of US life and culture, is vital and so is the knowledge about it.

Step one is to acquire and complete an “Application for a Social Security Card” – this is form SS-5. When completing this step you will need to be able to prove your identity and age. You are not required to prove citizenship or immigration status when replacing a card because the Social Security Administration already has this information on file.

Note well that the SSA will only accept certain documents to prove your identity. For the document to be accepted it must have your name and other identifying information about you. If you are citizen of the United States, the SSA will accept your driver’s license, state issued non-driver ID card, or a United States passport. If you cannot present these forms of identification, the SSA will attempt to verify your employee ID card, school issued ID card, health insurance card (Note: Medicare cards are not accepted), United States military ID or an adoption decree.

If you are not a citizen of the United States, the Social Security Administration will need to verify your current immigration documents. These documents will be from the Department of Homeland Security and include the following forms: I-551 (with your valid, unexpired foreign passport), I-94 (again, with a valid, unexpired foreign passport) or forms 1766 or 1688B (work permit).

For the most part you can complete the process by mail, but if you live in certain areas you must apply at a Social Security Center near you. Be sure to check if this applies to you before starting the process.