House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: 'Iceberg is ahead'

FIRST ON FOX: A House committee witnesser that was called retired by Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California during a proceeding this week is pushing backmost aft the congressman unearthed a past societal media station connected Social Security successful an effort to discredit his testimony. 

During a House oversight DOGE subcommittee proceeding connected Wednesday, Garcia grilled Power the Future CEO Dan Turner portion holding up a posterboard of a past tweet calling Social Security a "government-sponsored Ponzi scheme."

"Madoff went to jailhouse for it. Congress runs connected it," the station said. "I should beryllium capable to support 100% of my wealth and not ticker authorities discarded it with a paltry percent return."

Garcia past suggested that station was grounds that Turner lacks the credibility to beryllium testifying astir the billions of national taxation dollars directed to left-wing NGOs. 

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Power the Future CEO Dan Turner and Dem. Rep. Robert Garcia sparred successful a Thursday House hearing (Fox News Digital)

"A Ponzi strategy and truthful I deliberation it's interesting, of course, arsenic 1 of our Republican witnesses is calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and that's the idiosyncratic that we should beryllium taking proposal from present today," Garcia said. 

"Without Social Security, 22 cardinal radical would beryllium pushed into poverty. That includes implicit 16 cardinal seniors and astir 1 cardinal children. And successful fact, Elon Musk has besides said and agreed with you, sir, that this is simply a Ponzi scheme. I deliberation it's ironic that you are 1 of our witnesses talking astir ratio erstwhile you privation to onslaught the azygous champion programme that we person to enactment radical not conscionable retired of poverty, but crossed this state to uplift them, to guarantee they tin spend a decent life."

Fox News Digital spoke to Turner, who stood by his station and outlined his belief, echoed by many, that Social Security is structured similar a Ponzi strategy by definition. 

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Former White House Senior Advisor Elon Musk walks to the White House aft landing successful Marine One connected the South Lawn  (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

"Rep Garcia does not cognize the explanation of Ponzi scheme," Turner said. "Social Security is the eventual Ponzi, demanding much and much radical astatine the bottommost wage successful to money the radical astatine the top, expect our demographics person this present reversed. The strategy volition default. Mr. Garcia nor I volition apt ne'er spot a dime. That should interest him much than my societal media feed."

Turner told Fox News Digital that if Garcia’s unit spent arsenic overmuch clip trying to prevention Social Security arsenic it did "combing done my societal media" past "perhaps the Ponzi strategy tin past agelong capable for maine to get a tiny percent of what the authorities confiscated during my lifetime."

Turner explained that his begetter received a "paltry percentage" of what helium paid into the programme and the the authorities "kept the rest" erstwhile his begetter died. 

"That’s not conscionable a Ponzi scheme, it’s authorities greed and politicians moving a money-laundering cognition to get reelected. No 1 should beryllium compelled to wage into a failed system, yet successful a escaped America, you don’t person that choice."

In summation to Turner and Elon Musk suggesting that Social Security is by explanation acceptable up similar a Ponzi scheme, Fox News Digital previously spoke to James Agresti, president of the nonprofit probe institute Just Facts, who said the characterization has "validity."

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"A Ponzi strategy operates by taking wealth from caller investors to wage existent investors," Agresti said. "That's the explanation fixed by the SEC, and contrary to fashionable belief, that's precisely however Social Security operates."

Agresti explained to Fox News Digital that Social Security, a programme mired for decades with concerns astir waste, fraud, and improper payments, "doesn't instrumentality our wealth and prevention it for us, arsenic galore radical believe, and past springiness it to america erstwhile we're older" similar galore Americans mightiness believe. 

"What it does is, it transfers wealth erstwhile we are young and moving and paying into Social Security taxes," Agresti said. "That money, the immense bulk of it, goes instantly retired the doorway to radical who are presently receiving benefits. Now determination is simply a spot fund, but successful 90 years of operation, that spot money presently has capable wealth to money 2 years of programme operations."

The spot money lone being capable to past for 2 years is not a effect of the money being "looted," Agresti explained, but alternatively it was enactment successful spot to "put surpluses successful it" from wealth that Social Security collects successful taxes that it doesn't wage retired instantly and pays involvement on. 

"The involvement that's been paid connected that has been higher than the complaint of inflation," Agresti said. "So, the occupation isn't that the spot money has been looted. The occupation is that Social Security operates similar a Ponzi scheme."

Democrats person vocally pushed backmost against efforts by Republicans and DOGE to betterment Social Security oregon marque cuts to what they accidental are examples of wasteful oregon improper spending from the department.

"There's been a batch of misinformation astir that arsenic of late," Agresti told Fox News Digital. "You know, erstwhile DOGE came successful and suggested that the Social Security Administration cut, I deliberation it was astir 10,000 workers, Democrats erupted that this is going to weaken Social Security. But the information of the substance is that Social Security pays those workers who are for administrative overhead from the Social Security spot fund. So, by cutting retired the wealth that they're paying them, you really fortify the programme financially."

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US Rep. Robert Garcia, Democrat from California, speaks connected the archetypal time of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) (AP)

Agresti told Fox News Digital that the existent administrative overhead for Social Security is $6.7 cardinal per year, which is capable to wage much than 300,000 retirees the mean aged property benefit.

"Every azygous survey shows societal information going wholly bankrupt successful the adjacent fewer years. Garcia and different democrats cognize the iceberg is up but alternatively than crook the ship, they are yelling astatine the iceberg astir the elder citizens onboard," Turner said. "This Ponzi strategy is collapsing fast, and turning my tweets into posters is not going to halt it."