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Entitled Selfishness (Boomer Generation Is in a State of Denial)
The Washington Post ^ | Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | Robert J. Samuelson

Posted on 01/10/2007 1:53:55 AM PST by MinorityRepublican

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To: MinorityRepublican
I turned 62 last year and had to decide whether to take the money now or wait till I'm 65.

I chose to take the money now because I have doubts as to future benefits.

Social Security needs to be slowly privatized over a period of time. I'm sure some actuarial could figure out what the ratio should be to continue to fund benefits for folks like me and to fund private investment vehicles for those coming up.
21 posted on 01/10/2007 4:50:52 AM PST by upchuck (The American coup de grĂ¢ce is well on its way. Thus far, the Donks haven't had to fire a shot.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Tell ya what, just give me my money back from what SS and medicare/medicaid has taken and I won't take ANY SS or medicare.medicade.


22 posted on 01/10/2007 4:54:46 AM PST by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: Renegade

That's okay; I'll have to liquidate my inheritance anyway. It will be in asssets, and I won't be able to afford the death tax.


23 posted on 01/10/2007 4:54:51 AM PST by Doohickey (I am not unappeasable. YOU are just too easily appeased.)
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To: The Duke

You know, that is something I hadn't thought of.


24 posted on 01/10/2007 4:55:58 AM PST by Redleg Duke (Heaven is home...I am just TDY here!)
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To: tickmeister

" but if people were smarter, outcomes would be better"


The left has had a strangle-hold on the education apparatus for decades. They do not wish people to be smart. Actually they would cease to exist if people were properly educated.


25 posted on 01/10/2007 4:56:40 AM PST by David Isaac
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To: Lancey Howard
what did this guy Robert J. Samuelson have to say about George Bush's attempt to introduce a bona fide fix for siocial security

GWB also attempted to cut the growth rate by tying the yearly Social Security increases to the CPI rate rather than the inflation rate, or something like that.

The DemoCraps screamed bloody murder, accusing GWB of "cutting" the life out of seniors, or some such baloney rhetoric.

26 posted on 01/10/2007 4:57:33 AM PST by Edit35
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To: MadIvan

The original SS "retirement age" exceeded an American's average life expectancy - maybe its time to up the age requirment accordingly?


27 posted on 01/10/2007 5:00:20 AM PST by Little Ray
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To: Doohickey


"I'll have to liquidate my inheritance anyway. It will be in asssets, and I won't be able to afford the death tax. "

Talk to the Kennedys. They seemed to know how to avoid a lot of taxes when Jackie died .


28 posted on 01/10/2007 5:12:59 AM PST by Renegade
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To: Lancey Howard

If you read the full article and pursued any of the 4 links Samuelson provided in that article to op-eds written in late 2004 and early 2005, you'll see that he has written on this subject in great depth and passion before. This is the "good" Samuelson -- one of the best writers on economic and political economics out there. And he did give Bush credit for trying to reform Social Security, but he ultimately cast criticism at Bush for the huge entitlement expansion in Medicare which has a worse problem than Social Security. And he was also critical of the President's shielding most Baby Boomers from any potential benefit cut (I'm sure the President viewed that as the only way, politically, that this could be pursued).

I agree: the talking heads and Samuelson should heep most of their disdain on the Dems who never offered to even join the debate. And I don't see enough criticism of Clinton who had the best opportunity to address entitlement reform (this was Clinton's "Bridge to the 21st Century" built by the "cans kicked down the road" for following administrations). I also agree that Bush's private accounts and transition plan is the right way to permanently fix Social Security -- and I wish Samuelson would give Bush some credit for that. But I think he's stuck on the refusal of these political "leaders" to do the responsible thing which is to make the case for benefit cuts for all coming into Social Security benefit season.


29 posted on 01/10/2007 5:20:28 AM PST by ReleaseTheHounds
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To: tickmeister
It will solve itself one way or another. At some point the workers will be so heavily taxed that they will either openly revolt or quit working.

You can only avoid reality for so long. But for some people it's worth doing on someone else's dime.

30 posted on 01/10/2007 5:23:13 AM PST by Aquinasfan (When you find "Sola Scriptura" in the Bible, let me know)
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To: PistolPaknMama

"...instead of being plundered and squandered, there would be enough. ..."

You just pulled back the curtain from the elephant standing in the room. Nobody wants to talk about the generational theft that the congress and courts are engaged in.

If the board of a private company had raided the workers' pension fund, the thieves in congress would be circling the capital and howling like apes. And the left wing media would be flapping their arms calling for heads to be chopped off.


There are still ways out of this mess, but I'm not looking for a knight on a white horse to save us.

Every person will need to find a way to park some portion of his wealth out of reach of the criminals in Washington. I fully expect that these thieves will be trying to raid visible investments next.


31 posted on 01/10/2007 5:25:00 AM PST by sergeantdave (Consider that nearly half the people you pass on the street meet Lenin's definition of useful idiot)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Another "Boomer Bashing" thread... Sometimes I think the people who post these are just trolls trying to stir up divisiveness on this board.


32 posted on 01/10/2007 5:29:56 AM PST by Kenton (All vices in moderation. I don't want to overdo any but I don't want to skip any either.)
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To: upchuck

I got a few more years to go but I, too, am strongly considering grabbing whatver they offer as soon as I can get it. Privatization is in deep hibernation for awhile.


33 posted on 01/10/2007 6:13:56 AM PST by Chi-townChief
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To: Little Ray

Sorry, untrue. Live expectancy at birth in 1937 was over 66 years; retirement age is 65. However, your basic point that the increase in life expectancy has been a major factor in social security's financing problem is right on the mark


34 posted on 01/10/2007 7:03:30 AM PST by NoBullZone (Attempting to dispel ... bull*hit)
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To: NoBullZone

Note to self: Don't rely on memory for statistics. Little Ray is correct. My apologies.


35 posted on 01/10/2007 7:12:20 AM PST by NoBullZone (Attempting to dispel ... bull*hit)
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To: AIC
I do not know where the cut offs are on the scale...

Here is the information from the Social Security Administration's website:

Find Your Retirement Age

36 posted on 01/10/2007 7:26:05 AM PST by DumpsterDiver
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To: Renegade
The X'rs seem to forget that the more mom and dad boomer die with,( $$ assets, property etc. ) the more their children stand to gain .

Unless they decide to become world travelers and blow it all. Bumper stickers saying "We are spending our childrens' inheritance" on RVs indicate that is the case.

37 posted on 01/10/2007 7:28:14 AM PST by superloser
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To: Lancey Howard
I forget - - what did this guy Robert J. Samuelson have to say about George Bush's attempt to introduce a bona fide fix for siocial security wherein people get to invest their social security "contribution" so they could take control of it and watch it grow?

What I saw was no fix. It simply took the bogus T-bills and transferred them from the government to private accounts. They're still bogus at the end of the day because the government would still be spending the surplus.

38 posted on 01/10/2007 7:31:11 AM PST by dirtboy (Objects in tagline are closer than they appear)
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To: Just another Joe

"Tell ya what, just give me my money back from what SS and medicare/medicaid has taken and I won't take ANY SS or medicare.medicade."

Better yet, I will take the hit and just forfeit what they have already taken and if they just let me opt out now, I will not file any claim for SS or medicare......

It is amazing to me that now that the Dems are in power, everyone is complaining that GWB is doing nothing about SS reform, yet when he was trying to get SS reform everyone complained that he was going to make old ladies eat cat food. All he wanted to do was allow people to CHOSE whether to start an account with a SMALL percentage of the SS witholding.

Yet the talking heads convinced the American sheeple that private ownership of their retirement was a bad thing. Better to rely on mommy and daddy in DC than to take personal responsibility. That is one of the many reasons why I am convinced the Republic is dead!

(Many FReeperes are not included in the comments above!)


39 posted on 01/10/2007 7:55:10 AM PST by CSM (We're not losing our country, some are just throwing it away. - Sherri-D)
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To: superloser

Depends on the relationships of the parents and children .If the kids are total a$$holes they will be on the outside looking in. Can't blame the parents for how kids turn out . The best parents end up with kids who are out of control many times . Peer pressure and Madison Avenue are a big factor in what kids do away from the home nowadays ( as well as the propaganda left leaning educators .)


40 posted on 01/10/2007 8:03:30 AM PST by Renegade
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