Posted on 02/24/2010 8:37:25 PM PST by Libloather
Are We Overpaying Grandpa?
By CASEY B. MULLIGAN
Casey B. Mulligan is an economics professor at the University of Chicago.
February 24, 2010, 6:00 am
The elderly receive a large amount of government assistance – an amount that is not commensurate with their numbers.
The total annual income in the United States (national income, as economists call it) is about $12.5 trillion, or about $40,000 per person per year. The egalitarian view of government is that it taxes persons with annual incomes more than $40,000, and pays benefits to persons with less than $40,000, so that those with less than average incomes could enjoy living standards closer to the average.
For reasons that I began to explain last week, our government actually does the opposite. The vast bulk of government spending goes to the elderly, whose average living standards are significantly above $40,000 per year.
Social Security, Medicare and government employee retirement (federal, state and local) are government funds paid to people aged 62 and over (aged 65 and over, in the case of Medicare), and total about $1.5 trillion in the current fiscal year. Annual Medicare spending is $12,000 per person aged 65 and over, and growing. Annual Social Security and government employee retirement payments are $21,000 per person aged 62 and over.
(Excerpt) Read more at economix.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Wow.
A relative has a friend in WA state. He had a great business and foolishly voted for Obama. He does not love him now and his business is about to go under. Hard lessons for naive people.
What I saw after he won - is any people with money stopped spending. Mid sized business owners just started cutting the day after the election. Just liked you saw with your friend’s business. People fear him, have no confidence and every day they expect things will get worse (and they are).
Well, Newsweek already had their article: “The case for killing Grandman”.
I keep telling Dad Obama and the dems are measuring him for a box.
Open borders will or really already have bankrupted us.
I’ve heard that about immigrants that were granted refugee status, but I don’t know what the terms are in general. Without any records of contributions and earnings, I would hope their benefit amount is the minimum. Of course that would still be an infinite rate of return on their zero contribution.
Mom got off the phone and told my father what his sister said about grandma could die at any time...I will never forget my fathers answer and laugh about it. "You couldn't kill that old woman with a baseball bat" Grandma lived another 15 years...He was born in 1901, grew up on a farm in Michigan and knew his mother was a tough old bird...
(but he said it with respect, love and truth)
Yes, and much more on Grandma.
Start preparing your defense you will need before the Death Panels. More like the Nazi Monkey trials
We are overpaying government workers, all of them, including teachers.
she prayed daily and led a healthy life.
Social Security is actually earned, and is based on how much money you paid in. Sure, at first people got more than they paid in, and in simple dollars it is still true, but for people retiring today, SS recipients as a whole are not getting out any more than they put in. Medicare is theoretically the same way, but it never took enough in so they fund it with general revenues as well. Retirement is earned as well. So in all, while the elderly get money from the government, most of it isn't "handouts", it is paid for with years of service, or with years of taxes.
It’s time to ask Americans that old question: Are you better off since Obama came to office or worse off?
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