It’s time to tighten belts, stop whining

Las Vegas Sun ^ | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 | 2 a.m. | Craig Hutzler

[10mm]

"And where does the money come from for this magic check?"

The Federal government owns over 650 million acres of land. The States own another 197 million acres. They should be required to sell it off to pay those who have been forced into their various Ponzi schemes.

[Lurker]

From where? Same place we’ve been getting it.

[dragnet2]

I’m sorry, but if a person cannot afford good housing, medical care and enjoyable pastimes, then that person just should not have them.

The private sector can no longer afford government lottery style retirements pensions and all the tax paid benefits and they must be the first to go, or be dramatically reduced. This must be retroactive for those already receiving these bloated tax paid pensions/benefits, at every level of government outside military.

[Reily]

Agreed!
Sometimes awake at night and think about this and say to myself,’What if Ron Paul is right?’

[dragnet2]

As long as this includes elimination or dramatic reduction of bloated tax paid government lottery style retirements pensions at all levels of government, including those already retired, I'm on board.

Of course, the angry screams you'll hear from tens of hundreds of thousands of government employees, will be heard coast to coast.

[BobL]

“Agreed!
Sometimes awake at night and think about this and say to myself,’What if Ron Paul is right?’”

He is right. It took a few decades, and he’s still a nutcase. But he is right (finally) about the country collapsing. I’ve prepped as good as I can for it - lots of rice (and other food), enough non-perishables for at least 4 years, multiple means to purify rooftop water.

The crash MUST happen, unless one of two things happen (or both). (1) We attack entitlements and turn Social Security and Medicare into MEANS-TESTED welfare programs (which they should have always been); or (2) We increase taxes LIKE CRAZY on the middle and lower classes (since that is where most of the money is and those are the people that aren’t able to avoid higher taxes).

If we do neither, our deficits stay at at least $1T per year, and we crumble. Unfortunately, that’s the most likely outcome.

[KantianBurke]

Did you bother to glance at the graph I posted above? Well here it is again:

Cut out all the government you want including the military - it won't be enough!

[dragnet2]

Fine. Time to cut Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.

No, first we must cut all government lottery style retirement pensions, at all levels of government, from the city, county state and federal levels and this will include those already retired.

And then reduce the size of government at all levels outside military by 45 percent.

This we must do.

Did you bother to glance at the graph I posted above? Cut out all the government you want including the military - it won't be enough!

No one here suggested it would be enough.

The fact remains, we must dramatically eliminate or reduce these bloated country killing government retirement pensions/benefits, at all levels of government.

This is not even debatable and should have been done 30 years ago.

[Publius6961]

Anybody who lumps everything together is an idiot.
Most of the money paid by working Americans for Social Security since 1964 has gone for hidden welfare. If that money had just been invested, what would the present value be?

[KantianBurke]

“Most of the money paid by working Americans for Social Security since 1964 has gone for hidden welfare”

One more time - SS IS A PONZI SCHEME. “Paid in” is a term which cannot apply in this case. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial or living up to PT Barnum’s dictum.