There is such a thing as political reality and considering the size of the voting block dependent of Social Security, reduction or elimination of payments to current and imminent beneficiaries is about as likely as me riding my bicycle to the moon. No doubt there will be resistance to any changes in the entitlement programs, which is why this country is in such dire fiscal straits. These programs are unsustainable and unaffordable. They must be reformed or they will bankrupt the country. We are placing the tab on our children and grandchildren.
The average Medicare recipent receives three times in benefits compared to their contributions.
This graph shows that the average man and woman (average defined in the study as average income over their working lives and living to the average life expectancy) who start receiving benefits in 2010 get over 3 times more in benefits than they pay in to the system! Of importance, the study accounts for inflation by calculating all past taxes and future payments in 2010 dollars to provide an accurate comparison.
If the notion that Medicare recipients are simply "getting back what they paid in" is false then where is the money coming from? Simply, the excess received is being borrowed from younger generations and the cost is more than we can bear.
No doubt there will be resistance to any changes in the entitlement programs, which is why this country is in such dire fiscal straits. These programs are unsustainable and unaffordable. They must be reformed or they will bankrupt the country. We are placing the tab on our children and grandchildren. I am sorry I did not reply earlier but I had a couple of more pressing things to take care of.
I agree that as a country, we are in dire financial condition and I would suspect that most beneficiaries or near beneficiaries of the social security programs would also agree. The problem lies in getting from that understanding to a solution.
First: While they were working and paying into the system, it supported their parents and grandparents and built up considerable surpluses thus they don't consider themselves to be a burden on their children and grandchildren.
Second: They see on a daily basis the excess, duplication, waste and outright fraud in all aspects of our federal government with no concerted sustainability analysis being undertaken on that spending.
Third: After a lifetime of working and playing by the rules as they were at the time, they see themselves now unfairly and unjustly cast as the primary problem.
People receiving Social Security benefits may have gotten old, but they have not gotten stupid. They know we have problems that must be solved and most are willing to do their part but they are not going to go to the front of the line. When the "Spending Reform Line" is formed, Social Security beneficiaries want to see the food stamp people, the federal education industry, the illegal immigrant group, the unemployment compensation programs, the federal grant programs, the foreign aid programs, the military industrial complex, the bailed out bankers, and a multitude of other questionable and wasteful spending beneficiaries in line ahead of them. Unless and until that happens, I am afraid the raw political power reflected in their numbers will prevail.