Posted on 05/11/2013 11:13:19 AM PDT by SkyPilot
With Congress increasingly unable to resolve budget disputes, federal programs on automatic pilot are consuming ever larger amounts of government resources. The trend helps older Americans, who receive the bulk of Social Security and Medicare benefits, at the expense of younger people.
This generational shift draws modest public debate. But it alarms some policy advocates, who say the United States is reducing vital investments in the future.
Because Democrats and Republicans can't reach a grand bargain on deficit spending — with mutually accepted spending cuts and revenue hikes — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid keep growing, largely untouched. Steady expansions of these nondiscretionary "entitlement" programs require no congressional action, so they flourish in times of gridlock.
Meanwhile, many discretionary programs are suffering under Washington's decision-by-indecision habits, in which lawmakers lock themselves into questionable actions because they can't agree on alternatives.
The latest example is $80 billion in automatic budget cuts, which largely spare Medicare and Social Security. Growth in these costly but popular programs is virtually impossible to curb without bipartisan agreements.
Instead, the spending cuts are hitting the military and many domestic programs that benefit younger Americans. They include early education initiatives such as Head Start, and scientific and medical research. This shift in public resources is dramatic and growing. While 14 cents of every federal dollar not going to interest was spent on entitlement programs in 1962, the amount is 47 cents today, and it will reach 61 cents by 2030, according to an analysis of government data by Third Way, a centrist-Democratic think tank.
"Entitlements are squeezing out public investments" in education, infrastructure, research and other fields that have nurtured future prosperity, the study said. "The only way for Democrats to save progressive priorities like NASA, highway funding and clean energy research is to reform entitlements."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.msn.com ...
Or, most likely, kids will leave or hide their taxes — as the tax burden increasing more and more to pay for seniors
Where are these so called unfettered benefits?
(SS and medicare)
SS didn’t go up for three years then two percent, medicare is being rationed...
Both of which people/employers pay into by the force of government.
The others yea, there is a problem, people who need temporary assistant are denied in favor of generational dependence.
“at the expense of younger people”
The AP lets us evil elderly know what’s coming. Anything other than Medicare is unworkable so death panels are inevitable plus it will increase public sector employment. I can afford medical care in Southeast Asia but not in America. So long.
“The trend helps older Americans, who receive the bulk of Social Security and Medicare benefits”
Here is the REAL inconvenient truth:
Every day some number of people turn 65. On that same day, some number of people that are over 65 DIE. One day (the tipping point) more people OVER 65 will die than new people turn 65. Guess what happens then? The problem begins to melt away.
Now try to find the tipping point for welfare. Don’t waste too much of your time, because there ain’t one.
And oh by the way, when we “ended welfare” during clintoons term, what we actually did was scatter the expenses through 80 different Federal programs. Guess what happens if you add it all up:
Welfare Spending is:
Bigger than Social Security
Bigger than Medicare
Bigger than Defense
In fact, it is bigger than Defense and either of the two combined.
AND THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BEING DONE THAT WILL EVER CAUSE IT TO SHRINK.
Any young people that may be reading this - yes, you are being SCREWED. One day when all the baby boomers are in the ground, yet the taxes keep skyrocketing, you’ll soon figure out what has been screwing you your whole life - people that simply refuse to work because of the Government tit.
I'm sick of SS being called a 'benefit' or 'entitlement' when I had to pay for it.
Not completely true.
You have to remember that for a vast majority of Seniors, they paid in significantly less money than they receive in benefits. The pay back in principal and interest for seniors who are presently collecting is around 18months. That makes todays recipients Welfare Benefactors.
Those under the age of fifty have spent their entire working lives paying 12.4% of their income up to 106,500. in gross income (2013 income) adjusted for inflation. Until 1973 that rate was 1% on the first 3,000 in income and a person could retire with full benefits at 65 or partial benefits at 62. It has steadily been pushed up until the Social Security act of 1986 brought it to the percentage it is at today.
Today a worker must work to 67 to receive full benefits. They can still take a benefit at 62, but it is greatly reduced.
Unquestionably, people retiring after 2012 will realize smaller returns than today’s retirees, a development that’s inevitable with the maturing of the system. Unmarried, maximum earners may actually get a negative return on their contributions. For example, a maximum-earning, single worker retiring at 66 in 2015 will need 47.1 years to get back his and his employer’s taxes (compared to 25.3 years for a married retiree with a noncontributing spouse).
Moderate-income workers will do better. A single worker with average earnings retiring at 66 in 2015 will need 29 years to get back combined employee-employer taxes, while a couple with a noncontributing spouse retiring with average earnings will require 17.1 years.
It is far worse for a person under the age of fifty.
It is estimated that a forty year old worker who has paid into the system since age 18, making the average monthly income of $3,009. month and retires at 67 would have to live to 115years and 7months to get their ‘investment’ plus interest in Social Security benefits back. That is if the system hasn’t collapsed, which it most certainly would have by the time they are set to retire.
Social Security is a Ponzi Scheme as is Medicare. Had a private corporation set up such a decidedly generational theft program, they would be doing more time than Bernie Madoff.
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."
Medicaid, SSI, food stamps, Title 8 housing, nobama phone and a million others are HAND OUTS. Freeloaders feel “entitled’ to them, but they are still hand outs.
SS and Medicare are not handouts, as anyone who paid into these scams through the years should be entitled to those benefits. Would be a much sweeter retirement had we had the Chilean Social Security type program to build our nest egg on.
How F’ing convenient for you to link to gubmit site for you info backup.
Democrats have demogogued SS for decades. Now they can eat it as it gradually consumes every penny of their walking around money.
I am on neither social security nor medicare so I don’t have a dog in this fight, BUT, notice when they changed the law and began calling social security insurance, now it is a tax. See, insurance pays a specified amount. That was the tip off anyone in that program was going to get screwed.
As far as getting their money back, whoa, why put it in if you get exactly back what you put in...today’s dollars are not worth anywhere near what they were 40 years ago for instance. Had these “insurance” funds been deposited into IRAs and invested ala what they did in Galveston and Chile, people would be retiring with amply funds to do so (not withstanding his excellency’s comments about how much one should have in retirement savings). If they want to change the program tomorrow, go ahead, but honor their committments to those who are vested in this program. If not, those who are getting screwed have one avenue of redress, their index fingers.
Nice quote from Kipling.
But how could the Dems have bought votes all these years if they couldn’t spend our SS payments?
Very good description!
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that FICA is merely a tax. I probably won’t see a dime. (means testing, you know. I’ve spent my hard earned money on non depreciating assets.) I hope I’m lucky enough to never have to retire.
See Fleming v Nestor.
Seems there’s quotes from Kipling appropriate for ‘most any occasion.
I’ve cited about five of them today.
That’s not a good sign.
Today an old commie like that would get double SS.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.