PING!Something is happening here and you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?
Posted on 01/10/2007 1:53:55 AM PST by MinorityRepublican
As someone born in late 1945, I say this to the 76 million or so subsequent baby boomers and particularly to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, our generation's leading politicians: Shame on us. We are trying to rob our children and grandchildren, putting the country's future at risk in the process. On one of the great issues of our time, the social and economic costs of our retirement, we have adopted a policy of selfish silence.
As Congress reconvenes, pledges of "fiscal responsibility" abound. Let me boldly predict: On retirement spending, this Congress will do nothing, just as previous Congresses have done nothing. Nancy Pelosi promises to "build a better future for all of America's children." If she were serious, she would back cuts in Social Security and Medicare. President Bush calls "entitlement spending" the central budget problem. If he were serious, he, too, would propose cuts in Social Security and Medicare.
They are not serious, because few Americans -- particularly prospective baby-boom retirees -- want them to be. There is a consensus against candor, because there is no constituency for candor. It's no secret that the 65-and-over population will double by 2030 (to almost 72 million, or 20 percent of the total population), but hardly anyone wants to face the implications:
By comparison, other budget issues, including the notorious earmarks, are trivial. In 2005, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (the main programs for the elderly) cost $1.034 trillion, twice the amount of defense spending and more than two-fifths of the total federal budget. These programs are projected to equal about three-quarters of the budget by 2030, if it remains constant as a share of national income.
Preserving present retirement benefits automatically imposes huge costs on the young -- costs that are economically unsound and socially unjust.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I didn't read the whole article because I started to boil after reading what was posted on the thread. Plus, I can't help but be reminded of the dead socialist economist PAUL Samuelson whenever I see this author's name. Anyway, thanks for your kind reply and the additional info.
Regards,
LH
PING!Something is happening here and you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?
Hey. It's not his job now. He's the President, and his party in in the Minority. It is squarely up to Sen. RealEstate from Nevada and Grandmother Pelosi to fix this.
I agree. But I find the hypocracy amazing. When he had the power, the talking heads fought him the whole way, now that he has no power to do anything, these same talking heads are blaming him because nothing is getting done. I include "The Weekly Standard" in that boat. Which is why my subscription was not renewed.
The problem is that the sheeple bought their rhetoric hook line and sinker. And the sheep belong to all generations, not just AARP, Boomer or X, all of them are sheep.
"This government has taken tens of thousands of dollars from me and from my husband by force of law. I want it back."
Amen and Double-Dog Dittos to that!!
This is not the approach I'm crazy about, but I think a politically possible first step is cutting back social security and Medicare for seniors with over, say, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in other income. Medicare would still cover the catastrophic costs for health care, but beyond that, they'd be on their own.
I would much prefer the option of phasing out Social Security and Medicare all together and letting the States and charity take care of the elderly hardship cases. But that's not going to pass. The best politically feasible option would be to make the Democrats claim that our country is uncaring if rich seniors don't get full benefits.
Also, cutting off rich seniors will save a great deal of money. Seniors are the wealthiest age group in America.
Now is it fair that someone pays into Social Security for their whole life, makes a few million on the side, and then finds their benefits reduced because of their hard work? No. But Social Security and Medicare aren't fair
to begin with, and sometimes, we have to look at the larger picture of how to save money and accept that the result will be unfair to some people.
Yes, the weekly standard is definately a part of the handwringing caucus of the republican party.
I got extremely annoyed with them over the last year and stopped reading them.
"Socialism is wonderful until you run out of somebody elses money." - Margaret Thatcher
Government entitlements are de facto a Ponzi scheme. If any citizen tried to run a scam such as they, he would be frog-marched to prison.
Not under Bush's plan. Under his plan, we'll bankrupt Social Security even faster by giving benefits to the Mexicans...legal or not.
Someone elected the fine politicians who stole all of the money out of that program to buy votes. Since X'ers weren't old enough to vote for "the great society" politicians...
Another reason why I still scratch my head about the last election. Does anyone, anywhere, at anytime believe a Democrat-controlled Congress will do anything about SS? In their desire to "show Bush we p!ssed," the American people have handed their wallets over Congress.
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.
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Seldom has so much truth been uttered in so few well chosen words. I salute you!
That is one of the many reasons why I am convinced the Republic is dead!
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I would really like to believe that you are wrong, but then I would really like to believe in Santa Clause, I just can't convince myself. The Republic died years ago, it just hasn't been officially announced, hell most people don't even know we ever were supposed to have a Republic.
No problem, LH! You're right: Paul Samuelson was a dreadful economist. That's why I always specify that this is the "good Samuelson." I heard Rush criticizing this Samuelson and this article but I couldn't stick around for where he thinks Samuelson was really off the mark. I really do agree that I think Bush should have been given much more credit for taking on this issue early in his Administration and offering up a true reform fix. Unfortunately, the lamestream media didn't give him any credit or support at the time, the Dems in Congress refused to even offer to discuss it, and the weak RINOs in Congress ran for the hills as they are wont to do.
That's all? That's nothing! I'm well into six digits, maybe pushing seven at this point. Don't expect to see any of it back. Get over it. Wanting it back is part of what keeps us in the game. Better to write it off and move on as a sovereign individual.
You nailed it sister.
Uh...no. Bad parenting is the #1 cause of bad kids. Good parents will find ways to get their kids under control even if they have to resort to tough love and will say to their kids "If everyone else jumps off a cliff, will you?" - Madison Avenue can be overcome.
If parents are totally blameless, my relatives will stay in business for a long time teaching remedial education. Not a problem for them. Let the bad parenting continue....and we thank you for your support.
Then let's cahnge the context to " bad marriages " instead of bad parenting . In our school district the single parent percentage borders around 50%. No supervision = time to party hardy till MOM gets home from work or wherever she was that day( % more than dad cause he doesn't live with the kids .).
ONE of the reasons I quit working for "pay" was because of the social security tax, as well as other taxes....it just wasn't worth it - I put in enough time to get benefits...plus by not working I have helped my husband gain more in his job....plus I'm too independent to work well in larger organizations....they're too much like government these days.....I like working on my long term project/s....maybe some day they will bear fruit!
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