Posted on 08/21/2015 9:42:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and raising the retirement age for Social Security are two causes Republicans tend to favor more than Democrats. But different groups of Republicans are enthusiastic about each idea: very roughly speaking, the base and the establishment, respectively. (There is, of course, some overlap: Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, and Rand Paul are for both ideas.)
These ideas seem to me to have a few things in common. They’re neither necessary nor sufficient to solve the underlying problems with which they are associated (too much illegal immigration and insolvent entitlements); campaigning for them would carry very significant political costs; and they have nonetheless becomes tests of seriousness about the underlying problems.
Raising the retirement age doesn’t have to be done to make Social Security solvent: The growth of benefits for people with high lifetime earnings could instead be moderated. That will have to be done anyway, even if the retirement age is raised. (Obviously, I’m not considering raising it to 100. Then, it’s true, you’d have a nice surplus.) And trying to raise the retirement age opens you up to a potent line of attack–what about the guy who’s had to do backbreaking labor all his life?–that changing the benefits formula wouldn’t. Notice that Paul Krugman, in attacking Republicans this week for being willing to make Social Security solvent, merely mentions the idea of changing the formula and concentrates his fire on the retirement-age proposal.
Merely end birthright citizenship, and there would still be a lot of illegal immigration. To get it down to tolerable levels you’d still have to impose e-verify requirements for new hires, build a border wall or walls, and crack down on visa overstayers; and if you did those things, there would be a lot fewer illegal immigrants with citizen-children. Going after birthright citizenship also puts conservatives on weak ground. Notice how much advocates of liberal immigration policies have wanted to make illegal immigrants’ children the subject all along.
There are of course differences between these ideas. Ending birthright citizenship has done better than raising the retirement age in polls; on the other hand, the bar for getting it done–whether or not the Supreme Court would be right to say it’s constitutionally required, it seems highly likely that it would do so–is much higher. Raising the retirement age would increase incentives to work, not just save money for Social Security. Still and all, neither of these fights seem like the right ones to pick.
More on immigration, and the seeds of a compromise that are hidden–well hidden–in Donald Trump’s plan, here.
It is articles such as this one which prompted me to sever my relationship with NR and cancel my subscription several years ago.
Watch the serious blowback, and I mean serious, if SS was taken away, and given to the people who least contributed to it.
The money wasn't robbed. SS is going broke because of demography.
All the money collected thru the payroll tax is put into non-market T-bills. SS pays out the benefits and whatever is left stays in the SSTF in the form of non-market, interest earning T-bills. SS has been running in the red since 2010, i.e., the incoming revenue is less than the amount needed to pay benefits. The shortfall is made up by cashing in T-bills from the SSTF. By 2033 the T-bills will be exhausted and then. by law, benefits will reduced to the amount of revenue collected.
SS is a pay as you go system, i.e., today's workers pay for today's retirees. In 1950 there were 16 workers for every retiree; today it is about three, and by 2030 it will be two. By 2030 one in 5 will be 65 or older, twice what it is now. We must increase taxes and/or reduce benefits to keep SS solvent. It is just a matter of demographics. The baby boomers and longer life spans coupled with a benefit system unlinked from revenue is the problem. COLA increases the costs alost every year. There will be no COLA increase this year.
Sure, and they will make sure there are jobs for white American
males nearing retirement age.
Of course. Most folks are a bit upset when they discover that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren't real.
Well if your name is Rammesh Ponneru, the article makes perfect sense.
And why is that?
This krap is being driven by polling reflecting a 60’s lifstyle philosophy which is what’s wtong with the GOPES.
So, you would not apply for it when the time comes?
ONLY TWO DEVELOPED NATIONS HAVE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP:
Canada
United States
|
YES |
NO |
|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | Afghanistan |
| Argentina | Albania |
| Azerbaijan | Algeria |
| Barbados | Angola |
| Belize | Armenia |
| Bolivia | Bahamas |
| Brazil | Bahrain |
| Costa Rica | Bangladesh |
| Dominica | Belarus |
| Dominican Republic | Benin |
| Ecuador | Bhutan |
| El Salvador | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Fiji | Botswana |
| Grenada | Brunei Darussalam |
| Guatemala | Bulgaria |
| Guyana | Burkina Faso |
| Honduras | Burundi |
| Jamaica | Cambodia |
| Lesotho | Cameroon |
| Mexico | Cape Verde |
| Nicaragua | Central African Republic |
| Pakistan | Chad |
| Panama | Chile |
| Paraguay | China |
| Peru | Colombia |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | Comoros |
| St. Lucia | Congo |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Côte d'Ivoire |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Croatia |
| Uruguay | Djibouti |
| Venezuela | Egypt |
| Equatorial Guinea | |
| Eritrea | |
| Estonia | |
| Ethiopia | |
| Gabon | |
| Gambia | |
| Georgia | |
| Ghana | |
| Guinea | |
| Guinea-Bissau | |
| Haiti | |
| Hungary | |
| India | |
| Indonesia | |
| Iran | |
| Iraq | |
| Jordan | |
| Kazakhstan | |
| Kenya | |
| Kiribati | |
| Kosovo | |
| Kuwait | |
| Kyrgyz Republic | |
| Lao PDR | |
| Latvia | |
| Lebanon | |
| Liberia | |
| Libya | |
| Lithuania | |
| Macedonia | |
| Madagascar | |
| Malawi | |
| Malaysia | |
| Maldives | |
| Mali | |
| Mauritania | |
| Mauritius | |
| Moldova | |
| Mongolia | |
| Montenegro | |
| Morocco | |
| Mozambique | |
| Myanmar | |
| Namibia | |
| Nepal | |
| Niger | |
| Nigeria | |
| Oman | |
| Papua New Guinea | |
| Philippines | |
| Poland | |
| Qatar | |
| Romania | |
| Russia | |
| Rwanda | |
| Samoa | |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | |
| Saudi Arabia | |
| Senegal | |
| Serbia | |
| Seychelles | |
| Sierra Leone | |
| Solomon Islands | |
| South Africa | |
| Sri Lanka | |
| Sudan | |
| Suriname | |
| Swaziland | |
| Syrian Arab Republic | |
| Tajikistan | |
| Tanzania | |
| Thailand | |
| Timor-Leste | |
| Togo | |
| Tonga | |
| Tunisia | |
| Turkey | |
| Turkmenistan | |
| Uganda | |
| Ukraine | |
| United Arab Emirates | |
| Uzbekistan | |
| Vanuatu | |
| Vietnam | |
| Yemen | |
| Zambia | |
| Zimbabwe |
|
YES |
NO |
|---|---|
| Canada | Andorra |
| United States | Australia |
| Austria | |
| Belgium | |
| Bermuda | |
| Cyprus | |
| Czech Republic | |
| Denmark | |
| Faroe Islands | |
| Finland | |
| France | |
| Germany | |
| Greece | |
| Holy See | |
| Hong Kong | |
| Iceland | |
| Ireland | |
| Israel | |
| Italy | |
| Japan | |
| Liechtenstein | |
| Luxembourg | |
| Malta | |
| Monaco | |
| Netherlands | |
| New Zealand | |
| Norway | |
| Portugal | |
| San Marino | |
| Singapore | |
| Slovakia | |
| Slovenia | |
| South Korea | |
| Spain | |
| Sweden | |
| Switzerland | |
| Taiwan | |
| United Kingdom |
You are absolutely correct. If we had raised the retirement age over the years, means tested and placed worker’s money in true investment accounts, there would be a surplus, employers would no longer have to match employee’s contributions and SS could have sailed along on it’s own. Employees would be making more, the stock market would have soared and employees like Rush Limbaugh, Clinton’s,Al Gore and Bill Gates would never have bitched a bit.
“Merely end birthright citizenship, and there would still be a lot of illegal immigration.”
This guy should visit hospitals along the border (he can start in McAllen, Texas) to see how many pregnant women come there from across the border specifically to ensure their kid is a US citizen. Happens every day.
I am so sick of these do nothing establishment dopes.
when America was growing and needed people—maybe that was OK—remember the law was put in to help Blacks Freed slavery. Now the USA is one of the only nations that does this. If we ended welfare and free junk—people wouldn’t flood in. We are being played for suckers. Trump sees it—now others are. If your an illegal—you get no free junk—no citizenship—no free food, education health care etc. i don’t blame people from the 3rd world from coming here—I would (just as my people came from an occupied and ensalved Ireland long ago). We just can’t afford it now.
“Anchor babies cost each taxpayer about $20,000 for prenatal and childbirth expenses. Multiply that by the estimated anchor babies in this country.
Not to mention WIC, and the cost of schooling these kids.”
Lets also not forget that in many cases we will also be paying for long and repeated incarcerations for the anchor babies.
I have a second cousin... my father’s cousin. He’s now 75, and has had a successful professional career as a high-end EE.
When he was younger, he had been through WWII in Budapest, and was one of the Jews who was threatened, but somehow bypassed. After the war, he came to the US, and my father (who had very little money) sponsored him and his parents. In effect, he was guaranteeing they would never be on what little dole there was (and we had little enough ourselves). Those were in the days when these sorts of things were enforced and immigration was taken seriously.
It will be very difficult to return to that. However, a wall, and end to birthright citizeship, universal e-verify, end to sanctuary cities, strict deportation and/or imprisonment of alien felons... these would go a long way towards restoring sanity and halting the ebb of national identity. WHile we’re at it, lets reform legal immigration to favor the intelligent and accomplished, too.
I doubt it will be an option. You see, I'm actually attempting to save some of the pitiful amount of my money the government lets me keep to take care of that eventuality.
Nice try. SS was originally envisioned for today's retirees. Lots of young dependents receive SS, as well as disability recipients far younger than retirement age. And many receive far more money than what they put in, if they put in anything at all. It's a scam that politicians have milked to bankruptcy.
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