re: Back to Work, Gramps!FYI, $1 billion a week will take about 180 years to add up to $9.3 trillion. In fact, it won't even pay for a 6% interest rate on a $9.3 trillion debt. If you eliminated the entire allocation for the Global War on Terror from the 2008 federal budget, it would still leave a deficit of over $200 billion. All defense and war on terror spending together amounts to about $626 billion, or about $370 billion less than that spent on Medicare and Social Security (not taking into account future obligations incurred). I spent about 5 minutes of my day checking on these facts. If you wish to maintain credibility as a journalist, you should spend at least as much time on such activities.
re: Back to Work, Gramps!Good Googling, but the fact remains that Medicaid and Social Security are necessary and vital services, while the Iraq war is, as I said, money down a deadly rat-hole. We didn't become the largest debtor nation in the world by over-spending on social benefits.
And thanks for your keen interest, but never call me a journalist.
It may be true that the Iraq/Halliburton/Blackwater-hole is not solely and directly to blame for US federal budget deficit, but letGÇÖs realize that much of the deficit is due to that already a disproportionate (and rapidly increasing) portion of the government tax income is spent on serving the public debt (-- just paying the interests gets funded by new foreign sourced loans).
Does anyone seriously claim that the years of spending down the Iraq/Halliburton/Blackhole has nothing to do with turning the budget surpluses into ever increasing deficits?
By "taking out" Iraq, Houston and the oil interests in the South (read Bush family) get an immediate reduction in oil supply (like ROM 40% of the known reserves and 20% of the world supply) thereby raising prices, and the rest of the end game playing out: record profits for oil compnaies, calls for coastal drilling, reduced EPA requirements, etc.
Anything but God forbid: 55 MPH on the highways, rationing, reinstating tax incentives for solar and hybrids, and mandatory conversion of older cars to CNG, and cutting taxes on diesel fuel (it is both cheaper to refine and more efficient to burn).
So Cheney happily engineers it all in return for no-bid contracts for Halliburton and other defense contractors.
All paid for by funny-dollars loaned to us by the Chinese, which itself was engineered by Richard Nixon taking us off the Gold standard.
Quick, here comes the boss, look like you are working!
re: Back to Work, Gramps!The one thing not mentioned here is most of the debt the country has is to the Medicare/Medicaid trust, which is why they do not want the boomers to start retiring. I have not seen the latest numbers, but I think it was something like in the next 10 years the trust would go from having a surplus Congress could raid to Congress having to actually have to pay back that money. The deficit will start going up much more quickly when the budget will include borrowing for normal spending and borrowing to repay the trust.
re: Back to Work, Gramps!Wow, my fingers don't work so well anymore... once again...
Granted Iraq is a huge drain both financially and other ways, and our conservative republicans spend like drunken sailors.
BUT...there is a bigger issue here. Social security was created in a time when people were expected to retire at 65 and die by 70. Now we want to retire at 60 and live to 85. This is just not going to happen unless someone invents some new kind of math.
I know... nobody wants to hear about sacrifice to fix the problem. Americans are not into sacrificing for the good of our children. We can just keep running deficits and let our kids worry about it.
re: Back to Work, Gramps!I find it rather insulting I am being lumped in with Republicans, which I am not nor am I a Democrat. Neither is worth much.
In the be careful what you ask for, if you lift the cap on salary (which I sort of agree with, but not entirely), do you still have companies pay in matching contributions as well? If so, this will lead to higher prices and reduced company benefits (and the first to go would likely be matching on 401k). I do not know about most, but I think I would rather have more of my money go into my 401k, where I have a much bigger say over what is done with it, than give it to the government so they can keep borrowing it to cover budget deficits and I wind up never seeing a dime of it when I retire (which I know I won't). I am NOT for the Bush idea of privatizing Social Security. Bad idea all around and it will make future bubbles even worse (Telecom->Housing->Commodities/Renewable Energy). The money has to go somewhere and the market is follow the press release more than it is rational.
A better solution is probably something along the lines of leaving the cap in place as is, raising the retirement age to claim social security only (allow a someone to retire at 65 w/o penalty on 401k only), and coming up with a formula that reduces social security checks (not including Medicaid, which is another huge problem) based on what a person has in their 401k once they retire. That way, if they out live their 401k, social security would then kick in, if not, money saved.
Health insurance is an even bigger problem, with all the new procedures and medicine that has come out to help fight different ailments. Something needs to change, but I am not sure what the answer is.
BTW, I pay more than my fair share of taxes over the waitress or garbage collector. I did not get a rebate check, I am in a much higher tax bracket, and if Congress does not fix it, I will get nailed by AMT, which would pretty much prevent me from ever taking a vacation, going out to dinner, or other fun things. I am not working so other people (besides my immediate family) can have better life or a comfortable retire and resent the fact that people think I should be.
re: Back to Work, Gramps!I keep reading these doomsday predictions from republicans here that social security is doomed! DOOMED! they say...
Really folks, social security is easy to fix. All we have to do is remove the cap on income for payments into social security. social security taxes are not paid on income over 90k. if all the upper middle class and all the rich paid social security taxes on ALL their income, this issue is solved for the next several generations.
Simple. Why should a waitress at Denny's or a Garbage collector pay social security taxes on every dime of income when G Bush, Warren Buffet, my doctor, my lawyer, my accountant, Bill Gates, Oprah, John McCain, Barack Obama, et al only pay on the first 90k?
After all, those working class folks did all the work to build the infrastructure (roads, networks, hospitals, fire stations, etc.) that make life possible for the better off and the rich enjoy that infrastructure for their whole life.
Tax equally for social security. Problem goes away.
The issue with this is that every time it is proposed, the right wing of the USA screams bloody murder.... ooh oooh ooooh.. the bad people are raising my taxes! Pay your fair share and quit complaining.
re: Back to Work, Gramps!I'm going to assume that you were joking when you said raise the SS cap and pay that tax on all your income.
1st- The payment back to any individual are capped at a max... let's say I make a $1Billion a year. I pay into GÇ£the systemGÇ¥ as you call my fair share. What happens when I retireGÇödo I get a bigger check? You completely side stepped that issue.
2ndGÇö I think the fix is much more simple.. Kill the system off entirely. LetGÇÖs get back to some individual responsibility instead of having the government takes care of us.
Here are the steps.
A-taper off folks who are in the system now or going into the SSI system shortly to the amount of deposit + some sort of agreed rate of return.. I.e. you get you money back plus interest. B-Let younger folks opt out of the system entirely.
As most everyone agrees the government wastes moneyGÇöwhy should we sit here and give them more to waste. That just seems crazy and illogical to me.
And thanks for your keen interest, but never call me a journalist.
It may be true that the Iraq/Halliburton/Blackwater-hole is not solely and directly to blame for US federal budget deficit, but letGÇÖs realize that much of the deficit is due to that already a disproportionate (and rapidly increasing) portion of the government tax income is spent on serving the public debt (-- just paying the interests gets funded by new foreign sourced loans).
Does anyone seriously claim that the years of spending down the Iraq/Halliburton/Blackhole has nothing to do with turning the budget surpluses into ever increasing deficits?
The real deal:
By "taking out" Iraq, Houston and the oil interests in the South (read Bush family) get an immediate reduction in oil supply (like ROM 40% of the known reserves and 20% of the world supply) thereby raising prices, and the rest of the end game playing out: record profits for oil compnaies, calls for coastal drilling, reduced EPA requirements, etc.
Anything but God forbid: 55 MPH on the highways, rationing, reinstating tax incentives for solar and hybrids, and mandatory conversion of older cars to CNG, and cutting taxes on diesel fuel (it is both cheaper to refine and more efficient to burn).
So Cheney happily engineers it all in return for no-bid contracts for Halliburton and other defense contractors.
All paid for by funny-dollars loaned to us by the Chinese, which itself was engineered by Richard Nixon taking us off the Gold standard.
Quick, here comes the boss, look like you are working!
-Why
Granted Iraq is a huge drain both financially and other ways, and our conservative republicans spend like drunken sailors.
BUT...there is a bigger issue here. Social security was created in a time when people were expected to retire at 65 and die by 70. Now we want to retire at 60 and live to 85. This is just not going to happen unless someone invents some new kind of math.
I know... nobody wants to hear about sacrifice to fix the problem. Americans are not into sacrificing for the good of our children. We can just keep running deficits and let our kids worry about it.
First, I will grant that our government wastes money left and right, that Ira
In the be careful what you ask for, if you lift the cap on salary (which I sort of agree with, but not entirely), do you still have companies pay in matching contributions as well? If so, this will lead to higher prices and reduced company benefits (and the first to go would likely be matching on 401k). I do not know about most, but I think I would rather have more of my money go into my 401k, where I have a much bigger say over what is done with it, than give it to the government so they can keep borrowing it to cover budget deficits and I wind up never seeing a dime of it when I retire (which I know I won't). I am NOT for the Bush idea of privatizing Social Security. Bad idea all around and it will make future bubbles even worse (Telecom->Housing->Commodities/Renewable Energy). The money has to go somewhere and the market is follow the press release more than it is rational.
A better solution is probably something along the lines of leaving the cap in place as is, raising the retirement age to claim social security only (allow a someone to retire at 65 w/o penalty on 401k only), and coming up with a formula that reduces social security checks (not including Medicaid, which is another huge problem) based on what a person has in their 401k once they retire. That way, if they out live their 401k, social security would then kick in, if not, money saved.
Health insurance is an even bigger problem, with all the new procedures and medicine that has come out to help fight different ailments. Something needs to change, but I am not sure what the answer is.
BTW, I pay more than my fair share of taxes over the waitress or garbage collector. I did not get a rebate check, I am in a much higher tax bracket, and if Congress does not fix it, I will get nailed by AMT, which would pretty much prevent me from ever taking a vacation, going out to dinner, or other fun things. I am not working so other people (besides my immediate family) can have better life or a comfortable retire and resent the fact that people think I should be.
Really folks, social security is easy to fix. All we have to do is remove the cap on income for payments into social security. social security taxes are not paid on income over 90k. if all the upper middle class and all the rich paid social security taxes on ALL their income, this issue is solved for the next several generations.
Simple. Why should a waitress at Denny's or a Garbage collector pay social security taxes on every dime of income when G Bush, Warren Buffet, my doctor, my lawyer, my accountant, Bill Gates, Oprah, John McCain, Barack Obama, et al only pay on the first 90k?
After all, those working class folks did all the work to build the infrastructure (roads, networks, hospitals, fire stations, etc.) that make life possible for the better off and the rich enjoy that infrastructure for their whole life.
Tax equally for social security. Problem goes away.
The issue with this is that every time it is proposed, the right wing of the USA screams bloody murder.... ooh oooh ooooh.. the bad people are raising my taxes! Pay your fair share and quit complaining.
sailboat
1st- The payment back to any individual are capped at a max... let's say I make a $1Billion a year. I pay into GÇ£the systemGÇ¥ as you call my fair share. What happens when I retireGÇödo I get a bigger check? You completely side stepped that issue.
2ndGÇö I think the fix is much more simple.. Kill the system off entirely. LetGÇÖs get back to some individual responsibility instead of having the government takes care of us.
Here are the steps.
A-taper off folks who are in the system now or going into the SSI system shortly to the amount of deposit + some sort of agreed rate of return.. I.e. you get you money back plus interest.
B-Let younger folks opt out of the system entirely.
As most everyone agrees the government wastes moneyGÇöwhy should we sit here and give them more to waste. That just seems crazy and illogical to me.
Regards