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View Poll Results: What are your thoughts on Social Security COLA regarding true inflation and current payout not keepi
Social security payments should INCREASE substantially and regularly - to reflect true inflation and COLA amounts for Vets and seniors
47
74.60%
Social security payments should STAY THE SAME – regardless of the fact cost of living has increased substantially and these people served and paid in
6
9.52%
Social security payments should BE DECREASED – regardless of the fact cost of living has increased substantially and these people served and paid in
The money will be created along the way. I don't believe that in 10 and 100 years our seniors/people will do without their HC. The financing of future HC costs could be centrally subsidized to a greater extent.
It could be simple. And we need not go through a SS like rigamarole.
For instance as been proposed in the UK to fund infrastructure:
The plan being described there would be for recession crisis quantitative easing to deliver money directly to the people rather than to the government. The thought process is that consumers would bring about demand by immediately consuming said money and triggering demand in key areas.
It's rather incompatible with an annuity style payment from the government program to the individual. This is considered in order to end a recession. The two main problems are that QE issued to individuals could not actually be pulled back like the QE is being done from the banks. Also, this QE would create moral hazard at much lower levels as people may confuse it with money for themselves rather than a loan.
"didn't pay the full rate"? They "paid" the amount that was proscribed.
Rates for all kinds of things change all the time. Your property tax rate has probably gone up over time - should the services you get be less now because you paid less in 2000? If your house is on fire do you only get firefighters for an hour rather than whatever is needed to put the fire completely out?
Incompatible examples. A local municipality has a clearly defined role in putting out fires. If I setup a hazardous area that is more likely to catch fire than not, I can be fined by the fire marshall. Fires are events of low expectation. I do not expect my home to catch fire ever. Also, if I don't pay the fire costs for many years, I should start to expect the building deferred maintenance could prove problematic in the future.
On the other hand, I hope almost all expect to be able to stop working some day. To assist in that, the government has a program. The key word is assist. Ultimately it is up to the individual to make sure they have the means to pay their own bills without working.
This would truly be a cruel responsibility to spring on someone in their 80's if they believed they were already taken care of. However, that cannot dismiss wishful thinking on individual's part. By the time I was in high school, I felt I had a pretty clear understanding that social security was headed for bankruptcy and I was going to have to save for my own retirement and anything I got from the program was a bonus...but one that couldn't be relied upon.
Given the raising rates and the raising employee coverage amounts, it looks like there must have been a decent understanding of that elsewhere as well. Yet even with a doubling of the tax rate and quintupling of the applicable wages (and the matches from the employer) it's not enough.
There's unforeseeable, and then there's rosy tinted glasses and wishful thinking.
Being a self-employed member of the gig-economy I pay 15.3% of my income to keep this program going. That's self-employment tax, separate from regular income tax. I haven't had a paid day off from work in years. My social security statement straight up says, there's no way to pay for all of the benefits I'm supposed to receive. How rich would I be if I got to save that 15.3% for myself?
I give it to you....because I have to, just like you gave your 4% to the generation before you. Fine. It's the law. How much additional sympathy are you expecting? Work your numbers and figure it out. I am sorry you didn't do it earlier.
The plan being described there would be for recession crisis quantitative easing to deliver money directly to the people rather than to the government. The thought process is that consumers would bring about demand by immediately consuming said money and triggering demand in key areas.
It's rather incompatible with an annuity style payment from the government program to the individual. This is considered in order to end a recession. The two main problems are that QE issued to individuals could not actually be pulled back like the QE is being done from the banks. Also, this QE would create moral hazard at much lower levels as people may confuse it with money for themselves rather than a loan.
That would be helicopter money. A central bank could be created devoted to social needs such as HC or infrastructure.
Although I voted for an increase, for those of us at the lower end of the benefit scale it doesn't seem to make any difference. If our SS goes up, then the amount we get for our SNAP (food stamps) is adjusted down. The same is true if we live in HUD subsidized senior housing. Our SS goes up, and so does what we pay for rent. They have formulas that keep us within a certain range, and it's hard to get anywhere. And you MUST report all changes to the powers that be so you won't be guilty of fraud.
About six years ago after I moved into senior HUD housing in Colorado before my bad marriage, my rent went down to about $226 a month from $400. I was so happy, and relieved. Then I got a notice from the food stamp people that my FS were going down from $192 a month to around $40. I didn't see that coming . The FS went up a little higher after a while though after a few more adjustments, and the dust settled. Still, I am very grateful for any help I get. I'm just using this as an example. I've gotten married, and divorced since then so am back on the merry go round again .
Yes, when it comes to preparing for retirement multiple chronic health problems with no insurance can knock you for a loop, and change your life for the worse. I had to retire early, and that is when my appendix decided to rupture with a massive infection, and no insurance. Surprise, surprise!
A few years back a commonality of many fiscally secure was a good first marriage... a marriage in which the sum of the parts is greater than each individually...
I have seen the following too many times... mostly around divorce that resets or wipes away years/decades... starting over is one thing but it can be far worse where the battle continues after until it is all gone.
One of my friends became divorced at 40... her friends and family encouraged her 100% to not let him get away with it... they have two kids and he was/is a CEO of a company everyone would recognize.
She walked away with over a million as her share of joint assets... a large part was the proceeds from the sale of their marital home...
She just turned 50 and lives in rented room... the money is gone... over half a million in legal fees from AFTER the divorce dragging each one into court...
I tried to help her during the emotional time... but everyone insisted she make him pay... he was no prince and had the ability to structure his compensation as CEO of an International Company...
He told her he is fine with being called an SOB... but for her to remember he can outspend her 7 ways to Sunday and his assets are well hidden.
The rest of her money was spent trying to maintain a semblance of the lifestyle she had... new high end car leases, every other year, travel, etc...
No alimony because he argued she had a successful SF Career at the time they married... at 40 she was not able to rekindle it plus she had two kids...
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 07-15-2018 at 06:31 PM..
Well, you see China owns their banking system....because they're communist...and they want to control what gets funded and what doesn't, but they want the air of authenticity so they have large banks on the side. When I did a start-up there, foreigners could pick from 4 banks and your Chart of Accounts was already selected for you. (It makes consolidation much easier after all).
We've pretended for quite awhile, but China is not a slur a Democrat socialist, they are straight up Communists who've decided they'll open markets so long as they can still tilt the game.
One of the first areas of concern when China initiated its one child policy was....who will care for the parents? At first the Communist Party assured everyone they would be taken care of. Party mantra quietly changed a few years ago to people will need to be responsible for themselves.
In the end, here's some solutions in China, and the one child policy hasn't even firmly taken hold yet:
China to standardize elderly care services industry - Business - Chinadaily.com.cn
What I love about China Daily is that it IS a good newspaper within the confines of what it can realistically say in censored China. Just the facts maam, and we'll put it together:
Last Line: There are 31.6 beds per 1,000 senior citizens
New guidelines require complaints to be responded to in 10 days.....nurse, my oxygen is running low.
Yeah, we can really do better than the China solution.
China is funding infrastructure spending with anticipated future tax "dollars" (yuan) from incomes growing at 6% to 8% as far out as the eye can see. It may not happen, but that's what they're planning on.
Our incomes are growing at 1.5%.
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. The FS went up a little higher after a while though after a few more adjustments, and the dust settled. Still, I am very grateful for any help I get. I'm just using this as an example. I've gotten married, and divorced since then so am back on the merry go round again 
. 
