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It's no tup to the boomers. It's up to our representatives ( I'm really stretching the meaning of that word here ), and our senators in our do-nothing congress. As long as SS doesn't threaten corporate profits, the corporate lobbyist will allow THEIR representatives and senators to keep SS in place. But as jazzlover wrote, the corporations may demand that congress push back the qualification ages to 75 or 77.
It's no tup to the boomers. It's up to our representatives ( I'm really stretching the meaning of that word here ), and our senators in our do-nothing congress. As long as SS doesn't threaten corporate profits, the corporate lobbyist will allow THEIR representatives and senators to keep SS in place. But as jazzlover wrote, the corporations may demand that congress push back the qualification ages to 75 or 77.
Here, I think the corporations meet their match. Corporate money is a powerful corrupting influence on politicians...but politicians also know that the money is meaningless if they can't get re-elected. Seniors--especially with the boomers joining their ranks--vote in large numbers, and any move against SS as we know it is political suicide. Hence the reference to SS as the "third rail" of politics, alluding to the high voltage rail on an electric train track--touch it and you're toast.
The more likely scenario is one that undermines SS quietly and gradually without addressing it directly. Arguably, that approach is already in play, as the government intentionally and repeatedly understates inflation in the CPI numbers, which causes a quiet, steady reduction in real (inflation-adjusted) per-beneficiary outlays for SS benefits without overtly disturbing the program.
Yes, as we all know, the government is a group of sneaky S.O.B.s! They robs us blind in front of our eyes, and we empower them to keep up the game by re-electing the same S.O.B.s term after term. Will will ever learn?
Here, I think the corporations meet their match. Corporate money is a powerful corrupting influence on politicians...but politicians also know that the money is meaningless if they can't get re-elected. Seniors--especially with the boomers joining their ranks--vote in large numbers, and any move against SS as we know it is political suicide. Hence the reference to SS as the "third rail" of politics, alluding to the high voltage rail on an electric train track--touch it and you're toast.
The more likely scenario is one that undermines SS quietly and gradually without addressing it directly. Arguably, that approach is already in play, as the government intentionally and repeatedly understates inflation in the CPI numbers, which causes a quiet, steady reduction in real (inflation-adjusted) per-beneficiary outlays for SS benefits without overtly disturbing the program.
Here is why I think you will see the retirement age raised. First, it will not affect those already getting SS. In fact, those folks may support it, as it becomes increasingly clear that current retiree's benefits will have to be reduced if the retirement age is not raised--and fairly soon. Second, in about a decade, the first Boomers are going to be dying off in significant numbers. Their political power will begin to wane from there forward. It will be woefully apparent to just about everybody by then that SS can not survive unless it is restructured. The voting public from age 18 to, say, about 50 years old will likely find it less unpalatable at that point to raise the retirement age rather than risk getting little or any benefit from SS. Of course, all of this assumes that the government is coherent enough to keep this house of cards hung together with baling wire and chewing gum well enough to avert a near-complete collapse. Given the events of the last few months (and today, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac), that is by no means any sure bet.
all of this assumes that the government is coherent enough to keep this house of cards hung together with baling wire and chewing gum well enough to avert a near-complete collapse.
Herr Bideshi said: "It reminds me of the seasonal migration of the hippies in the very affluent '60s from Katmandu to Bali in the summer and back to Nepal for the beautiful winters....and some of them are still there employed as oxygen thieves."
Is it JUST a coincidence that they're rolling out this rescue/takeover scheme on the very weekend that people won't be paying attention because they are hugely focused on both college football and NFL season openers?
Don't forget Palin and the hurricane headed for the gulf.
Regarding "oxygen thieves," I've never heard the phrase, but in Nepal in the trekking world, rather the Everest world, people *do* steal oxygen, including stealing it in the city where it arrives and where people store it for mountain climbing. It's been known to be stolen at Base Camp, and even up on the mountain itself, although your average schlub isn't likely to get up that high.
Alice in Wonderland is an interesting story, but it's very scary when the real world begins operating that way. The whole debacle of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that ended in the Feds taking them over is a great example. Only in Fairyland would the failure of two of the US's biggest lenders and their takeover by the federal government--along with the assumption by the government (read: taxpayers) of a gigantic contingent financial liability--lead to a triple-digit increase in the Dow. The "Alice-through-the-looking-glass" part of this is that the only explanation is that--however bad it is that the feds just had to make one of the biggest takeovers of a private institution ever--the financial markets evidently think it could have been much worse. That should tell anyone not ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms up around Telluride or smoking some serious high-altitude doobage just how bad things really are. Unfortunately, even the most delusional, artificially-induced high eventually comes to an end--and that end will come when it becomes apparent that the root causes of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's failure continue rolling along unabated, and when the massive inflation that this kind of bailout will ignite starts hammering Americans without remorse.
As usual, Kunstler's blog this week strikes a harsh note to all of this
I would pretty much guarantee that few folks will be posting much about how they would just love to move to Colorado (or much of anywhere else) in about a year or so. They will be way too busy trying to keep themselves and their families simply fed.
Last edited by jazzlover; 09-08-2008 at 07:03 PM..
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Fannie und Freddie schnell ans ende an gekommen !
