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Republicans, conservatives, libertarians, and tea party members, do you want to get rid of Social Security and Medicare? Yes or no.
No,
Social security is a way to ensure we don't have to take complete care of the elderly, and ensuring that they did save something over time. While its not nearly enough for them in most cases, at least it saves society from having to take care of every need without precondition.
Medicare, yes, again, If I pay into the system all my life, I'd like that safety net when I get older. Now, I'm saving, and investing, etc. But that doesn't mean I can't lose all of that in an instance. So while I probably won't need the full measure of government assistance, I understand the need to have it there, just in case.
Do I want to pay for everything for every citizen, no, but if it ensures "domestic tranquility", well, its ok to tax me for that.
Our military budget is twice that of the entire world combined. How about we cut that in half, and save that money.
I am not officially affiliated with any party, but would call myself a libertarian if I had to pick something.
I would like to see SS and Medicare completely phased out.
Neither is the government's responsibility.
It is the job of the government insure domestic tranquility. Do you things would be tranquil with thousands of more homeless elderly men and women out on the streets? Grandparents from lack of medical care? Disability patients and soldiers that fought and were injured for our defense just left with no security net?
These are the reasons why its the governments job to provide SS and Medicare for those who truly need it.
I do know about Social Security and I would like to see it phased out.
To do what...go back to county poor farms? Do you know what happened to the very poor before social security? Ordinary Americans used to work 10-12 hours a day when they were lucky enough to find employment. There was no such thing as time and a half for overtime. There were no unions, there was no unemployment insurance, there was no such thing as a pension for 90% of the jobs. If a poor person got sick either their family took care of them or they died an early death. When the country was attacked Every able bodied man went to war.
Ordinary working Americans used to subtly refer to poor farms as poor houses and make jokes about if things didn't picki up they would probably end up in one. Every county had a poor farm. Old people who were still able raised crops so that they and the ones who were living there and unable to work would have something to eat. This nation...today has a wart on it's nose. Tens of thousands of graves on those old farms many of them unmarked.
Now the wealthy in this country have gradually taken on a personal entitlement for themselves and their family. They've got it to where a man or woman making a million dollars a year hires a CPA who is an expert in tax matters and ends up paying less than 10% of it to the government. His kids go to the best schools and never have to worry about actually doing anything beyond that which they really wish to do. The idea of going to lay it on the line in a war declared by the military/industrial complex never crosses their minds. Thanks to the criminal Richard Nixon they will never have to do a day of community service or anything for their country if they choose not to unless they get caught snorting coke or shooting heoin and the "bought and paid for" judge includes something for them to do as part of their rehabilitation.
I used to be proud of the better off in this country. A corporate executive earned four or five times what an assembly line worker earned. Now it's riddled with gimmicks and legal manipulation to the point that they end up with 500 times that and every crooked scheme they might imagine to retire with some "UMBRELLA" which takes care of them and their heirs for the rest of time.
Screw rich people. During my lifetime they have proven one thing. They do not deserve what they have.
Last edited by Melvin.George; 08-20-2010 at 01:03 PM..
It is the job of the government insure domestic tranquility. Do you things would be tranquil with thousands of more homeless elderly men and women out on the streets? Grandparents from lack of medical care? Disability patients and soldiers that fought and were injured for our defense just left with no security net?
These are the reasons why its the governments job to provide SS and Medicare for those who truly need it.
That is fine. I will refrain from any libertarian based arguments. Rather, let's look at the indisputable fact that both programs are insolvent. It makes no sense to promote a program that, technically, is a failure. We cannot discuss this without admitting that.
Everytime I get my Social Security statement, I think what a nice bonus it will be on top of the money I have said myself. But I know I am not going to get it.
Give the American worker the right to opt out of? Yes
What would have happened if people had "opted" out a few years ago and invested the money in real estate and the stock market? It would have led to an even bigger disaster than the one we're facing now. The vast majority of individuals are very poor investors. Few people have the understanding or the time to do research to make sound decisions. Even people who have good brokers (paid to look after investments) did poorly recently.
It would be like Russia after the sale of the state industries. Lots of unsophisticated people were given shares. They ended up selling them for a song to the oligarchs who now control the entire country. In this case "let them fail" is not a very useful solution.
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