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nah, what you don't get, is that social security isn't a "savings plan" for the middle class, so it makes no sense to compare it to one.
Social Security is sort of like "redistributive insurance." Or you could describe it as retirement welfare for the "working, lower middle class." If you make in the $80k - $100k bracket, (just one example), a lot of your money is going to the $20k-$30k bracket.
Correct. Check the SSA website for the formula. It's disclosed. It is exactly as you describe here.
I am convinced that the ONLY way we are going to help our country, and this is not restricted to taking care of the elderly and the needy, is to cut our military adventurism abroad. When 59% of our nation's budget is spend on military and ancillary expenses, you shouldn't be surprised when there is little left for anything else. The only folks who make money out of this current deal are the defense contractors and the military industrial complex, but we all pay the price for that. If we cut that, we will have enough and more funds for everything else. Just raising taxes are not going to be enough - there is only a limit to which you can do that, before you realize that there is nothing left to tax.
The boomers have had power their whole lives. Their parents did all sorts of stuff for them (national parks, Medicare, Medicaid, federal highway systems), then they voted to lower their own taxes and expand services from Reagan onward, and now we have a huge deficit and they are fixing to move from the productive generators of government revenue to a huge expenditure, resource sink for decades to come.
How is it that we can pay for this through cutting taxes? The major commitments for eldercare come from the federal government. Country, state, and private or charity spending does not come close. We are forced with either throwing them under the bus at the end of their lives, or raising taxes in a proactive way to honor our commitments. Now we find ourselves in recession right when we should be paying forward for this huge slow-motion trainwreck.
Please don't provide sound bites, fingerpointing, or platitudes. They won't cut it. This is a huge issue that can only addressed with a sensible combination of lowered entitlement distributions and efforts to raise revenue in many different ways. However, I don't think the boomers are going to roll over. They are older, and they vote, and there is a lot of them. They will get what they can. The issue is whether there will be anything left for the rest of society.
How we react in the next 5 years, I fear, will affect the lives of millions in next 20-30 years or more. What should we do?
Obviously the answer is to renew 0bama's social security payroll tax cut.
Seriously though, we need to cut federal spending, its putting us $15 trillion in debt. For example, many social welfare programs have been duplicated with other legislation, and there is billion of dollars in fraud and waste. Even if some vote-buying senator or member of congress has not created a NEW federal program, they expanded a current program beyond its original intention.
A three minute search a Google, for federal food assistance programs, shows a bunch of programs all trying to do the same thing, feed the poor. WIC, Food Stamps, Welfare, SNAP, CACFP, The Summer Food Service Program, National School Lunch Program, etc..., and I'm sure there are dozens more. Why not just pull them all into one program, and clear out all the duplicated job titles and wasted duplications?
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,142,400 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texan2yankee
My spouse and I have maxed out SS and FICA contributions for decades and, believe me, don't rejoice we will likely never personally benefit from our payments. However, for the good of the country sacrifices need to be made and must start with us. Boomers have benefited greatly from this country. The question isn't "What is fair?", but, "What is the right thing to do?".
Believe me.. I don't have a problem paying my fair share.. We have and will continue to do so. I don't cheat on my taxes and I contribute to charities as often as possible... The problem is, not everyone thinks like you and I Texan. There are folks out there who game the systems everyday. They brag about it. And at least in my opinion, there comes a point when those who are contributing fairly and honestly become taken advantage of. When do we say enough is enough? What percentage of ones EARNED income should one lose in taxes and FICA? 28%? 50%? Perhaps I should just give them my whole paycheck?
If everyone was honest and doing the right thing we wouldn't have all the cheating and entitlement problems we have right now. The right thing to do isn't always quite so black and white when you've got givers.. and TAKERS....
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