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"Translation: Shut up and pay your taxes." No, that is NOT what I meant but now after your juvenile response, yes, shut up and grow up.
MOST posters have kept politics out of this discussion except you who keep lambasting conservatives as if they are the only ones getting check from Social Security.
I'm lambasting conservatives because they're hypocrites. Liberals are just stupid.
And yes, that is what you meant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quick Enough
Remember it was W. Bush who tried to find a solution in fixing SS and the dems REFUSED to even attend the meetings. So be careful what insults you want to throw around. The fingers may end up pointing right back you and your buddies in the dem party.
My buddies in the dem party? LMAO. Check my posting history dude.
When did I say I was an exception? I think society had a duty to provide welfare for those less fortunate. I even stated as much earlier. A 25-30% cut and an additional FICA tax hike keeps the program solvent as far as I can tell. I don't think anyone should be selfish or foolish enough to treat SS as a retirement program though.
As long as it looks and acts like a retirement program, it will be treated as a retirement program.
Relying on the intelligence and/or non-selfishness of Americans is a recipe for failure.
It has nothing to do with luck. Stop blaming others for your own poor choices and failings. Unless there is a series of extreme set backs everyone should have more than $30,000 when they retire by simply making reasonable choices.
If it is true that a whopping 75% of people near retirement have less than $30K in retirement accounts than that is a sign that our culture has poor priorities. Buy crap you don't need on credit. A person making minimum wage investing a mere 1% from age 20 to 65 would have gotten over $100,000 by retirement age while under performing the market.
Yes, many people were irresponsible--but even if everyone had been super-responsible, we’d still be facing catastrophe as a nation and as individuals. The terrifying truth is that pretty much every citizen who isn’t incredibly rich (or in a cushy government job with a fat pension and generous health care coverage) is equally in trouble in their senior years.
Consider health care costs alone—ignoring the Obamacare cost increases and massive taxpayer costs, which even the government now admits CMS Actuaries: Obamacare Increases Costs | Heartlander Magazine. "A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover medical expenses throughout retirement," or much more if early retirement is taken, or forced by health problems. Health Care Costs - Budget Your Retirement Savings - AARP And the cost of living is on top of that.
Future taxpayers simply won't have enough earnings to allow more taxes to help the retiring Baby Boomers, since they’re already going to be on the hook for our massive government’s unending spending insanity and $17 trillion in debt. And really, why should they pay, considering the early Baby Boomers are far wealthier than those coming afterwards will ever be?
And what about the $2.7 trillion in the supposed "Social Security Trust Fund" that politicians and Liberals claim exists, and will last until 2027 or so? Anyone who still believes this fallacy needs to check the facts, which government publications clearly admit (while politicians lie through their teeth as always). The Federal Office of Management and Budget clearly states that the IOUs which constitute the ENTIRE SS Trust Fund: "...do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures."
And let’s be clear: nobody can count on Social Security--even if you are ALREADY retired. Yes, politicians have committed to putting all the hurt on those not yet retired, but the fact is that government can cut benefits ANY TIME it feels like it.. Thanks to our Supreme Court (Flemming v. Nestor), the government can take away your benefits any time it wants to. “You have no legal rights to your Social Security benefits." The Social Security
Why any seniors would support a government that basically wages financial war on them is beyond me. No matter how much you saved, for years and apparently far into the future, the Fed has kept interest rates near zero (to allow massive continued government spending/borrowing).
Also because of the $17 trillion federal debt, “Quantitative Easing†continues to devalue all the dollars saved or invested by retirees.
That leaves seniors needing good returns from investments to retire on—but our government is in the pocket of a Financial Sector that inflates bubbles and then gets taxpayer bailouts when the busts occur—leaving the seniors to see their investment dollars disappear. The real estate bubble wiped out much home equity, this time prompted by the government’s requirements that large loans be given to the least credit-worthy. While investing in the home was always considered the safest investment, suddenly it couldn’t be sold for enough to recover the cost, or worse couldn’t be sold at all while property taxes skyrocketed and ate up what little savings people had left.
Thanks to “Free Trade†laws passed by government serving their Big Business masters, workers were a dime a dozen and compensation continued to drop. Less than 17% of workers now have private pensions, excluding government employees who are fast becoming the new aristocracy. Even employers who provide health care coverage pay less and less of a percentage, while the costs explode.
We’re all facing disaster because of our government, and yet the worse things get because of government, the more people cling to it as a savior. The harsh reality is that the responsible working American is always on his own, while carrying the massive burden of a huge and corrupt government. Sometime, hopefully before we’re all starving in the streets waiting for our government pittance, Atlas will shrug and we can go back to the principles of the Founding Fathers—the ones that gave us prosperity instead of poverty, jobs instead of wasted lives and criminal activity, freedom instead of dependence—and an enjoyable retirement instead of knowing you worked your whole life for nothing.
Yes, many people were irresponsible--but even if everyone had been super-responsible, we’d still be facing catastrophe as a nation and as individuals. The terrifying truth is that pretty much every citizen who isn’t incredibly rich (or in a cushy government job with a fat pension and generous health care coverage) is equally in trouble in their senior years.
Consider health care costs alone—ignoring the Obamacare cost increases and massive taxpayer costs, which even the government now admits CMS Actuaries: Obamacare Increases Costs | Heartlander Magazine. "A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover medical expenses throughout retirement," or much more if early retirement is taken, or forced by health problems. Health Care Costs - Budget Your Retirement Savings - AARP And the cost of living is on top of that.
Future taxpayers simply won't have enough earnings to allow more taxes to help the retiring Baby Boomers, since they’re already going to be on the hook for our massive government’s unending spending insanity and $17 trillion in debt. And really, why should they pay, considering the early Baby Boomers are far wealthier than those coming afterwards will ever be?
And what about the $2.7 trillion in the supposed "Social Security Trust Fund" that politicians and Liberals claim exists, and will last until 2027 or so? Anyone who still believes this fallacy needs to check the facts, which government publications clearly admit (while politicians lie through their teeth as always). The Federal Office of Management and Budget clearly states that the IOUs which constitute the ENTIRE SS Trust Fund: "...do not consist of real economic assets that can be drawn down in the future to fund benefits. Instead, they are claims on the Treasury that, when redeemed, will have to be financed by raising taxes, borrowing from the public, or reducing benefits or other expenditures."
And let’s be clear: nobody can count on Social Security--even if you are ALREADY retired. Yes, politicians have committed to putting all the hurt on those not yet retired, but the fact is that government can cut benefits ANY TIME it feels like it.. Thanks to our Supreme Court (Flemming v. Nestor), the government can take away your benefits any time it wants to. “You have no legal rights to your Social Security benefits." The Social Security
Why any seniors would support a government that basically wages financial war on them is beyond me. No matter how much you saved, for years and apparently far into the future, the Fed has kept interest rates near zero (to allow massive continued government spending/borrowing).
Also because of the $17 trillion federal debt, “Quantitative Easing†continues to devalue all the dollars saved or invested by retirees.
That leaves seniors needing good returns from investments to retire on—but our government is in the pocket of a Financial Sector that inflates bubbles and then gets taxpayer bailouts when the busts occur—leaving the seniors to see their investment dollars disappear. The real estate bubble wiped out much home equity, this time prompted by the government’s requirements that large loans be given to the least credit-worthy. While investing in the home was always considered the safest investment, suddenly it couldn’t be sold for enough to recover the cost, or worse couldn’t be sold at all while property taxes skyrocketed and ate up what little savings people had left.
Thanks to “Free Trade†laws passed by government serving their Big Business masters, workers were a dime a dozen and compensation continued to drop. Less than 17% of workers now have private pensions, excluding government employees who are fast becoming the new aristocracy. Even employers who provide health care coverage pay less and less of a percentage, while the costs explode.
We’re all facing disaster because of our government, and yet the worse things get because of government, the more people cling to it as a savior. The harsh reality is that the responsible working American is always on his own, while carrying the massive burden of a huge and corrupt government. Sometime, hopefully before we’re all starving in the streets waiting for our government pittance, Atlas will shrug and we can go back to the principles of the Founding Fathers—the ones that gave us prosperity instead of poverty, jobs instead of wasted lives and criminal activity, freedom instead of dependence—and an enjoyable retirement instead of knowing you worked your whole life for nothing.
I think you are agreeing with me.
I argued that it was people's individual poor choices that result in 75% of people near retirement having less than $30K saved up.
It seems like we'd both agree that people vote poorly, vote to reelect weak politicians that are afraid to make tough decisions, and we don't want a real government...we want a fantasy government where we have so much debt we need to create a $3 Billion a day with QE4 to make interest on the debt serviceable with artificially low rates...
Any intelligent response would be over your head because you can't ask a question without a juvunile insult.
But, I'll give it 1 try.
Why do you think I am wrong?
What is YOUR experience with this issue?
I will tell you mine.
I WORKED in the ghettos, slums, Housing Projects in the worse section of Washington, D.C. with a liquor stor on every corner and NEVER a loss for customers.
I worked in the houses of these leaches.
I saw it FIRST hand.
I saw how they scammed the system.
I could tell you stories that would make you throw up. From **** roaches walking right through their plate and they wait until it is gone and then continue eating. To throwing sh.t filled diapers on the floor because they were to lazy to get up. To women being so drunk on Sunday morning they forget to put clothes on and being stark naked on when opening the door.
Now it is your turn to enlighten all of us on your vast experience on the issue.
Hell no you didn't give this a try. Are you kidding me?
You placed all kinds of typed letters on this screen and NOT ONE provided a response to the question of why these people are drinking. You've told us a lot of unnecessary things that we didn't ask - the result of drinking, that you've seen drinking first hand, seen it second hand, seen it third hand, you've told us they're scammers and leaches, and NOT ONE WORD OF EXPLANATION AS TO WHY.
Bull crap.
I've averaged around $35,000 in my 9 years of teaching and have saved up $100,000.
This is about choices.
Someone who makes your $26,324 a year at age 20 - never gets a raise...until age 60...putting away 5% at 8% return will still have above $500,000.
Someone who makes your $26,324 a year at age 20 - only gets a 2% cost of living increase...until age 65...putting away a mere 3% at an 8% return would still have ~$400,000.
This is about choices if truly 75% of Americans near retirement do not have above $30,000.
That's nice, but if I averaged around $35,000 for 9 years I'd have saved up $200,000.
You're not even making sense anymore, you're just talking crap at this point.
I'm responding in kind. Your response to seeing yourself in the mirror is priceless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SamBarrow
Again, the idea that the guy who said he saved $100K was just "lucky" is ridiculously stupid.
Except you know, even though you're unwilling to admit it (perhaps even to yourself) that the difference between success and failure in our economy is not just a matter of the effort: It's a matter of luck, too. Both. Not just the one you want to admit, but both. No matter how many times and how many ways you say it, you're wrong when you claim that luck isn't a big part of it. Just plain wrong - spewing self-serving nonsense to defend your corrupted perspective in that regard. But being wrong isn't the biggest problem with your comments: It's the offensive marginalization of others you engage in. Your refusal to acknowledge that there are many factors to success and failure is probably what feeds your offensive marginalization of others who aren't successful. Either that or you're engaging in some more offensive behavior to rationalize your prejudicial comments toward those who aren't as successful in our economy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SamBarrow
I'm lambasting conservatives because they're hypocrites. Liberals are just stupid.
So basically in your head you're the only one who makes sense. Ooooooo-kay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NHartphotog
Yes, many people were irresponsible--but even if everyone had been super-responsible, we’d still be facing catastrophe as a nation and as individuals.
This conjunction cannot be overstated. After a certain point, it doesn't matter why: What matters is how we are going to pull together as a society so we're yet-again working together to help everyone succeed. Or, alternatively, whether self-centered avarice will be allowed to prevail, corrupting our society into some dystopian vision of a master/slave society.
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