Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a duplicate thread in the Politics and Other Controversies forum and if you wish to discuss the merits of the different political parties and their philosophies, that is the place to do so. [/mod note]
I am concerned about this proposal. I do understand that SS may need some changes but there are ways to tweak it that don't involve extreme cuts. One of the concerns is that this bill will cut benefits significantly for current beneficiaries who are not in a position usually to go earn some extra money. And, if you couple with potential increases to Medicare if privatization goes through it could be a real hit. I actually did some playing with the future budget to see what would happen to us if these cuts went through and if Medicare went up. Yes, we could survive (depends upon the Medicare increase), but our discretionary spending would take a big hit and we would need to downsize severely. Losing, say, 30% of income isn't trivial for most people and we are not in a position to suddenly go get more. Would we starve? No. But, we retired with the idea of having a retirement at a certain lifestyle and to suddenly go from that to something significantly different would be painful. Particularly when I don't think there is a necessity to have this kind of solution.
Some of this is grand-standing.
All bills die at the end of the congressional term. A new bill must be introduced by the new session.
Obviously, it's nothing but grand-standing, by this one-trick politician, who's spent his time in Congress, doing nothing much except make futile attempts at getting his name on Soc Sec reform legislation. Such a bill could never be passed in such a short remaining time for the session and of course, Obama would veto it or pocket it.
Interestingly, this proposal seems to raise benefits for those near the lower end of the scale, but maybe I'm misinterpretating it (which is easy to do).
There is supposed to be a provision in the bill for getting your money in a lump sum - not sure if you would get it all.
I'm starting to agree with those who see this as grandstanding. Few of the major newspapers and news websites are posting about it which leads me to believe that nothing will come of this social security proposal.
It is predicted that in the mid 2030's the Trust Fund will be empty. That is indisputable. Yes, the workers will continue to pay FICA taxes but those taxes will only cover about 79% of benefits due Social Security recipients. For at least the last ten years I have been hearing that Social Security only needs a few "tweaks". That may have been true ten years ago but IMO, that ship has sailed.
SS need a huge change. People need to wake up, especially older people, and realize SS isn't a retirement fund and was never meant to be. It always meant for the needy and very elderly. Hence, why modern people are surpassing the age. Yes, I know people "pay into" SS. That doesn't change what, and whom, it's meant for.
Do you realize most people don't earn $50k in benefit? My husband was a high earner and he gets less than $2k a month. He is not complaining.
Of course I do. That was just an illustration in the article, for people to gauge the cuts...most likely a MARRIED COUPLE that gets $50k between them.
Your husband has every right to be happy about losing $380/month in Social Security, and then lose Medicare benefits. He obviously has a way to support himself without those things. He's a lucky man.
But more importantly...how do YOU feel about losing your full Social Security benefits and Medicare?
Of course I do. That was just an illustration in the article, for people to gauge the cuts...most likely a MARRIED COUPLE that gets $50k between them.
Your husband has every right to be happy about losing $380/month in Social Security, and then lose Medicare benefits. He obviously has a way to support himself without those things. He's a lucky man.
But more importantly...how do YOU feel about losing your full Social Security benefits and Medicare?
I don't have a problem with losing benefits or Medicare. My retirement plan didn't count for it. As for Medicare, my husband almost didn't want to join Medicare. He only did so the last minute.
Last edited by NewbieHere; 12-10-2016 at 07:48 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
