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Yet efforts to even modestly curtail health benefits, or any other "entitlement" programs for that matter, meet thunderous opposition from politicians, labor unions, senior citizen groups and others. Often, the objections are couched in language of people having "earned" their benefits after a lifetime of work.
In fact, they've earned a portion of their benefits. A[B
n average couple that retired in 2010, for instance, will receive $387,000 in Medicare benefits after having paid $122,000 in Medicare taxes while working[/b] Social Security is in somewhat better shape but it, too, will soon have to start drawing down its reserves, adding more red ink to the budget.
Where's the snooze smiley?
Here we go again...I seem to have missed your rant on the only true entitlement program--Medicaid.
Get off the backs of producers who did "earn their benefits." And while you're at it, educate yourself about what Medicare is: insurance. Then you can chuck that tired old misconception that one cannot claim in excess of what's been paid in premiums.
I hope the home, automobile, and life insurance companies aren't reading this.
The major difference and point is that USA debt is debt created via its own sovereign currency. A currency it alone can create. So it can always be paid back.
Not true. You failed to state the consequences, which are Monetary Inflation. Monetary Inflation reduces the value of the US Dollar making it more costly for Americans to purchase anything both domestic and foreign.
Quote:
Originally Posted by so954
Also, America can't fail, because it will cause worldwide economic issues, so it's in the world's interest to seek a solution.
America can fail and will fail.
US federal debt is currently greater than 25% of World GDP.
By about 2025, US debt will be 33% of World GDP.
At current rates, by 2042, US debt will be 50% of World GDP.
The rest of the world is not going to fall on the sword for the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
Both are familiar with irresponsible banks lending to irresponsible borrowers.
That has no bearing on anything, except for the perception of potential repayment to investors.
Fiscally...
Some will use any situation at all as an excuse to raise the same old phony drumbeat for neanderthal social policies. More evidence here for the "Southernomics" thread...
Greece is also small. Bailing out Greece may be distasteful but it's certainly possible. The US... not so much. Who is going to bail us out? China with a GDP per capita that's less than 1/7th of our? We're about 20% of the world economy. Greece? They're .3%. We won't be bailed out simply because no one could. Rather if we declared bankruptcy we'd just screw China, shut down Social Security/Medicare and move along. Cold hearted and all, but that's not really an economically devastating. If you want to cut medical care costs in this country in half (and that's data from 10 years ago and it's only gotten worse) just stop providing Medical care to seniors. Certainly not a solution I really like but a more moderate version of it would be needed. We spend ridiculous amounts of money keeping people alive. I'm not saying you start taking away people's lisinopril which is cheap, but people that are alive only because they're in intensive skilled nursing facilities with osteoporosis so bad their bones would break under their own body weight with severe dementia and total paralysis due to strokes? Yeah, maybe you should just let those people die instead of keeping them alive for five years. That might actually be the humane thing to do.
true
drro, best post in the whole thread. No opinion, just numbers.
So basically in the long term, we're hosed. Live it up while you can!
drro, best post in the whole thread. No opinion, just numbers.
So basically in the long term, we're hosed. Live it up while you can!
No. Greece has all foreign denominated debt. A whole different animal than US debt which we alone created with our own money. And can always pay off with same.
The only similarity between the US and Greece is that they both have borrowed money.
Greece is a poor man who has borrowed at high interests rates and has borrowed beyond what he can ever earn and above what everything he owns is worth.
The US is a rich man who has borrowed at low interest rates mostly from friendly creditors (his own banking subsidiary), makes a lot of money every month and has very valuable assets that continue to grow in value.
Greece owes money to the other members of the Eurozone and needs more. This is like a renter wanting to increase his credit limit in order to use his credit card to pay the rent.
The US owes some money - something like 15% of its debt - to foreign interests mostly Japan and China - whose economies are inextricably linked with the US so it is not in their interest to call in the debt, ever. Most of the U.S.'s debt is held by the US government itself - or rather to the people of the US since the borrowing is against things like Social Security, with the rest held by domestic interests who are also unlikely to ever call any debts in.
Again, this is like a corporation borrowing from its own finance division to fund operations.
There are only a few ways that the U.S. can default and look anything like Greece. 1) It chooses to default - makes a conscious choice not to pay its interest payment back to itself. Some Republicans, bizarrely, want this to happen. 2) Some kind of extraneous event that structurally weakens the US economy but not the rest of the world. Some kind of weather event, natural disaster, large-scale terrorist attack (something HUGE like nuclear bombing a couple cities), becomes a cancer on the US economy and other countries become the world economic leader and that foreign debt gets called in. 3) The U.S. could lose a major war or have to overborrow to pay for a war. This is unlikely given the current world situation and the US is unlikely to let a quagmire war go on forever before political shifts force an exit.
I agree.
In addition, Greece has always been lax in its tax collection. The United States, like Germany and the other healthy economies of the European Union, have been strict in its tax collection, and Americans are much more willing to pay their taxes than the Greeks have ever been.
Another big problem with Greece is its lack of competitiveness in durable goods. There is very little industry outside of shipbuilding in Greece, and what exists is neither modern nor efficient.
Greece's failure does not threaten the U.S., but it could well de-value the Euro some, and that would be a good thing for our dollar, especially considering our foreign debt. A dollar will become worth more, essentially cutting down the amount of debt we have abroad while costing us nothing.
Greece is Europe's problem. There isn't any downside at all for us at the moment. The only potential danger could come from our Dollar gaining too much worth. I'm sure that won't be allowed to happen.
No. Greece has all foreign denominated debt. A whole different animal than US debtwhich we alone created with our own money. And can always pay off with same.
China sells us their stuff and they get paid in USD. They decide to buy US Treasury debt instead of holding cash which is non-interest bearing debt. meh.
China sells us their stuff and they get paid in USD. They decide to buy US Treasury debt instead of holding cash which is non-interest bearing debt. meh.
It's funny how many people truly think we go and beg China for money to borrow and they lend it to us, leading to tons of debt. They have no idea that we only technically have any debt to them because they are buying our treasury bonds- an investment on their part.
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I seem to have missed your rant on the only true entitlement program--Medicaid.
