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Originally Posted by JRR
So you don't think that any possible change in any way to Medicare could ever be considered?
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Well, that's a little unrealistic isn't it?
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Originally Posted by JRR
Isn't that the same type of "line in the sand" thinking that the Republicans use for "not a more dollar of taxes"? How can anything ever get done to reduce the deficit if Medicare is untouchable?
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You pretty much nailed it there.
I defend the Republican position based on historical facts, that being that each and every time there were tax increases during periods of marginal performance or economic instability, there were negative repercussions, and those manifested themselves as recessions and depressions.
Twice in history a Republican-controlled House and Senate raised taxes and both times it resulted in a recession or depression, and a Democrat-controlled Congress raised taxes and caused a recession, so raising taxes now is probably not the best thing to do.
When the economy gets stable, raising taxes slightly is doable, but the economy is not going to be stable until the budget is under control, and cutting $1 TRILLION over 1,000 centuries is not enough. They need to be cutting $10 TRILLION over 10 years.
I'm an ultra-conservative, and I would do away with Medicare, but I also understand that the government has made a promise, and when we make a promise, we need to keep our word.
If the government wants to end Medicare for the 25-and-under crowd, that's fine by mean, but those who are vested or invested in the system, the government needs to come through.
To do that will require flexibility on the part of Medicare beneficiaries.
I'm not saying people need to be Gumby, just that they need to lower their expectations just a tad. This idea that the purpose of Medicare is to keep people alive, for free, until they have 120 years is ridiculous.
There will have to be some changes. What exactly, I don't know, because I've only just started looking at the Medicare mess, but it is not solvent, and it will be bankrupted very quickly at the rate things are going.
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Originally Posted by JRR
And Social Security could certainly use some restructuring to make it stronger for those in the future. No one is talking about changing Social Security for current retirees or those nearing retirement age. But it would seem logical that changes need to be made to guarantee benefits for future retirees.
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Well then people need to man-up and demand changes now, because Social Security goes totally bankrupt in 2028, unless there are some major changes.
And that is just 17 years from now, which ain't all that long.
Again, as an ultra-conservative I would do away with Social Security as people know it, but the government made a promise, and it needs to keep its word for those who are vested in the program(s).
As best as I can tell, if the government raised the cap to $250,000, and then exempted all those who earned more than a certain amount of money in a life-time from the program, and then means tested those under $250,000 who paid into the system, I think you could extend it perhaps as long as 2040 - 2050, but after that problems still crop up.
I understand that as a society, we need a Social Security-type system, we just don't need one run by the government.
I think what would work best is a forced savings plan. Take that 6.2% (increase it to offset Real and Natural Inflation) and dump it into a lock-box savings account at the employee's discretion. The government can't touch it. You can't touch it, but you can manipulate it. So those who are savvy can invest in stocks and bonds, money market accounts and other vehicles and grow their money, and those who aren't can take the safe way and just roll over CDs for 40 years.
I think the biggest obstacle is the general stupidity surrounding the false belief that you're supposed to be able to live off of Social Security.
That was never the deal. The deal was that Social Security keeps you off the streets in the event you lost your pension/401(k) Plan, and/or your personal retirement savings.
If the best someone can do on Social Security is an 8 x 10 carpeted room and Chef Boy-ar-dee Spaghetti-Os for a 1 course gourmet meal, then I'm real sorry about their luck, but that's all it is.
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