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"Terminate every government program that fails to meet initial baseline expectations"
So what are the initial baseline expectations for the US Army? If they fail to meet it, can we terminate the entire army?
So what are the initial baseline expectations for Social Security? If it fails to meet it, can we terminate Social Security? I think you're going to have a lot of pissed off retirees and soon-to-be retirees.
Outside of SS, Medicare and the military, you could terminate every single program and it wouldn't come close to your dream of a 50% budget cut.
Why is SS off the table? SS is #1 on my list of programs that failed to meet baseline expectations. TSA is #2. DOE is #3. The entire public health establishment is #4. SS alone is 25% of the budget btw.
Why is SS off the table? SS is #1 on my list of programs that failed to meet baseline expectations. TSA is #2. DOE is #3. The entire public health establishment is #4. SS alone is 25% of the budget btw.
DOD isn't in the top 4, not Medicare?
Agree on SS, they need to either reduce benefits or raise payroll tax, this has been the case for decades and now it will be more difficult to balance.
What should the Fed, Congress, and Joe Biden do, and why?
Long-term bond yields have already risen to 2%, super cheap borrowing is over. What they need to do is stop with the trillion dollar spending bills now that the Fed is about to tighten short term rates.
TBH there are so many to choose from. If we implemented zero based budgeting based on historical performance, the federal budget would easily lose a digit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goodnight
Agree on SS, they need to either reduce benefits or raise payroll tax, this has been the case for decades and now it will be more difficult to balance.
That's not what I meant. SS is an unsustainable ponzi scheme. It's well past time to put a stake through its heart and put it out of its misery. Pay out the current beneficiaries, stop taking money from anyone under 50, give them their money back and let them figure out their own retirement. Throwing more money at a fundamentally unsustainable program only kicks the can down the road.
Last edited by albert648; 02-17-2022 at 06:30 PM..
TBH there are so many to choose from. If we implemented zero based budgeting based on historical performance, the federal budget would easily lose a digit.
That's not what I meant. SS is an unsustainable ponzi scheme. It's well past time to put a stake through its heart and put it out of its misery. Pay out the current beneficiaries, stop taking money from anyone under 50, give them their money back and let them figure out their own retirement. Throwing more money at a fundamentally unsustainable program only kicks the can down the road.
The top budget items need to be addressed or the budget will never be balanced.
SS is sustainable if they had the will to take on politically inconvenient decisions, they have in fact raised payroll taxes over the years but not enough to compensate for the demographic which has switched from more donors to more retirees.
Simpson-Bowles was a bipartisan plan in 2010 to address the deficit, it was a very good plan that spread the pain around to address the deficit slowly but of course it was rejected by congress.
#1 because the feds are already admitting to having the highest inflation in 40 years at 7.5%, and producer inflation is 9.5% which means consumer inflation of 7.5% will be heading higher because it trails producer inflation. Most know the feds are grossly understating the real inflation rates that we are all seeing in the marketplace every day for cars, homes, rent, food, energy, & everything else.
#2 is interest on our debt. It is gobbling up the rest of the budgetary pie chart like pac man. Interest expenses are nearing the total America spends on national defense!
#3 when we increased interest rates before to slow the economy, we had much higher GDP growth than we have now, so we could afford to slow it down w/o causing a recession. If we put the brakes on too hard in March, we'll fall into a recession before election day.
#4 our entire economy and healthcare system is fragile due to a global pandemic. When was the last time we had one of those killing millions? Does rocking the boat now make sense, when we are just now removing covid mandates?
So, now that I've explained to you why this time is different, what would you do, and why?
1. Producer inflation has actually moderated recently; consumer inflation will follow. Read this and this.
2. This is nothing new. Did you know that government debt as a percentage of GDP was about the same after WWII as it is now? The sky didn't fall then, and it won't fall now. Interest payments on the debt were huge then as they are now, and the sky didn't fall.
3. I just recently started a thread pointing out that GDP growth last year was the fastest since 1984, and now you've got the audacity to proclaim that GDP growth is slow.
4. This didn't even make sense. If the pandemic is abating, what is the worry? Speaking of WWII per #2 above, consider the pandemic to be a sort-of WWII magnitude event, with a million or so casualties and the whole bit. Debt skyrocketed during the War, and debt skyrocketed during the pandemic.
Last edited by James Bond 007; 02-17-2022 at 08:04 PM..
The top budget items need to be addressed or the budget will never be balanced.
SS is sustainable if they had the will to take on politically inconvenient decisions, they have in fact raised payroll taxes over the years but not enough to compensate for the demographic which has switched from more donors to more retirees.
Simpson-Bowles was a bipartisan plan in 2010 to address the deficit, it was a very good plan that spread the pain around to address the deficit slowly but of course it was rejected by congress.
Does it involve increasing FICA by a single penny? Yes? Then it's DOA in my book. I'm not paying a penny more to make up for SSA's mismanagement of the past generation's money.
Also, 21% of GDP is too goddamn high. That alone is a dealbreaker. Maybe come back with a plan that has government spend at no more than 10% of GDP.
Social security being sustainable if we dumped more money into it means it's fundamentally unsustainable. I'm personally prepared to pay exactly zero dollars, zero cents to bail out social security. If you hit me up for more money because SS might go insolvent, all you'll hear from me is a resounding "Fine, LET IT FAIL." And if you come crying to me about the jobs at SSA you'll get a big fat "I don't care" from me.
And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in this.
Last edited by albert648; 02-17-2022 at 10:16 PM..
1. Producer inflation has actually moderated recently; consumer inflation will follow. Read this and this.
2. This is nothing new. Did you know that government debt as a percentage of GDP was about the same after WWII as it is now? The sky didn't fall then, and it won't fall now. Interest payments on the debt were huge then as they are now, and the sky didn't fall.
3. I just recently started a thread pointing out that GDP growth last year was the fastest since 1984, and now you've got the audacity to proclaim that GDP growth is slow.
4. This didn't even make sense. If the pandemic is abating, what is the worry? Speaking of WWII per #2 above, consider the pandemic to be a sort-of WWII magnitude event, with a million or so casualties and the whole bit. Debt skyrocketed during the War, and debt skyrocketed during the pandemic.
We'll see how this post ^^ ages. I could destroy each of your points, but just letting it age & rot is easier.
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