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Unfunded Liabilities = $57 Trillion. That's with a "T".
Can anyone tell me where we're going to come up with $57 TRILLION dollars to pay for Social Security, Medicare, and the Prescription Drug Benefit?
And for the love of God, can someone please tell me where we're going to come up with the Trillions that will be added to our liabilities when universal health insurance is added to this? Not to mention the Trillion's we're already in debt for normal government operation?
America as we know it is done.
One can show how rediculous this argument is. How many years of SS and Medicare does this 57 trillion dollars cover 40,50 or 75 years? Lets say it is 75 years. The USA has an economy that produces 14 trillion dollars of wealth called GDP. 75 x 14 = 1050 trillion dollars so assuming absolutely no economic growth we will have 1050 triliion dollars so allocating 57 trillion dollars to caring for our aged citizens is about 5 % of our wealth.
This is the least we can do.
Also younger Americans need to get one misconception out of there heads. It is the assumption that they are likely to have a job after age 50-60. You cost employers money with high pay and benefits. Most employers don't think that older workers meet company work expectations and as sales or customer oriented employees they don't project the image of a vigorous up to date company. Lastly, healthcare is a problem since insurers don't want clients who are over age 50. Employers understand this and eliminate such employees.
One can show how rediculous this argument is. How many years of SS and Medicare does this 57 trillion dollars cover 40,50 or 75 years? Lets say it is 75 years. The USA has an economy that produces 14 trillion dollars of wealth called GDP. 75 x 14 = 1050 trillion dollars so assuming absolutely no economic growth we will have 1050 triliion dollars so allocating 57 trillion dollars to caring for our aged citizens is about 5 % of our wealth.
This is the least we can do.
Also younger Americans need to get one misconception out of there heads. It is the assumption that they are likely to have a job after age 50-60. You cost employers money with high pay and benefits. Most employers don't think that older workers meet company work expectations and as sales or customer oriented employees they don't project the image of a vigorous up to date company. Lastly, healthcare is a problem since insurers don't want clients who are over age 50. Employers understand this and eliminate such employees.
Boy oh boy...where do I start.
That was the most simplistic, and unrealistic, explanation I've ever heard. Do you truly believe that multiplying $14 trillion X 75 years is the magical answer and all our problems are solved?
First of all, Medicare will be bankrupt in 2019, several years earlier than the previous estimate. This figure does NOT include the prescription drug benefit, which will contribute trillions more. Furthermore, Medicare is expected to consume 24 percent of all federal income taxes by 2019 and 51 percent of all federal income taxes by 2042. Notice neither of those span "75 years," as you so eloquently put it, nor does it include Social Security.
Consider this:
- By 2020, the combined deficits in these programs will consume more than one-fourth of all federal income taxes.
- By 2030, about the midpoint of the baby boomer retirement years, deficits in the two programs will consume more than half of all federal incomes taxes.
- By 2050, when today's college students will reach retirement age, Social Security and Medicare will require more than three- fourths of all income taxes just to pay benefits currently promised.
So, without massive economic growth and an increase in the amount of taxes collected, you can see that this argument is not as "rediculous" as you think it is. But hell, don't take my word for it. The link below lays it out pretty clearly and is based off of government reports. I respectfully disagree with you that 75 years X $14 trillion in output is the answer to our financial woes.
Please do alittle more research and go back to Carter and then Clinton days....try reading about the Community Reinvestment Act and I think you will have a better idea of what really brought this on. Also, read about how the ACORN workers were intimidating CEO's to lend money to unqualified people. They followed them home!
I'm not saying Wall Street didn't play along but remember our Goverment made the lenders lend to unqualified people and now look where we are.
Let's see, between Carter and Clinton, who was in the White House?
Or are you saying that Regan and George H.W. Bush had no negative effect on the economy?
Not in New York. Taxes are high and real estate prices are falling. Many are upside down in their homes because of home equity loans and many teachers lost a great deal in the market.
Then perhaps they should relocate to where the jobs are.
That was the most simplistic, and unrealistic, explanation I've ever heard. Do you truly believe that multiplying $14 trillion X 75 years is the magical answer and all our problems are solved?
First of all, Medicare will be bankrupt in 2019, several years earlier than the previous estimate. This figure does NOT include the prescription drug benefit, which will contribute trillions more. Furthermore, Medicare is expected to consume 24 percent of all federal income taxes by 2019 and 51 percent of all federal income taxes by 2042. Notice neither of those span "75 years," as you so eloquently put it, nor does it include Social Security.
Consider this:
- By 2020, the combined deficits in these programs will consume more than one-fourth of all federal income taxes.
- By 2030, about the midpoint of the baby boomer retirement years, deficits in the two programs will consume more than half of all federal incomes taxes.
- By 2050, when today's college students will reach retirement age, Social Security and Medicare will require more than three- fourths of all income taxes just to pay benefits currently promised.
So, without massive economic growth and an increase in the amount of taxes collected, you can see that this argument is not as "rediculous" as you think it is. But hell, don't take my word for it. The link below lays it out pretty clearly and is based off of government reports. I respectfully disagree with you that 75 years X $14 trillion in output is the answer to our financial woes.
excellent article! this is certainly a sobering paragraph
To put it another way, the total unfunded indebtedness of Social Security and Medicare comes to $106.4 trillion. That is how much larger the nation's capital stock would have to be today, all of it owned by the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, to generate enough income to pay all the benefits that have been promised over and above future payroll taxes. But the nation's total private net worth is only $51.5 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. In effect, we have promised the elderly benefits equal to more than twice the nation's total wealth on top of the payroll tax.
In the next 20 years there will be enough seniors like me to VOTE our Social Security, Medicare and Assisted Living benefits regardless of how much it stifles the CEO's on the go. IMHO we could just give up our costly Imperial pretentions and save enough tax money to pay retirement benefits and still have a decent country.
When one looks at the numbers presented in this thread, it tends to give credence to all that tin foil "depopulation" mumbo jumbo out there. Not saying I believe it, but a good pandemic or world war might go a long way to setting some of those numbers strait. The numbers are so skewed, it does suggest that the population "itself" is no longer sustainable..........
Actually a pandemic would be the best way, the only expense is in getting rid of the bodies, instead of paying for weapons, and replacing destroyed infrastructure....Just sayin'
and many will be wrong....there is a guy..cant remember his name, called that this current mess in 2007 and said that things will be fine by end of this year...he has never been wrong...ill try to find his name and who he works for.
Did you find the name?
I read Peter Schiff's How to Survive the Coming Economic Collapse (or maybe it's called "How to profit from..." about six months before the collapse happened. He certainly called it correctly, but I didn't think it would be that soon.
I don't doubt that what the op describes could happen in the very next few months. Perhaps in September, maybe a bit later, but why not be prudent and prepare?
There is a lot that will go down the tubes before we can find a way to grab hold of something and slow the slide, if we even can do that. I tend to be an optimistic person, but when things feel out of control on such a large scale as what's being done to America, then it's difficult to be optimistic.
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