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I'm not familiar with the exact definition of socialism but people usually refer to universal health care as socialism so...How about medicare, do you consider that socialism? Subsidizing old peoples health care who can't afford it.
You are right up to a point but I pay about 1/10th of my monthly SS money into Medicare. Of course, I do collect from each of them but I started paying to SS when I was 12 and that was 65 years ago and I still pay into it for my little janitorial job in a bank.
Socialism is taking from those who have and giving to those who do not have so it is ok to define either of those thing as socialism but I really think that when you are paying into them after all those years it is not really socialism.
The worst form of socialism, communism, tries to achieve social fairness by following Marxs idea of from each according to his ability to each according to his need.
I can tell you some stories about the biggest communist experiment that went on for 70 years in the Soviet Union that would curl your toes.
Well shoot me now because I am getting real close to collecting both. I've paid into them since I was 15 years old and I deserve my money. Ideally, I would like what Happy Texan said. Give me my money back now and I will be happy.
Does it suck for the generations behind me? Oh yeah big time. You are getting screwed. But don't blame the ones collecting SS and Medicare, blame the government for the way they have mishandled both those funds.
They should have been set up as sacrosanct trusts never to be used for anything other than the people that paid into them. But nooo. The government kept taking money from it.
And yes, we did plan for retirement aside from relying on SS. But damn those pesky illnessess that suck the money right away from you.
I grew up with the old American Dream. Work hard, save, retire, get your SS and medicare and move to Florida. Well there ain't no dream. And if I didn't know that for sure, I can look at my friend who worked for one company for 30 years and was in their pension fund. A couple of months before her retirement, bang, the market collapesed and so did her retirement fund. Sucks big time belive me.
The advantage the following generations have is they know it isn't going to be around and they know not to trust their retirement funds so they are ahead of the game.
Welfare and Medicaid should be long gone. That comes from our taxes, not what was paid into them by having someone suck money from your paycheck every two weeks.
The Boomer generation is the largest and there should have been more than enough money from what we put in to cover our benefits.
Another in the long line of brilliant moves by our wonderful government.
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I have said this too many times on this thread but the Congress took over $3 trillion from us and spent most of it on pork. When SS was originated it was planned that the annual surplus would be put in a trust fund, but what politician can look at all that money just lying there without wanting to spend it? They owe us $3 trillion.
Healthy ones have always paid for the sick. Any insurance works that way. Otherwise you might as well start paying the premiums when you start using them. Auto insurance, for example. Do people with clean driving records not pay? And when someone has an accident and cost is in tens of thousands, where do you think the money came from?
With health care, one surgery has the potential of costing as much as lifetime contribution from the person. Medicare is mandatory, because that is the only way payments can be sustained for the riskiest pool of the populace. That, and being administered by the government makes it a socialized system.
In fact, an expanded medicare system by taking out the qualifying age requirement would make it a single payer health care system, something you would call socialistic. Won't you?
Omigod are the Dems planning to take away that age requirment? Some of them would, if they could though.
Omigod are the Dems planning to take away that age requirment? Some of them would, if they could though.
I would prefer that, so I don't keep paying for others (like you) now and hope I will have the coverage 35 years down the road. But, you've got to admit... simply posting an age requirement doesn't transform a system from being socialistic to capitalistic.
I would prefer that, so I don't keep paying for others (like you) now and hope I will have the coverage 35 years down the road. But, you've got to admit... simply posting an age requirement doesn't transform a system from being socialistic to capitalistic.
I understand but why do you want me to have paid for over 60 years and still paying not be able to get any of what had been promised me at the beginning of that 60 years?
Do you have any idea what Bush proposed in 2005 that the Dems filibustered before it even got to the Senate floor. Most Bush haters never did know what he was proposing, they just didn't want the nasty Republicans to clean up the mess that was SS since it was their only long standing child along with Roe v. Wade.
I was able to "opt out" of both socialist programs a very long time ago - as a result, I can NEVER get benefits from either program. Nor have I "contributed" to either program.
Medicaid, on the other hand, is socialism. Take from those that have ($$) and give to those that don't.
Isn't that a forced redistribution of wealth ?
How true. I owe you rep. It was to soon!!!
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