This about says it all:
I think it’s time to acknowledge what we are increasingly learning: the base of the GOP – aided and abetted by what’s left of their elites – want a religious war abroad and at home not on Jihadism, but on Islam itself. And a vote for the GOP is a vote for this agenda. It is a vote for global warfare and domestic division.
I am surprised that people are just now starting to see how corrosive christian beliefs are for the U.S and how dangerous they are for the rest of the world.
I worry more about the Church of Bigger Government.
But you don’t have to accept government on faith, you can see actual results; like how well social security has worked over the years, at least I consider the lack of people in bread lines a success.
Social Security did not stop the breadlines.
I actually really like the food stamps program, and more than 10% of the country is on it. It is sustainable, unlike Soc Sec. There is a big difference with 40 workers paying in for every retiree collecting. There is a big difference between a life expectancy of 64 and of 79, when eligibility is pegged to 65. The program is bankrupt, like Sammy Sosa’s HR record.
so as long as social security is solvent you don’t have a problem with it?
yes, just like we want sustainable environmental practices and energy policies, we should want sustainable social contracts, right? soc sec is a ponzi scheme.
once you take medicare out of social security it is quite sustainable. And if they would remove the income cap it would probably be fine with medicare as well.
my impression is a lot of conservatives dislike social security because it gives older people some indepndance so they don’t have to depend on church charities.
maybe what we could do is stop subsidizing churches and use the additional revenue to fund social programs that work like medicare and social security.
no, soc sec has changed drastically since FDR. Carter pushed through the inflation indexing I actually don’t think that is so bad. It is the indexing of the ratio of collectors to payers that is the problem. To go from 40 payers to 1 beneficiary to 3-to-1 today, and 2-to-1 once the boomers of the 60s start collecting is what makes it completely unsustainable (ignoring medicare).
I’ve actually met one of the leading experts on soc sec, Kent Smetters. You might want to check out his publications:
http://www.nber.org/authors/kent_smetters
I will check out the link, but my initial reaction is that if you are really worried about not having enough worker immigration is a quick fix for that
how many workers do we need to sustain the baby boomers? how many will have jobs? how many will have enough income to pay FICA? we are talking about more than 50 million retirees. the math ain’t that hard. i’m not sure you are doing it yet.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) called on President Obama to fire former Senator Alan Simpson from his position as Co-Chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in light of Simpson’s recent remarks regarding Social Security. Nadler issued the following statement:
“We cannot trust the integrity of any product or recommendations of the Commission as long as former Senator Simpson is the Chairman. His insulting and outrageous comments reveal his own mistaken belief that Social Security is a) in crisis, b) about to collapse, and c) contributes to the deficit. None of this is true. In fact, the Social Security Trust Fund has a $2.5 trillion dollar surplus, and it will be able to pay 100 percent of benefits through 2037, according to the Social Security Board of Trustees. What’s more, Social Security has not contributed at all to the federal deficit. It is well known that Simpson has tried time and again over the years to raise the retirement age and cut Social Security benefits, and he makes no attempt to disguise his goals and attitude toward Social Security in his most recent comments.
“Furthermore, Simpson demonstrated a total disrespect for women and an unjustifiably contemptuous attitude toward Ashley Carson, Executive Director of the Older Women’s League. His comments were offensive, ignorant, and misleading, and he should be fired immediately.”
Seems like 2037 gets us through the baby boomers