Posted on 10/07/2016 9:13:21 AM PDT by Eric Pode of Croydon
Few if any candidates for federal office will tell you that as a consequence of current federal law, young Americans are being screwed in two life-changing ways.
First, under current law, every Social Security beneficiary under the age of 48 will have their promised benefits cut by a third. And second, every young person who works is contributing between $10,000 and $20,000 to the health care and retirement of those lucky Americans who are already drawing benefits under federal law.
In some ways the second screwing is worse than the first. Young workers do not have the defined benefit retirement programs commonly enjoyed by their grandparents, and if they do have health care through their jobs, their annual deductibles are probably greater than what their grandparents paid to have children and attend college.
Perhaps the media will notice that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have something very important in common: Both are on Social Security, or at least they are eligible for the old age benefit guaranteed by Social Security.
Clinton is pushing 70. Trump just passed it. Both have substantial amounts of non-employment income to supplement their Social Security benefits. Neither have any personal concern about the Social Security trustees’ report warning that the so-called trust fund for the Old Age and Survivors program will be depleted in 18 years.
Congress is in the same privileged condition. The average age of senators and House members is 62 and 57 years, respectively. They will have congressional pensions to supplement their Social Security. And thanks to the lucrative revolving door to the private sector, it is unlikely that they, like Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, will be personally impacted by the dire predictions of the report.
However, for every American under the age of 50—especially the growing numbers whose only source of retirement income will be Social Security—the trustees’ report is very bad news. The “Do Nothing Plan” supported by nearly every member of Congress and the presidential candidates contains a large cut in benefits or a comparably large increase in taxes. And every year support for the “Do Nothing Plan” is sustained, the burden on young Americans grows.
As I noted above, the “second screwing” of young Americans costs them more than $10,000 per year. And if you exclude government employees that number is almost $20,000 a year about the total average amount of college debt.
And as the growth of spending on current retirees grows, there are fewer and fewer private and public resources available for the programs young people desperately need: equity for college, child care, public education, and real long-term infrastructure that creates dependable good paying jobs. Congress and the President are robbing from our future to pay for our past.
That this is going on is not surprising to me. I know from 12 years in the United States Senate that there are two kinds of people in the U.S Congress. There are those who can count, and there are those who lose. And when it comes to elections, every candidate knows that seniors are much more likely than younger voters to show up.
Seniors are much more likely to vote for candidates who pander to them by telling them the above-mentioned truths. They may love their grandchildren, but pollsters will tell you not to count on that love translating into necessary adjustments in Social Security.
So, is all hope lost? Are we doomed to watch Congress kick this can down the road until the trust fund is depleted? Perhaps. But I offer three relatively informed pieces of advice to our relatively informed media that just might help.
First, recognize that those who support no change are actually supporting something. They are supporting the “Do Nothing Plan.” And this plan will have a real impact on future benefits and taxes.
Second, while it is worth noting that Secretary Clinton has said she is open to “raising the caps,” perhaps the media could ask our presidential and vice-presidential candidates if they feel guilty knowing that they have reached an age that makes them safe, while younger Americans—especially the middle class that is the object of their most intense concern—are going to get screwed under current law. (I was pleased to see at least that the vice-presidential candidates were asked about the trust fund at their debate.)
Third, recognize that we do not just need to fix Social Security so it is fair to all living generations. We need to agree on changes in Federal law that will ensure that all Americans have additional sources of non-employment income besides what they receive from the Federal Government.
If we do, the future of young Americans will become materially brighter. If we don’t, they will be doubly screwed.
I might not agree with him on some of the fixes, but he's completely on target when he talks about the "Do Nothing Plan".
Of course, if he were running for office instead of enjoying a comfortable retirement, he'd probably chicken out on this issue too.
With everything else that was wrong with him as a candidate, Chris Christie was the only one with the guts to take on the entitlements crisis, and I give him full credit for that.
Those of you in the "I PAID IN!! THE GOVERNMENT PROMISED ME!!" crowd, come on in here, I'll answer you.
The solution seems to be means-testing social security payouts. Plus much more stringent requirements for SSI.
If you are relying on SS for retirement you are in big trouble. I don’t even take it into account when calculating my retirement. There will be means testing and congress will be forced to choose between saving ss or saving medicare.
Hillary: It's fine. It's not broken. I'll tweak it, but it's all good.
Trump: Older citizens should get what they were promised, younger citizens should get something which is more reliable and personal for them.
It's a winner for Trump. Just keep it simple and general. Recognize the problem. Recognize that the millennials (and others) are most at risk.
And the "I PAID IN!!" crowd will freak out over means testing too.
Politics will never allow cuts or means testing. Eventually, they will increase what is taken out of payroll and that will be that.
Both positions are pure Barbra Streisand since there are no numbers to run.
It’s the Third Rail, and is metaphorically electrified.
Most candidates will not touch it, and those who do do so to their peril.
People have been saying this about social security as long as I remember. Kind of like hurricane warnings - this time we really mean it!
Until the checks just stop, no one will do anything.
Careful, the average Freeper wants you to keep your government hands off his Medicare and Social Security.
I paid for it! F%@&^ the actuarial tables, I want my Viagra!
And if you exclude government employees
Looks like he's trying to confuse the ignorant.
As I’ve said here many times, if we had as many Americans who were as worried about the taxes their kids and grandkids will have to pay as they were about getting their next government check, I’d be a lot more confident about the future.
The good news is, we probably have a couple of hundred years of gradual decay to look forward to before the inevitable collapse. But one word of warning, the health care system in the Roman Empire collapsed about a century and a half before things caved in. This seems to be repeating itself here as well.
That’s true.
But the story that Trump is trying to sell is closer to a real solution and is more believable to an important voting block (young people).
Hillary is likely to go wonky and explain in great detail why Social Security is healthy for another 75 years or so. No one will buy that.
Yes, the real solution is going to be something pretty wonky. But at the debate, the candidate who recognizes that the problem exists will be the candidate who wins.
I would also love the word Constitution mentioned a few times also. A conservative’s secret weapon when talking to a Liberal Socialist is to use the Constitution against the socialist ideals a Democrat will verbally vomit out of their collective pieholes. Never forget .... The Constitution IS the Supreme Law of the Land!
the “Cutting Waste and Fraud Will Solve The Problem Two-Step”
the “Get Rid of Every Government Program Except The One That Benefits ME Tango”
the “Tax The Snot Out Of The Grandkids, But Keep MY Check Coming Waltz”
and that evergreen bipartisan favorite, the “Kick The Can Down The Alley Until After I’m Dead Fox Trot"!
There’s really no way to fix a financial crisis in entitlement spending in a democratic form of government, as every European country has demonstrated. The only viable solution is for the next generation of taxpayers to accelerate the collapse by figuring out a way to live their lives “off the books.”
...It’s the Third Rail, and is metaphorically electrified...
Democrats scared seniors for decades by saying Republicans would raid Medicare.
And who really did raid it? Hussein took 800 billion directly from what it was paying and applied it to the now soon to be defunct Obamacare.
The rules are ALWAYS different for Democrats.
No. It’s a loser. The debt is a loser. Deficits are a loser.
I know ALL of these are important but the simple fact is that NONE of these in any way at this moment “seems” to affect the lives of everyday people. Republicans have killed themselves over the past years trying to make the debt an issue.
Until we see 15% inflation, it will NOT be an issue.
Jobs are an issue. People can see cities deteriorate and unemployed people. Immigration and crime are issues. Muslims are an issue.
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