Posted on 10/11/2010 9:17:11 PM PDT by jazusamo
Not only is his message good, but Johnson communicated much more clearly in the 2nd debate and knocked the ball out of the park.
Not knowing a thing of WI politics but from what I’ve read it does look like Johnson can send Feingold out the door, sure hope it happens.
When Bush talked about privatizing SS, some people said: "Oh, I don't want the responsibility of managing my retirement." Man, if I were given the choice, I'd have done it in a heartbeat.
I did some calculations based on an average interest rate of only 4% (remember the 21% prime rate when Jimma was President?). Compounding a "half-balance" of my SS fund at 4% for 46 years would have given me almost $1.7 million. At the rate that I am being paid right now, I need to live to 142 to break even...probably not going to happen. Also, If I had the $1.7 million and got 4% on it now, I'd be collecting $68,000/year and never touch the $1.7 million. That's almost triple what I get from SS. And if you think you can't find a 4% yield, I've got several stocks paying dividends over 10% (e.g., WHX).
Well said and I’ll never forget when Jimma was President, we had to sell our home and it wasn’t pretty.
Several years ago I made an Excel spreadsheet that would calculate the amount of money I would have if I had placed my SS payments into some type of investment, and I also used 4% interest.
I was lazy and used that stupid letter from SS that shows how much I have paid every year since I started working.
I would have had just under $2.5 million as of today! SS brags if I wait until I am 65 or 70 they will send me monthly checks for $2000, about one fifth of what I could be drawing today and I could retire now and enjoy the rest of my truncated (Obamacare early death sentence) life.
"Tell us--if investing in the stock market is 'too risky'--why Federal employess--you included--can enroll in the Thrift Savings Plan, which allows its members to invest in the stock market?"
Not one Pubbie candidate has EVER--to my knowledge--mentioned TSP, but it would make any Dem Congress critter squirm trying to explain why they rant and rave about "privatizing Social Security" when they have their own private TSP accounts, many of them invested heavily in the stock market. And those accounts--over a relatively short period of time--can earn a nice little nest egg!
Feingold was clearly smoother and more glib-- and his arguments may have sounded more plausible to those unfamiliar with the facts. But what Ron Johnson said would have resonated better with those who did know the facts. How many people are in which category may determine the outcome of this election.(And please add me to the WI ping list, if you would)
It’s sickening, isn’t it.
It really is considering so many of those years investments were accruing 10 to 15 percent (and more) and I/we could have been extremely well off, even with the crashes.
Bump
I can't help but wonder what our society and economy would be like with all that SS money invested and put to work, instead of being given to congress to spread around.
Several years ago I made an Excel spreadsheet that would calculate the amount of money I would have if I had placed my SS payments into some type of investment, and I also used 4% interest.I did some calculations based on an average interest rate of only 4% (remember the 21% prime rate when Jimma was President?). Compounding a "half-balance" of my SS fund at 4% for 46 years would have given me almost $1.7 million.At the rate that I am being paid right now, I need to live to 142 to break even...probably not going to happen. Also, If I had the $1.7 million and got 4% on it now, I'd be collecting $68,000/year and never touch the $1.7 million. That's almost triple what I get from SS. And if you think you can't find a 4% yield, I've got several stocks paying dividends over 10% (e.g., WHX).
6 posted on October 12, 2010 12:41:14 AM EDT by econjack
I was lazy and used that stupid letter from SS that shows how much I have paid every year since I started working.
I would have had just under $2.5 million as of today! SS brags if I wait until I am 65 or 70 they will send me monthly checks for $2000, about one fifth of what I could be drawing today and I could retire now and enjoy the rest of my truncated (Obamacare early death sentence) life.
Social Security not only imposes a tax on the employee, it imposes an equal tax "on the employer." I put that in scare quotes for the simple reason that all the money, not just the "employer contribution," comes from the employer - and the burden on the employee is to earn the whole expense of his employer's cost of employing him.if you don't earn enough to cover the cost your employer has to pay to keep you on, you are on your way out the gate. So it doesn't matter whether the tax is imposed on the employer, the employee, or - as in Social Security - both. Any way you slice it, the employee has to earn it before the employer will pay it.
So if you just look at the money Social Security says you paid in, you are underestimating how much you actually bore in order to get the Social Security payments you ultimately receive.Wouldn't it be a great idea for Republican candidates to have a link on their web sites to a calculator which would do the sort of calculation that you did with your spreadsheet!
My calculations included the employer’s contribution.
That's actually a very good point. I know quite a few Dems who have invested bigtime in the stock market and other non-governmental funds. I think the anti-stock market rantings play to some of the Dem faithful, like my sister and her husband, who distrust the stocks. They have no money in the stock market. And my sister admits she'll be working far into her sixties. I think the two are connected.
I did not use the employers portion for my 20 years military service but I used it for after I retired. I had my own company and paid those taxes myself.
On top of that, the employee’s portion is capped at certain income levels but the employer side is not capped. The employer pays SS on every penny their employee earns and I made sure my calculation included it because I was making quite a bit more than the cap amount and had to pay both sides of the SS payment to our wonderful government.
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