Posted on 06/25/2011 2:29:24 PM PDT by MontaniSemperLiberi
SS is running a deficit right now and has been for the past few years. If the SS trust fund had been filled with gold or foreign bonds, then we could have traded them for the goods that the elderly want now. Instead we filled them with US government bonds. The dollars required to cash in those US bonds will either be financed by more deficits or taxes.
Medicare is running a deficit right now and has been since 2007.
Defense spending has increased 44% since 2006.
If this economy ever recovers or inflation kids in, interest payments on the debt will explode.
There are a lot of people on FR who think that we can save this country without making significant cuts in SS, Medicare and Defense.
I’m not worried that Liberal voters don’t want to make the required cuts. I am worried that Conservative voters don’t want to.
Why wait.
Crash the trains now and be done with it.
Gotta start somewhere. Might as well be right here, and right now.
Crash ‘em.
SS and Medicare are running deficits now.
The Five Stages of Grief
1) Denial
2) Anger
3) Bargaining
4) Depression
5) Acceptance
I think most, even on FR, are somewhere between 1 and 3. Then again, I don’t think we hear much from those at level 4.
Do your research and you will find that they are negative. Both are running deficits right now.
Do we rip the band aid off now or wait for someone else to do it?
Count of three:
Ready, ok one... tw (OUCH!)
I say freeze the debt ceiling here, and let’s get this started.
While we’re at it, import tariffs too. Big ones.
We need to really hit the reset button, there quite literally is no way to avoid it. None, whatsoever.
Now is as good as later.
It’s all explained in the following lyrics:
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
I recall recent testimony from a Medicare trustee. It will actually default and end in 1223 because it is exclusively funded by its Trust Fund and that fund will be empty. The law does not allow borrowing money from elsewhere.
Dems want to tie retirees to a locked in failure.
Because SS is a ponzie scheme it will just pull from general revenue and increase debt.
Bingo.
2023?
I recall recent testimony from a Medicare trustee. It will actually default and end in 1223 because it is exclusively funded by its Trust Fund and that fund will be empty. The law does not allow borrowing money from elsewhere.
Dems want to tie retirees to a locked in failure.
Because SS is a ponzie scheme it will just pull from general revenue and increase debt.
You miss the point of the original post. Everyone knows that with the surge of “baby-boomers” taking SS retirement benefits, and medicare, the system is threatened at the current level of medicare and SS taxation. If, in this down economy, SS actually nuns a deficit this year, who am I to argue with a writer for NPR? Hadn’t heard any big reports being made by the trustees about that. Likewise we all know of the trust fund accounting with the IOU’s and all. The point is, the politicians want to take discretionary spending, defense spending, and entitlement spending, mix them all up, decide without any input from the people on how we would want this money distributed. In this way, they get to do a complete makeover, hide their past bonehead decisions and skulduggery, come up with a NEW New Deal, and shove it down our throats.
“...You miss the point of the original post...”
-
Your original post (#4) had no point; and #34 didn’t either.
OK, this is 2011, so we have 12 years during which we fix the medicare system by which we provide health care to the elderly. If we do run negative on SS benefits, we can fix that for, say the next 12 years by a combination of means-testing, slight raise in age to obtain benefits, raising maximum income subject to the payroll tax, and 1% or 2% hike to payroll tax. Then we do not get voted out of office by the hordes of furious voters for coming after peoples medicare and SS benefits, like it appears Paul Ryan wants to happen. Ergo, we clearly show how bloated the rest of the Federal Government really is and cut THAT spending, thus drastically downsizing the Federal Government and freeing the people.
Sure it did. You njust can’t wrap your mind around a real solution that saves Medicare and Social Security.
They are unsustainable, unconstitutional, illogical, and they can not be “saved”.
Wrap your mind around that.
I don’t think we have 12 years.
Most people think that default become inevitable when the (privately held) Debt to GDP ratio gets greater than 90% to 120%. We are at (about) 66% now and running deficits of about 11% of GDP. This leaves us three to six years to straighten up.
A growing economy pushes that out a bit BUT we would need to grow faster than China to successfully avoid default without making significant cuts to SS, Medicare and Defense.
Then reduce the size of Government. Start by combining each department with another. Eliminate the heads of these agencies (50% reduction). Eliminate staff, cut benefits, and freeze or reduce salaries. This is what private enterprise has to do when they have financial trouble.
Cut congressional staff and salaries wages and benefits. No special retirement for Congresscritters - let them depend on Social Security too. Betcha they can “fix” it then.
By attacking entitlements first, they are handing the advantage back to the Democrats.
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