Posted on 08/29/2011 7:22:55 AM PDT by Poundstone
I earned these 'entitlements'
I believe that most citizens do not understand what a federal entitlement program is. There are earned entitlements versus a special government entitlement that is given to an individual who needs assistance that is mandated by law.
What is a government entitlement? Note below that some are free and some are not! Why the government is lumping these programs together is beyond me: Only Congress would think this was a proper thing to do. How can a program like military retirement be linked with food stamps? The programs I am associated with should never be diminished by the federal government because they are either paid for by me and my wife or I have earned them. Most citizens believe all the federal entitlements are giveaway social programs and that is not true.
(Excerpt) Read more at redding.com ...
“....and that includes things like military pensions. We simply can’t afford for people to retire when they’re 38, and live off with a full set of government provided benefits...”
I’d argue with you there. A military life is extremely difficult for the member and his/her family. That 20 years is probably more like 30 years of wear and tear. I only spent about 4 yrs active and then 5 in the reserves and I can say that had I actually made it to retirement, it would have been a very long and difficult road. That was during peacetime, I can’t even imagine the toll it takes on today’s soldiers.....
Not that it’s any of your stinkin’ business, but no, SS is not my entire retirement. However, I did pay my money into it, and I should get it back.
Reading your posts, it’s abundantly clear that you’re all for taking money from others to feed some cause of your own. Good old wealth redistribution at its finest. Obama will be proud of you.
Government lying to the people is not new.
I earned the money. If you don’t want to pay SS, pay me back in full for what was ripped out of my paychecks.
Where is your honor? I think most here have none.
Most liberals think that military retirement is a give-away program like a form of welfare. I was at a party with a friend in Austin Texas and got ambushed by a bunch of liberals who scolded me for being a military retiree who was "living off the government".
“For your information, social security was an investment of my own money”
No it wasn’t, just like my SSIP confiscated money is not an investment today. Instead, it is a governmentally confiscated tax that is used to pay the current recipients right now. In your case it was confiscated to pay for the recipients that existed while you worked.
The fact that you got fooled, shows the success of the collectivist culture that has been getting pushed for decades.
Chrysler bond holders.
1) Liberals who don't understand economics and who think that bad people should pay taxes so that good people can have comfortable retirements.
2) Conservatives who believe the government is bankrupt and has no money but who know they paid into the system for decades and who feel outrage at the thought that they won't get paid what they are owed from the pile of money which they understand is not there.
3) Conservatives who believe the government is bankrupt and has no money and who don't understand how anyone can expect to be paid from the pile of money which they understand is not there.
Two of these three groups are not living in reality.
Technically incorrect. Ida May Fuller (who you're referring to) was the first recipient of monthly SS checks.
Ernest Ackerman was the first recipient of SS (when it issued lump-sum payments) and he got a whopping $0.17 after having paid in $0.05.
From the start it was a ridiculous system.
See First Payments
“Instead, it is a payment to the generation of folks that are currently drawing payments.....”
Well said. My dad calls me every month to thank me for his social security check (he recently found out how much I put into SS each month and was flabbergasted).
The one thing I have a hard time with, though, is those that don’t have to put anything into Social Security (because they ostensibly won’t get any when they get to retirement age). I have a cousin who’s a teacher, and I recently found out he doesn’t have to pay a penny towards SS.
I figure we have about an equal chance of ever seeing a dime of social security (him because he’s never paid in, and me because I’m young enough that I realize there’s no way I can count on getting any of my contributions back).
So I’m paying hundreds of dollars a month to carry those folks who are currently on social security and my cousin isn’t (he gets those hundreds of dollars to spend or invest as he sees fit). If I dwell on how unfair that is, I get sick to my stomach. So I’ll stop now...
As always, just like our present "leaders", a lot of the support for the most corrupt politicians came from non-working, non-taxpaying citizens. Now, less than 40% of the workforce pays federal income tax.
“Once upon a time, and mind you, I AM older than dirt, a person’s word was golden.”
You might have thought that, but the very people that were selling you the social security snake oil were buying votes with it. You were just fooled into thinking that their word was golden.
“Honor was something of value, too, and most of us would have rather starved than ever take welfare, which was considered a disgrace and proof of failure to support oneself.”
This shows that now that you are on the federal dole, you have completely changed their mind. SSIP is nothing but a different name for a welfare system. Now you are fighting to continue taking something that would have shamed you a few short years ago.
It is actually rather sad that the feds have wipped you under control.....just imagine what they can do to the younger generations under the guise of health care.
“Now along come the boomers or whatever they call them, and the next thing you know they’re like a bunch of vultures hovering over the elderly, waiting to pick our bones dry, and worse, carping at us because we use up too many resources by living.”
You sure are stretching things now.....no one here is advocating “picking your bones dry” in this discussion. All we are asking is that you admit to being on welfare and that you did not make any investments. We have already realized that SSIP is most likely to go belly up before many of us would receive any money from our kids and grandkids, so we are planning to be able to survive without it.
It’s rather sad to see a FReeper defending his/her dependence on the federal government....and it is a good lesson for all of us.
I spent a little over ten years in during the GWOT era, spent plenty of time downrange, and when it got time to look at reupping, I thought about my retirement. My actual one, not the government one. I got out and became a contractor.
I could (and did) make more for my own retirement in the private sector, even though my peers argued that military retirement is a sure thing, safe bet. I told them back then that the way our country was heading, their retirements would be pushed back to 65 or slashed in size. There's nothing mysterious about it. America's heading to financial ruin, the voters aren't going to fall on their swords to keep niche entitlements going, even in patriotic niches. That's not how humanity operates.
Well, now the military retirement system is suddenly up on the negotiating block, and a lot of my peers are in a panic. But, all that means is the next generation of Soldiers will be promised less, and receive less, and the people that don't like it will simply go do something else.
And when I grow up, I wanna be just like you.......
“However, I did pay my money into it, and I should get it back.
Reading your posts, it’s abundantly clear that you’re all for taking money from others to feed some cause of your own. Good old wealth redistribution at its finest. Obama will be proud of you.”
I find it comical when someone so clearly projects.....
You’re a sick individual. No ethics, no morals, just rip ‘em all off, the more the merrier. According you, what’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is yours. And all with a hearty “Too bad for you suckers who did the right thing all your lives” as you go.
Where is your honor? I think most here have none.
You talk about "honor" but the things you say are utterly stupid at best.
The money taken from your paychecks was spent at the same time you were earning it. It is gone.
You need to stop demanding that other people give you money for no reason or people are going to start thinking that you are some sort of nasty, grubby commie.
“As always, just like our present “leaders”, “
I agree and will continue to work very hard to make a difference. I hope for success, but do realize that in 30 years you can blame me for not yet seeing the success of that work.
You sound like a broken record. I guess I have to answer like one. Collecting social security that I paid is not the same as collecting welfare. If these monthly checks are such a pain, just give me back what I paid into it. That would suit me fine. I never wanted to have it taken out in the first place.
In short, I see a lot of people trying to have a reasoned discussion about a difficult and important topic. And in ever case, your response is very simple and straightforward:
"Gimme! I am owed!"
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