I Earned These Entitlements

Redding Record Searchlight ^ | August 29, 2011 | John Cleckner

[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.

[sten]

people that paid into social security are due some amount back that is more then a pittance.

i’ve paid in over $250k. if i get anything, it’ll probably be less then $20k/yr. i would have to live to about 77 to get 1 for 1 out. odds of that are pretty low. and that’s not getting into the interest on a 45 year investment.

the problem is the government stole the contributions, thanks to LBJ, and gave it to their political allies

meanwhile, the same politicians and government types get massive pension payouts every year

[Prokopton]

the answer is "the government," as if the government is some person with a big bank account who can dole this money out without taking it from someone else.

The government was supposed to have a "big bank account" called a trust fund, with the money the citizens paid in. That corrupt politicians raided the trust fund and took all of the money is not the fault of those who paid it in the first place. These people were only expecting a return on the money they thought they had invested into SS, they were not relying on the government "taking it from someone else".

I'm getting a little sick of hard working, tax paying, citizens being blamed for government corruption.

[WayneS]

Note below that some are free and some are not!

Wrong! NONE of them are 'free'.

[CSM]

“My wife and I paid into Social Security all of our lives.”

I have done the same, however I am smart enough to realize that my payments were not an investment for my retirement, instead it was a payment to those that were receiving SSIP payments over those years. There is no “protected investment” that I am paying into. Instead, it is a payment to the generation of folks that are currently drawing payments.....

SSIP is not an “earned” entitlement as this author defines them. That said, his point about VA benefits and military retirement are spot on. Those are EARNED federal benefits, not entitlements.

[sten]

people are not on board with ‘contracts’ agreed to by corrupt politicians in exchange for votes.

we’re the ones expected to pay for these contracts. excuse me? why would i ever do that??

[MizSterious]

You’re calling me a parasite? I worked since I was 15 (really, since I was eleven, babysitting off the books back then), and didn’t retire until I was into my sixties. That’s a parasite? I think the true definition of a parasite is someone who comes along and wants to re-write contracts (not speaking of social security here, that’s another issue) and take the retirement money to use for something else. No doubt something important, like another shopping trip for Michelle Obama.

[KeyLargo]

Medicare Solvency: How to Get There

By Paul Winfree
August 9, 2011

Medicare Financing: The Basics

The traditional Medicare program is made up of three parts: (1) hospital insurance (Part A) for hospital inpatient procedures; (2) supplemental medical insurance (Part B) for doctor’s visits and outpatient procedures; and (3) prescription drug coverage (Part D). Medicare beneficiaries also have the option of buying subsidized private insurance (Part C) to replace the services covered by Parts A and B.[6]

The expenses incurred by Part A beneficiaries are paid by a 2.9 percent tax on wages and salaries of people currently working.[7] For those who have worked and paid payroll taxes for at least 10 years (or had a spouse who did so) there are no premiums for Part A. Many seniors view the taxes paid during their working life as “pre-funding” their hospital insurance. In reality, many seniors collect much more in Medicare benefits than they pay in Medicare taxes. A two-income couple—both earning average wages throughout their lifetimes—can expect to collect 3.2 times as much in Medicare benefits as they paid in taxes.[8]

Unlike Part A, Parts B and D are funded primarily through premiums paid by beneficiaries, and from the general revenues of the Treasury (income taxes, etc.).[9] For instance, just over 25 percent of Part B’s expenditures are covered by premiums. The remainder is almost entirely funded by transfers from the general revenues (that is, government debt or income tax revenue).

Each part of Medicare operates with a trust fund, though it is entirely an accounting exercise rather than an actual account accumulating income to pay to beneficiaries at a future date. In the past, Part A has brought in more revenue from the Medicare tax than has been paid out in benefits in a given year. This trend has reversed, though, as Medicare spending per beneficiary has increased and the population has aged. In fact, Part A benefits paid out have exceeded and will continue to exceed income for the foreseeable future. As Medicare outlays exceed income, Part A draws down on the balance of the trust fund to cover the difference. By 2024, Part A is projected to be permanently in deficit.....

Read more at:

http://origin.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/08/medicare-solvency-how-to-get-there

[sten]

How many years have you paid into the system? Have you always paid at the top of the wage cap? Are you including both your and your employer's contribution?

yes. 25+ years. capped each year, except 3 between 21 and 24. i am self employed.

i'm expected to receive barely anything.

yet i'm also expected to pay government/public pensions that didn't benefit me or mine in the least.

the CA life guard receiving $210k/yr really drives me batsh*t.

[GladesGuru]

“Idiot. They get pensions because there is a contract that agrees to pay pensions. It’s astounding to me that anyone here is ready to ignore contracts. That goes against not only honor and law, but a lot of conservative principles that helped make this country great. Once we can ignore contracts, order ceases to exist.”

“Once we can ignore contracts, order ceases to exist.” - is true, but once the gooberment which contracted to pay that pension goes bankrupt, under contract law, the pension liability is either gone or negotiable.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I'm getting a little sick of hard working, tax paying, citizens being blamed for government corruption.

I understand your frustration. And let me be clear--I'm not saying seniors are greedy or asking for welfare. Social Security is not welfare and no one should suggest it is. But Social Security has turned out to be just like any other tax you paid. You paid in a lot of money in tax and there is no asset there to pay you back. Typical Welfare State government. A Ponzi scheme. The reality is that there is no money.

So the question is what do we do? Everyone has to "pay" for this mess. Seniors who are about to retire have less of an ability to pay than people in their prime earning years so the answer isn't to simply cut Social Security. However, its not fair to say the entire burden should fall on young people who are in trouble anyway because of the mountain of debt we middle aged and older people have built up. So we have to patch something together--raise the retirement age, means test, cut spending for future generations. That is the answer.

[Crazy ole coot]

Mr. obama has already made all contracts null and void. Remember the take over of the auto industry where he void the shareholders and investors contracts so the unions could profit?

[MizSterious]

You make a lot of assumptions that are simply wrong. But if it makes you feel better to tell yourself that there must have been corruption involved while you rob someone’s retirement, well, I guess that’s your thing. But I see you for what you are. A thief. You’re not better than the ‘Rats and unions who twist things until the ends justify the means. Disgusting.

[WayneS]

There are few evils more pernicious than intergenerational debt.

Our founding fathers knew this to be true:

"There is not a more important and fundamental principle in legislation, than that the ways and means ought always to face the public engagements; that our appropriations should ever go hand in hand with our promises. To say that the United States should be answerable for twenty-five millions of dollars without knowing whether the ways and means can be provided, and without knowing whether those who are to succeed us will think with us on the subject, would be rash and unjustifiable. Sir, in my opinion, it would be hazarding the public faith in a manner contrary to every idea of prudence."

-- James Madison

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"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt till the bulk of society is to be mere automation's of misery."

--Thomas Jefferson

[CSM]

“A government union negotiates a fully legal pension plan for its employees. The pension plan is so generous that it will totally bankrupt the whole state. Who cares??? They paid in. They’re entitled!”

I was reading my local paper’s “insert” on Sunday and it was focused on Social Security. One of the articles was talking about the benefits for those folks that are Federal employees and that will get a federal pension. It sounds like they don’t pay in, but are entitled to SSIP, however at a smaller portion.

I can’t find a source for that, so I can’t give you specifics, however it had me steaming....

[MizSterious]

Tit? Or simply collecting what I earned?

And another question for you. If they succeed in eliminating social security (and obviously, no chance of them repaying all the money they took out of our paychecks for all those years), what’s to stop them from confiscating your 401k and other retirement benefits?

There’s a lot of evil afoot here, but a lot of people are not seeing what’s going on. Once the camel gets his nose under the tent, I think there’s going to be a lot worse to come.

[ctdonath2]

The difficulty with the terms “liberal” and “conservative” is the liberties pursued, and values conserved, keep shifting.

[MizSterious]

Do you think that every employment contract is corrupt? You are clearly wrong.

[sten]

i’m sorry... were you not paid every week/month you worked? exactly why are you ‘entitled’ to a pension? a monthly payment paid to you while you do no work. paid for by tax payers. for what?

oh yea. your continued vote for the corrupt politician/party that agreed to the contract in the first place.

i work in the real world. there are no pensions. there are investment plans... fueled by my own money and invested how i see fit. money earned by myself via sales/service/innovation. money that was part of my salary/hourly-rate that i did not spend when i received it... in order to invest it... for retirement.

people like me are expected to pay for people like you.

LOL

no

[Bean Counter]

I put 20 of the best years of my life, 17 of them at sea, into the United States Navy. When at sea, we worked whenever we were not sleeping, and believe me, when you’re launching airplanes for 16 hours, the other 8 usually get eaten up by maintenance. I gladly did my Duty, but it was upon the understanding that while I earned lousy but reasonable wages while I was on Active Duty, when I retired at 20 years I would earn a reasonable pension for the rest of my life.

Do I feel entitled to that money? You damn betcha. But suddenly it has become faddish to discuss my retirement “benefits” along with true welfare, foodstamps, Medicare, Medicaide, Social Security and even SSDI.

It makes me damned nervous because I don’t trust the crew in DC who makes decisions on these issues any further than I can throw any of them. I figure it is probably inevitable that my pension will eventually take a major hit while we continue to pay Congress Critters (and many others) ten or twelve times more money than I’ll ever hope to see, and while my taxes continue to pay for Mooshelle to take world wide jaunts...

[youngidiot]

agreed.... I am sick and tired of people calling me greedy for wanting nothing more than what I paid into socialist security...to date I have paid over 350,000.00 DOLLARS into the system...that is not rubles, or pesos...that is 350K of U.S. dollars....if some greedy ass, get reelected at all costs politican spent it, that is not my problem...I am not greedy, it’s the damn politicans that are...lets put the blame where it belongs...

That $350K you paid in has been long gone. It was gone as soon as you sent it in. It was used to pay people who were on SS while you were working. And the beat goes on. Not your fault, for sure. But the idea that the money was in an account or something like that and was "raided" or "spent" by politicians is nonsense. SS doesn't work because it's a pyramid scheme. Always has been. Again, that's not your fault. But eventually they're going to have to come clean. And we the tax payers will be the ones getting screwed.