These “generational” arguments against SS/Medicare used to make my head explode. Now they just amuse me.
Let me say first, I don’t agree with SS, Medicare or Obamacare. None of this should have ever been done in the first place. But they were enacted..with forced participation. So if one pays into these programs by law, yes they should get the benefits.
Will any of these programs be repealed? Probably not. It really isn’t a matter of “what about me and mine”. It is a matter of misguided law. There has been reform equitable to all placed on the table in the past.. the legislators won’t touch it. I place a lot of the blame on media misinformation.
As far as the pay-in vs pay out meme..That is how these programs were sold to the public. Had they been handled correctly, there would not be a problem today. They weren’t. Medicare (and SS) is not welfare. It is an insurance policy. I didn’t apply for the policy, but I darn sure have to pay for it. Much like a private health care policy, the premiums paid seldom equal the cost of one catastrophic illness. Is Medicare rife with fraud..you bet. This should be addressed if the program continues to exist..which it will unless OCare kills it.
I think a lot of folks forget that noone “chose” to particpate in these programs. It was not a voluntary program...unlike today when people are forced to contribute. /s We aren’t talking about some Madoff scheme. We are talking about the Federal Government.
As far as “means testing”...the rich already are penalized for their wealth in Medicare. In what other industry would this be allowed? IMHO, if the tax was paid..they are entitled to the benefit. I don’t subscibe to the Barry Obama method of “spreading the wealth”. And, no, I’m not rich. My thoughts are made in the interest of fairness. If the wealthy can self-insure and provide for their own retirement, they should have the ability to opt out of either program.
As already stated on this thread..return my confiscated deductions with interest...and I’ll shut up and go away. I’ll take care of my kids and parents...you take care of yours.
Listen, I know seeing your neighbor hauled off in the middle of the night for non-compliance, never to be seen again, can make even the most stalwart believer have his doubts, but where does THAT leave us NOW?
First, these are not ‘programs’, these are taxes. Means testing is just a way to screw over those that do well in life; which, to me, is worse than failing to pay out if one dies before collecting. But the Ponzi output is still the same.
Lastly, they are and were Unconstitutional, regardless of how they were begun. Sport, but you got screwed, you have no moral authority to indebt future generations just to ‘get what’s mine’