Posted on 08/17/2014 11:04:09 AM PDT by Lorianne
Phantom wealth cannot possibly fund unprecedented retirement and healthcare promises. The narrative that Social Security, Medicare and pension funds invested in stocks and bonds can fund the retirement of 65 million people is a misleading fantasy. The sad reality is we can't fund the enormous expense of retirement/healthcare for 20% of the populace out of our national earned income, and the savings that have been set aside are either fictitious (the Social Security Trust Fund) or based on phantom wealth created by speculative asset bubbles in stocks, bonds and real estate.
I explain the fraud of the Social Security Trust Fund in detail in The Fraud at the Heart of Social Security (January 17, 2011).
(Excerpt) Read more at oftwominds.com ...
I completely agree, but it’s all part of bringing back American jobs.
America needs more jobs. We used to have enough jobs, but now American companies have gutted their American operations (during both parties administrations), and America has become increasingly just glorified sales markets, for former American producers, to import stuff which they make cheaply in China - while exporting America’s productive capacity to a massive competitor.
Our trade deficit with China is massive. And it continues (or grows, and continues) every single year.
Worst of all - selling off American productive capacity at a very alarming rate. To of all countries, a massive communist nation which doesn’t even allow Americans to immigrate.
Enough!
Bring. Back. American. Production.
Build stuff here.
Stop selling off our own productive capacity. Stop importing everything.
Make stuff here once again.
Someone eventually is going to get support for this, and it will happen.
What I worry is, Democrats will move on this before Republicans.
If that happens, the GOP is history.
Now you know why both parties want millions of illegals to come over the border so they can put them to work and Rob them blind to pay social security before the hoi poloi get wise and come to town with the pitchforks
“And how exactly are they wrong? Or do you break contracts as it suits your fancy?”
You’re about to find out that SS is not a contract.
Still, even if it were, you can’t get money from a “trust” fund when the government spent it.
Bring. Back. American. Production. Build stuff here. Stop selling off our own productive capacity. Stop importing everything. Make stuff here once again. Someone eventually is going to get support for this, and it will happen.
Business have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. They will go to where they can get the best deal. Saying bring back American jobs is meaningless unless you provide the solution to doing that. You cannot force them to come back.
imho the phantom wealth is coming. Its coming in two ways. First the fracking revolution is currently adding 500 Billion to the USA economy. But that number will rise to 1 trillion in 2-3 years. That will go on until 2020 or so. But after that the natural gas buses trucks trains and houses will plus electric cars will kill demand and push the price of oil downward inexorably and permanently towards $30 @ barrel.
Cheap energy will lead to an explosion of wealth as it did in the 1990’s— and push revenues to the federal government by another trillion dollars a year.
It was the peak of US oil production in 1970 and the rise in oil prices that created systemic deficits. The return of low priced energy and energy indepedence will fully fund retirement and medicare.
However, Obamacare also has to go. As likely it will over the next couple of years.
“Bring. Back. American. Production.
Build stuff here.”
You have to let people make and keep money for creating productive capacity. You have to let companies hire people that they want. You have to let natural resources be exploited.
American jobs only requires government to restrain itself and its spending for an extended period of time. It requires politician that do not promise people “other peoples money”.
We are currently sending far, far too much “American” production to China.
Last year we imported from Chinese manufacturing, 440 billion dollars worth of goods.
During the same year, we only exported 122 billion dollars of American production back to China.
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2013
That is a trade deficit, just between two countries, of nearly 318 billion dollars, in just one year.
REPEATED, EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
America is running MASSIVE trade deficits. We are 17.6 trillion in debt. That debt clims every single day. Yet we continue to buy foreign-made goods in virtually unlimited supply.
Both parties have sold out America.
Both parties are to blame.
We need to bring back jobs, to America.
I would really like to see true and valid stats on how much of the government’s entitlement money goes to people who won’t work.
Which is, as several posters have suggested, why we need guest workers to pay taxes to keep social programs afloat.
If we did a hard reform of government benefits, tightening restrictions and requiring work from the able-bodied, how many now on the dole would find a way to get back in the workforce paying their own way?
I’m talking about government disability programs, Section 8, Medicaid, food stamps, etc. for anyone under retirement age. Abolish food stamps and use the money for soup and sandwich kitchens.
Tightening qualifications and requiring government work in exchange for benefits, perhaps on a sliding scale where benefits decrease gradually and work requirements increase the longer you’re on the program.
There would certainly be jobs in those soup kitchens. How much money would be saved if every unskilled government position was filled with temps who lose their benefits if they don’t show up and perform?
Show up and perform — that’s the key. Mexicans do. They work their tails off. A bunch of Americans won’t, even when the jobs are available, and it’s killing us.
Just thinking out loud.
SS is a contract. That the government broke the contract by looting the bank does not negate the fact that people deposited hundreds of thousands in the bank and rightfully expected to get it back.
“SS is a contract”
Prove it.
You can’t. It’s an entitlement funded out of current year funds and borrowing. We have reached the end of our capacity to borrow to pay this and every other entitlement.
We don’t have the money. You can argue all you want about whether it is a “contract” or whatever.
Why is that happening? And who are the "We" you are talking about?
We need to bring back jobs, to America.
We need solutions, not meaningless slogans.
We need American jobs.
America needs to stop sending away American jobs, and America needs to bring back American production.
Someone needs to step up for America.
I don’t see it right now, from anyone. Nobody. The GOP is all for sending American production to China. The democrats are all for sending American production to China.
China is all for sending American production to China.
Everyone is saying “forget making stuff in America”, send all America’s factories ... TO THE LARGEST COMMUNIST NATION IN THE HISTORY OF EARTH.
We really need, to make stuff again.
Nobody is making the first move.
Yet when you go shopping look at where (everything) you buy is from:
Most everything, is made in China.
Prove it.
You can’t. It’s an entitlement funded out of current year funds and borrowing. We have reached the end of our capacity to borrow to pay this and every other entitlement.
We don’t have the money. You can argue all you want about whether it is a “contract” or whatever.
The Supreme court in Flemming v. Nestor (1960) says it is not a contract.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/nestor.html
It happens domestically among the states. Firms are leaving CA and going to Texas for example. CA is not sending away businesses as a matter of policy. It is just making the business climate so inhospitable that companies relocate.
"Welcome to my world."
If you brought all of those jobs back to America, I have my doubts that you would be able to fill them.
The people have been so conditioned to believe they are worth more than they are that they would rather take the disability, unemployment, welfare, lie, cheat, steal, whatever and live poor than work for a living.
What we have is a moral crisis more than a jobs crisis.
The problem with that is, China is not free.
China is totally, completely playing America right now, and our complete system is built to benefit the companies and China.
The thing is, now after 25 years or so of selling out America, you see what has happened.
China is poised to pass America as the world’s largest exporter and producer.
China has (zero) of the same limits, on national government wealth and power.
China holds all the cards. China holds the Chinese government. No elections.
China owns the companies, which manufacture so much of what we import.
China owns China’s companies, all of which have a Chinese majority owner.
China owns China.
All of China. All the factories. All of the employees. Everything.
America is facing a brand new global challenge.
Nothing in our background has prepared us for this. I am just trying to say, that challenge is right here.
China is about to pass America.
This is a very serious issue.
NOBODY is doing one little thing to stop it.
Republicans ... nope. Democrats ... nope. Nobody.
And every day, China moves further into the global lead.
One problem is that probably 60% of our current population doesn’t know the meaning of the word “phantom”.
Your table is interesting, but percentages don’t tell the tale. 38.7% of native born is a heck of a lot more people than 56.6% of immigrants, and the big difference is that immigrants work their way off welfare.
I speak from close experience. I work closely with this demographic. What really chaps me are the native borns who pass the entitlement mentality down for generations. I see it often.
My original statement stands. Mexicans work their tails off at minimum wage jobs. In most cases, any assistance is just that — assistance when the paycheck doesn’t stretch. Assistance, not support.
Compare that to a large number of born-in-the-US citizens receiving government assistance who will not work or can’t keep a job because of attitude or poor work ethic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.