Posted on 11/14/2010 1:07:03 PM PST by La Enchiladita
Baby boomers withdrawing funds from Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are going to "crush the system" in a matter of years, a member of President Obama's blue-ribbon commission on the debt warned Sunday.
David Cote, CEO of Honeywell and one of a handful of private-sector chiefs appointed to the 18-member fiscal reform commission issuing its final recommendations on Dec. 1, said he didn't realize -- even perched at the top of his field -- that the next decade will be disastrous to the nation's accounts ledger unless something drastic is done.
"It scares me that as a financially conversant CEO, I didn't know how bad this was going to get in the next 10 years," Cote said on ABC's "This Week." "The thing that everybody misses is it's my generation, the baby boomers, who are going to flow through Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. It's going to crush the system."
"Social Security is going to go cash negative in five years. It's going to go broke in 2037," added Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., another member of the commission who appeared with Cote.
Medicare is "prepared to go permanently cash negative in just 10 years. So, obviously, those things have to be reformed; there have to be some changes," Conrad said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The “safety net” became the only net, and the government plantation tenders were more than willing to grow the ranks of people who rely on them for almost everything.
For income, housing, food, medical care.
The alphabet soup acronyms of the needy are permanent entitlement “tribal settlement” on the ever-growing plantation-reservation.
No offense intended to individual of native American ancestry, but Indians constitute a permanent victim class, requiring permanent government tending and subsidy.
Liberals want almost everybody on some reservation.
And its only going to get worse....the government is going to confiscate our retirement accounts and distribute it all equally amongst the population.....happened in Argentina and coming to a cinema near you soon....
Wrong....We had no choice...They took the money directly out of our pay checks... Just like this government sponsored wide open lawless borders...After years of begging, protesting, screaming, voting and demanding etc....Nothing has been done to secure and protect our borders. Nothing!
“We might as well cut our losses right now”.
How would that work? (I’m being serious not smart alecky..I’d love to hear a good solution.)
Not going to happen. We’ll just kill the the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs.
Not sure where you are, but in my neck of the woods, the Native Americans may well receive subsidies, I don’t know, but can you say “Casinos”?
I’d be hard pressed to decide who the victim is, lol.
I am not disagreeing with you, please chill out. I agree with you, we had no choice, like I said, I’ve been paying into SS since I was 16. And all the boomers, with their forced contributions have. And this resulted in a false security because of the numbers. Reality is coming home to bite the feds in their hind end. The gravy train is about to retire over the next 20 years or so. All your other stuff is legit complaints. I don’t see how you think I’m spinning the globe into warp speed.
False security? Numbers?
No....Most never even thought about SS over all these years.. Never gave it a thought....The government just took the money out of our checks....There was no "false security"
We were told from day one, "The only thing you can count on is death and taxes".
This "numbers and false security" had zip to do with anything.
“All of the money we paid in is gone. It was given to others. Any money that we will receive (assuming there is any) will come from the paychecks of our children and grandchildren. Our government has turned us all into thieves, and we let it happen. Everyone knew this was a Ponzi scheme that could not last, but each generation of retirees wanted “their” Social Security.
So, here we are. Boomers are the losers in this pyramid scheme and nothing can make more money magically appear to pay us.”
The money was stolen starting with LBJ and put into the general fund/rat hole for things like the great society and IOU’s are in it’s place
If said future generations do not wish to support your benefits they may via the political process amend, modify, or even eliminate the program.
I have no doubt that as a freeper you worked hard and are a decent person but Social Security is welfare. It is quite simply a redistribution of wealth that has about run its course.
Here is an excerpt of some language from a court case posted on the government website for Social Security:
THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM MAY BE ACCURATELY DESCRIBED AS A FORM OF SOCIAL INSURANCE, ENACTED PURSUANT TO CONGRESS’ POWER TO “SPEND MONEY IN AID OF THE ‘GENERAL WELFARE,’” HELVERING V. DAVIS, SUPRA, AT 640, WHEREBY PERSONS GAINFULLY EMPLOYED, AND THOSE WHO EMPLOY THEM, ARE TAXED TO PERMIT THE PAYMENT OF BENEFITS TO THE RETIRED AND DISABLED, AND THEIR DEPENDENTS. PLAINLY THE EXPECTATION IS THAT MANY MEMBERS OF THE PRESENT PRODUCTIVE WORK FORCE WILL IN TURN BECOME BENEFICIARIES RATHER THAN SUPPORTERS OF THE PROGRAM. BUT EACH WORKER'S BENEFITS, THOUGH FLOWING FROM THE CONTRIBUTIONS HE MADE TO THE NATIONAL ECONOMY WHILE ACTIVELY EMPLOYED, ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON THE DEGREE TO WHICH HE WAS CALLED UPON TO SUPPORT THE SYSTEM BY TAXATION.
IT IS APPARENT THAT THE NONCONTRACTUAL INTEREST OF AN EMPLOYEE COVERED BY THE ACT CANNOT BE SOUNDLY ANALOGIZED TO THAT OF THE HOLDER OF AN ANNUITY, WHOSE RIGHT TO BENEFITS IS BOTTOMED ON HIS CONTRACTUAL PREMIUM PAYMENTS.
IT IS HARDLY PROFITABLE TO ENGAGE IN CONCEPTUALIZATIONS REGARDING “EARNED RIGHTS” AND GRATUITIES.” CF. LYNCH V. UNITED STATES, 292 U.S.571, 576-577. THE “RIGHT” TO SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS IS IN ONE SENSE “EARNED,” FOR THE ENTIRE SCHEME RESTS ON THE LEGISLATIVE JUDGMENT THAT THOSE WHO IN THEIR PRODUCTIVE YEARS WERE FUNCTIONING MEMBERS OF THE
ECONOMY MAY JUSTLY CALL UPON THAT ECONOMY, IN THEIR LATER YEARS, FORPROTECTION FROM “THE RIGORS OF THE POOR HOUSE AS WELL AS FROM THE HAUNTING FEAR THAT SUCH A LOT AWAITS THEM WHEN JOURNEY'S END IS NEAR.” HELVERING V. DAVIS, SUPRA, AT 641.
BUT THE PRACTICAL EFFECTUATION OF THAT JUDGMENT HAS OF NECESSITY CALLED FORTH A HIGHLY COMPLEX AND INTERRELATED STATUTORY STRUCTURE. INTEGRATED TREATMENT OF THE MANIFOLD
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS PRESENTED BY THE SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAM DEMANDS MORE THAN A GENERALIZATION. THAT PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED TO FUNCTION INTO THE INDEFINITE FUTURE, AND ITS SPECIFIC PROVISIONS REST ON PREDICTIONS AS TO EXPECTED ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WHICH MUST INEVITABLY PROVE LESS THAN
WHOLLY ACCURATE, AND ON JUDGMENTS AND PREFERENCES AS TO THE PROPER ALLOCATION OF THE NATION'S RESOURCES WHICH EVOLVING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS WILL OF NECESSITY IN SOME DEGREE MODIFY.
TO ENGRAFT UPON THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM A CONCEPT OF “ACCRUED PROPERTY RIGHTS” WOULD DEPRIVE IT OF THE FLEXIBILITY AND BOLDNESS IN ADJUSTMENT TO EVER-CHANGING CONDITIONS WHICH IT DEMANDS. SEEWOLLENBERG, VESTED RIGHTS IN SOCIAL-SECURITY BENEFITS, 37 ORE. L. REV. 299, 359. IT WAS DOUBTLESS OUT OF AN AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR SUCH
FLEXIBILITY THAT CONGRESS INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL ACT, AND HAS SINCE RETAINED, A CLAUSE EXPRESSLY RESERVING TO IT “THE RIGHT TO ALTER, AMEND, OR REPEAL ANY PROVISION” OF THE ACT. SEC. 1104, 49 STAT. 648, 42 U.S.C. SEC. 1304. THAT PROVISION MAKES EXPRESS WHAT IS IMPLICIT IN THE INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS OF THE PROGRAM. SEE ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM, HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 83D CONG., 1ST SESS., PP. 920 921. IT WAS PURSUANT TO THAT PROVISION THAT SEC. 202(N) WAS ENACTED.
WE MUST CONCLUDE THAT A PERSON COVERED BY THE ACT HAS NOT SUCH A RIGHT IN BENEFIT PAYMENTS AS WOULD MAKE EVERY DEFEASANCE OF “ACCRUED” INTERESTS VIOLATIVE OF THE DUE PROCESS CLAUSE OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/nestor.html
Again I am not calling into question your work ethic nor am I saying you are somehow unworthy. I do not believe you are lazy. I also recognize you have probably worked hard your entire life and this may be all you have. I also recognize that you have been promised this benefit and may believe that because of those promises you are owed the money.
I am 15 years away from retirement myself and will have paid in, by then, far more than you did. I wont have much but I expect to receive nothing from SS. Yet I continue to pay 15% of my earnings to support your retirement.
The difference with the US is we were founded in freedom and liberty. The other countries are trying to capture freedom and liberty. This is in our blood, our dna. The government will never be able to extinguish freedom and liberty from America. This is owebama’s Achilles heal. He can not rule us, he never will. We will fight back, it’s our history.
At times during these past two years I was so stressed about our future. Then I thought it out. I’ll never cave to government. With that knowledge, I found peace. I’m ready to fight to the death for our freedom. I’ve come to realization, although I’m not military, I’d give up my life protecting and defending our constitution.
Owebama can not win over true American Patriots.
This is our war, domestic enemies, and we will win.
No....Wrong..
There was a time, not too long ago, when Americans actually trusted their government...Obviously, that is no longer so.
Fact is, most people barely gave it a second thought...It was taken out of their checks, and that was about it...No one looked at their checks and thought, "Oh crap, the ponzi scheme is taking money again."
Few ever gave it a second thought during their working years, as even fewer had any idea just how corrupt this government really was, unti recent years.
I’m 62 yrs old.
I certainly recall in the 1980s extreme skepticism on the part of my co-workers that any of us would be collecting SS in the “promised” amounts when we retired.
You are really parsing. The government pretended false security. And you know my point, you just want to argue.
The money you paid (or was stolen from you) did not vest you with any “rights” whatsoever. If it did then you have the right to reclaim every tax dollar you ever paid and so do the rest of us.
Read my above post. Our government has been very clear since the inception of SS that it was a social welfare program. Who promised you otherwise?
Just whom do you now propose to reclaim your stolen money from? The only way to get is to have this same totalitarian government take it from some else. Are you o’k with that?
If Americans would have been thinking 40 years ago, "Oh their going to rip me off with this ponzi scheme on my next paycheck again", SS would have never survived, and likely would never have been implemented in the first place.
The big problem I see now is that folks like myself who anticipated severe SS and Medicare shortfalls and built a robust 401k portfolio are gonna get screwed anyway.
You’re probably right...
So some how all that ignorance is an excuse to keep on looting the rest of us?
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