Social Security

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

 

 

 

 

[Biff Tannen 45,763]

[StassneyHorn 6,692]

Don’t rely on it, don’t complain to older people who need it now, say Democrats have a plan to expand, and tell olds Republicans want to end it now.

that’s all

[RPM 26,426]

It used to be the third rail. Not sure of anything anymore.

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

24 minutes ago, StassneyHorn said:

Don’t rely on it, don’t complain to older people who need it now, say Democrats have a plan to expand, and tell olds Republicans want to end it now.

that’s all

R’s are being very vocal about gutting ss 

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

4 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

Elderly grandparents dying in the streets when Texas summer starts to average 120+ degrees for 75 days in a row in the next decade. We are speeding towards an inverse of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

but those billionaires will get out of so many taxes !

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

3 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

I have to think that if Social Security gets gutted; there will be blood.

That's pretty much a death sentence for a lot of people and oh by the way, the middle class will need S.S. to be comfortable in retirement to supplement meager savings and generally are one illness/emergency/unforeseen event from being in dire need of S.S. to survive.

it’ll be too late 

[Willfully Horn 8,087]

51 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

I have to think that if Social Security gets gutted; there will be blood.

 

When there’s blood on the streets, buy property.

 

Hmmm, that’s what institutional buyers are doing….

Edited December 19, 2023 by Willfully Horn

[Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand 13,596]

3 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

 

 

 

 

[David Dennison 19,117]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

R’s are being very vocal about gutting ss 

[RPM 26,426]

R's already said the olds should just go ahead and die to make it easier on everybody else.

Quote

“Those of us who are 70 plus, we’ll take care of ourselves. But don’t sacrifice the country,” Patrick said on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-suggests-he-other-seniors-willing-n1167341

[Thetexashammer 1,062]

4 hours ago, BeardIP said:

Elderly grandparents dying in the streets when Texas summer starts to average 120+ degrees for 75 days in a row in the next decade. We are speeding towards an inverse of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-braces-for-roughly-1-5-trillion-in-further-borrowing-needs-by-treasury-c54401f9

We are borrowing almost 50% of every dollar spend and we are at peak economic growth. Social Security is eating itself and public support will evaporate once people realize they have been defrauded once again. Your scenario is not far off.

[Neonmoon 38,130]

1 hour ago, Thetexashammer said:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-braces-for-roughly-1-5-trillion-in-further-borrowing-needs-by-treasury-c54401f9

We are borrowing almost 50% of every dollar spend and we are at peak economic growth. Social Security is eating itself and public support will evaporate once people realize they have been defrauded once again. Your scenario is not far off.

[Bullneck 19,315]

1 hour ago, Thetexashammer said:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-braces-for-roughly-1-5-trillion-in-further-borrowing-needs-by-treasury-c54401f9

We are borrowing almost 50% of every dollar spend and we are at peak economic growth. Social Security is eating itself and public support will evaporate once people realize they have been defrauded once again. Your scenario is not far off.

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/071514/why-social-security-running-out-money.asp#:~:text=Social Security benefits are funded,payouts to the particular taxpayer.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,539]

People need forced savings. You can tell people all day long that they need to save/invest more but many won’t. They’ll agree it’s important but they have living expenses which they won’t sacrifice.

 Someone like Mike Lee will say that others, not saving or investing, isn’t his problem. I disagree that we all have an interest in not letting our senior citizens starve or become a burden for the state.

SS’s future budget problems can easily be fixed.

[TonyTexas 10,567]

I don’t know who Mike Lee thinks would support this. Obviously the seniors won’t but neither will anyone who has parents that might require support from their kids. There would be bipartisan opposition. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by TonyTexas

[Nivek 17,035]

People need forced savings. You can tell people all day long that they need to save/invest more but many won’t. They’ll agree it’s important but they have living expenses which they won’t sacrifice.
 Someone like Mike Lee will say that others, not saving or investing, isn’t his problem. I disagree that we all have an interest in not letting our senior citizens starve or become a burden for the state.
SS’s future budget problems can easily be fixed.

How can they save when their salaries are the only thing not impacted by inflation.

Look at the actual wealth distribution in this country and then look at it 50 years ago.

[High Plains Drifter 11,055]

 

Before we start cutting SS, we should cut Congress' retirement plans. 

 

[TexArcher 38,409]

As a financial advisor, I've been having this conversation for over a decade.  Here's the version in my head before I put it in client-friendly language:

Jesus Christ, SS is not going away.  All this "OMG SS is running out of money!" stuff is fear-mongering political bullshit.  The surplus is running out.  The surplus only pays about 20% of the payout.  That will have to be made up in other ways, obviously, and it will be.

They will push FRA back for younger generations (which should have been happening in much bigger ways for decades), recalibrate the calculation (lower the payouts), and probably eventually raise taxes, and/or move money from programs that liberals like to SS.  But they will never, ever kill Social Secuity.  That is nothing more than red meat political stumping for the right wingers.  They know damned well that they can't actually do it, and they don't care, because it riles people up and gets them votes, and no one holds anyone in office accountable to what s/he said while campaigning.

Also, calling Social Security an entitlement program in the first place is part of the problem.  They know that, too.  And they don't care.  Because every Republican since John McCain died has been completely full of shit, all the time.

Every single person reading this will get their Social Security checks.  If you're younger than 40, they might be 85-90% of what you thought, and they might start a year later, but you will get them.

 

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by TexArcher

[elfenix 34,385]

Counterpoint: Dobbs

[TwiceHorn 31,677]

1 minute ago, elfenix said:

Counterpoint: Dobbs

Counter-counter-point:  They only needed 5 of 9 unelected officials to Dobbs.

They're gonna need 269 plus elected officials to do this.

[TexArcher 38,409]

4 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Counter-counter-point:  They only needed 5 of 9 unelected officials to Dobbs.

They're gonna need 269 plus elected officials to do this.

And 269 elected officials who don't mind losing their next elections.

[elfenix 34,385]

Because Gorsuch won't at all pull out his pocket copy of the Constitution and a dictionary from 1889 and find that social security is no where mentioned.

[Neonmoon 38,130]

21 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Counter-counter-point:  They only needed 5 of 9 unelected officials to Dobbs.

They're gonna need 269 plus elected officials to do this.

Counter-counter-counter-point: Supreme Leader Order #186 doesn't need the consent of 269 elected officials to prohibit the collection of taxes for social security reasons. 

[Captainant 27,970]

37 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Counter-counter-point:  They only needed 5 of 9 unelected officials to Dobbs.

They're gonna need 269 plus elected officials to do this.

Inb4 the supreme court gives us another Calvinball ruling that finds that social security is actually unconstitutional 

[wildcat09 29,453]

48 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Counter-counter-point:  They only needed 5 of 9 unelected officials to Dobbs.

They're gonna need 269 plus elected officials to do this.

Well, it’s always possible those same 5 unelected officials suddenly discover a new page to the constitution that says social security is unconstitutional.

[atomheartbevo 90,041]

9 hours ago, BeardIP said:

I have to think that if Social Security gets gutted; there will be blood.

That's pretty much a death sentence for a lot of people and oh by the way, the middle class will need S.S. to be comfortable in retirement to supplement meager savings and generally are one illness/emergency/unforeseen event from being in dire need of S.S. to survive.

8 hours ago, Willfully Horn said:

When there’s blood on the streets, buy property.

1 hour ago, TonyTexas said:

I don’t know who Mike Lee thinks would support this. Obviously the seniors won’t but neither will anyone who has parents that might require support from their kids. There would be bipartisan opposition. 

People on SS, people who have parents about to be on SS, people who want to be on SS some day, and then there's the financial institutions who don't want a glut of real estate hitting the markets because people couldn't afford it.  As much as we'd like to think that people are responsible and/or capable of outright owning homes (or renting where they wanted to rent), etc. by the time they hit retirement age, the reality is that a whole shitload of people are living closer to paycheck-to-paycheck than we'd like to think.

 

 

[Macanudo 13,081]

56 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

People on SS, people who have parents about to be on SS, people who want to be on SS some day, and then there's the financial institutions who don't want a glut of real estate hitting the markets because people couldn't afford it.  As much as we'd like to think that people are responsible and/or capable of outright owning homes (or renting where they wanted to rent), etc. by the time they hit retirement age, the reality is that a whole shitload of people are living closer to paycheck-to-paycheck than we'd like to think.

 

 

Ok but wouldn't this solve the housing crisis?  🤪

[atomheartbevo 90,041]

Just now, Macanudo said:

Ok but wouldn't this solve the housing crisis?  🤪

[Captainant 27,970]

15 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Ok but wouldn't this solve the housing crisis?  🤪

no, those homes would get bought up by private equity and hedge funds and rented back for 1.5-2x the monthly mortgage. Lmfao at thinking that families would be the beneficiary of literally anything in our financial system

[BamaATL 16,593]

What a great idea, if you want to return to the Great Depression.

Off the top of my head, you would accomplish the following:

1.  Collapse the banking system

2.  Destroy residential real value

3.  Cause a 30 to 40% reduction in retail spending

4.  Still have the debt, now with no real way to pay for it, so default incoming (which also means you would crater most American's savings, also getting bonds issued to do anything would be dead in the water)

5.  I presume he would also include Medicare in his cuts, which now means you've bankrupted the healthcare system.  

But you know, we'd be lean and mean as a bankrupt society, with 20 to 30% joblessness, so there is that.  I mean, never mind that GDP would fall from 25 trillion to somewhere around 16 trillion pretty much instantly.  

Mike Lee, and his ilk, are either dumber than a sack of hammers, or so full of their own bluster they can't see straight (it might be both).  

[RDCanecutter 26,550]

As a Sovereign Citizen I fail to see how this would ever affect me.

[Anastasis 23,498]

Aircraft carrier-backed ponzi scheme. 

[South Austin 52,686]

Please, Ronda Santis, make this part of your platform when you stump in your great state of Florida.

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

3 hours ago, TexArcher said:

As a financial advisor, I've been having this conversation for over a decade.  Here's the version in my head before I put it in client-friendly language:

Jesus Christ, SS is not going away.  All this "OMG SS is running out of money!" stuff is fear-mongering political bullshit.  The surplus is running out.  The surplus only pays about 20% of the payout.  That will have to be made up in other ways, obviously, and it will be.

They will push FRA back for younger generations (which should have been happening in much bigger ways for decades), recalibrate the calculation (lower the payouts), and probably eventually raise taxes, and/or move money from programs that liberals like to SS.  But they will never, ever kill Social Secuity.  That is nothing more than red meat political stumping for the right wingers.  They know damned well that they can't actually do it, and they don't care, because it riles people up and gets them votes, and no one holds anyone in office accountable to what s/he said while campaigning.

Also, calling Social Security an entitlement program in the first place is part of the problem.  They know that, too.  And they don't care.  Because every Republican since John McCain died has been completely full of shit, all the time.

Every single person reading this will get their Social Security checks.  If you're younger than 40, they might be 85-90% of what you thought, and they might start a year later, but you will get them.

 

 

R’s have to call it an entitlement program to fire up their base and fund raise. Next they’ll be saying the blacks and mexicans are over paid !

[David Dennison 19,117]

46 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Aircraft carrier-backed ponzi scheme. 

As opposed to . . . ?

[Macanudo 13,081]

1 hour ago, Captainant said:

no, those homes would get bought up by private equity and hedge funds and rented back for 1.5-2x the monthly mortgage. Lmfao at thinking that families would be the beneficiary of literally anything in our financial system

You thouight I was serious.  Shame on you.

[Thetexashammer 1,062]

42 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

R’s have to call it an entitlement program to fire up their base and fund raise. Next they’ll be saying the blacks and mexicans are over paid !

Because minorities die at a younger age. Blacks collect on average until 72 years, while Asian Americans collect until 84.

But once they cut benefits, then you are getting back far less than you put in, especially if you are black or brown. Which destroys the entire legitimacy of the program.

By the way, if you can just "cut benefits" at will, then obviously the idea of a "lock box" is ludicrous. We have a unified budget. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Thetexashammer

[Gatorubet 30,391]

12 hours ago, BeardIP said:

I have to think that if Social Security gets gutted; there will be blood.

That's pretty much a death sentence for a lot of people and oh by the way, the middle class will need S.S. to be comfortable in retirement to supplement meager savings and generally are one illness/emergency/unforeseen event from being in dire need of S.S. to survive.

If there was ever one piece of legislation which might get overwhelming support for a one penny national sales tax - a it would be Social Security. By definition, you can exclude the tax from things like food or utilities. But the remaining recovery will include vast amounts of taxes from businesses otherwise do not paying their share of income taxes, and will also suck taxes from that large underground economy and from folks who simply do not file taxes or who hide their income (drug sales, etc.) If you buy shit, a penny goes to Social Security. That would fund it rather quickly, as long as there is some very heavy  uncontroverted language that says you can never expand the one penny or get taxes for any other purpose.   

Camel’s nose theory and all. 

[Degenerate Gardner 4,104]

13 hours ago, RPM said:

It used to be the third rail. Not sure of anything anymore.

Pretty sure Donald Jr snorted the third rail a while ago.

[Brisketexan 105,569]

I mean, Merle Haggard knew this was coming long ago -- keep your retirement and your so-called Social Security.

BIG CITY, TURN ME LOOSE, AND SET ME FREE!

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,853]

Translation:  The Dems are trying to take your social security away.

Vermin do what vermin do.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,539]

Retirees need SS because it's very difficult for most to save enough money to fully fund their retirement. Say you're a better than average saver but you have a roughly average salary today of 75K.  To retire on a full replacement income based solely on your own savings, you may need to have saved between $1.2m-1.9m.  That isn't an easy amount for most to invest/earn based on an average salary.

But if SS would offset that by 25K annually that retirement savings range drops to 800K-1.25m.  While still a large amount, it's a bit more likely.

(I'm using a 4-6% withdrawal rate for my calcs, and I know a safe withdrawal rate is different for everyone)

[SimonBolivar 10,961]

Yeah almost all the olds that I deal with here at my CU are living off of Social Security. There aren't many pensions outside of teachers in Texas and they just failed saving along the way.

 

One couple is particularly bad, He is in his 80s and has had terminal cancer for a couple of years, and she is in her 70s and makes the 45-minute drive into the CU every 3rd of the month to collect what they can which is $1600 for him and $400 for her as she was a stay-at-home mom for most of their lives. They live in a tool shed that has power & water that they pay $400/m to rent to own and should have it paid off in a year or two. They also rent the land that it sits on for $300/month. During freezes and heat waves they are at the mercy of their electric heater/portable AC as obviously a tool shed was not designed to be lived in and has zero insulation. They exhausted their ODP (the extra tax on the poor) this month by the 7th and won't get another dime until January 3rd.  These people are barely surviving with SSA deposits and would certainly be dead in a month without it. 

 

As far as the state supporting people like that outside of SSA, we've reported their wellbeing to adult protective services a few times and the case workers noticed that they don't have a real home, the place is crawling with pests of all types, and pretty much just shrugs their shoulders and says, "they're alive" and moves on.

Edited December 19, 2023 by SimonBolivar

[Brisketexan 105,569]

23 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Yeah almost all the olds that I deal with here at my CU are living off of Social Security. There aren't many pensions outside of teachers in Texas and they just failed saving along the way.

 

One couple is particularly bad, He is in his 80s and has had terminal cancer for a couple of years, and she is in her 70s and makes the 45-minute drive into the CU every 3rd of the month to collect what they can which is $1600 for him and $400 for her as she was a stay-at-home mom for most of their lives. They live in a tool shed that has power & water that they pay $400/m to rent to own and should have it paid off in a year or two. They also rent the land that it sits on for $300/month. During freezes and heat waves they are at the mercy of their electric heater/portable AC as obviously a tool shed was not designed to be lived in and has zero insulation. They exhausted their ODP (the extra tax on the poor) this month by the 7th and won't get another dime until January 3rd.  These people are barely surviving with SSA deposits and would certainly be dead in a month without it. 

 

As far as the state supporting people like that outside of SSA, we've reported their wellbeing to adult protective services a few times and the case workers noticed that they don't have a real home, the place is crawling with pests of all types, and pretty much just shrugs their shoulders and says, "they're alive" and moves on.

Sounds to me like they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps and quit being moochers and not order so much avocado toast and lattes.

Am I doing this right?  I really want the Republicans to welcome me at their Christmas bash this weekend, so I'm trying my best to fit in.

[Nivek 17,035]

Fuck them olds.

[elfenix 34,385]

Yeah almost all the olds that I deal with here at my CU are living off of Social Security. There aren't many pensions outside of teachers in Texas and they just failed saving along the way.
 
One couple is particularly bad, He is in his 80s and has had terminal cancer for a couple of years, and she is in her 70s and makes the 45-minute drive into the CU every 3rd of the month to collect what they can which is $1600 for him and $400 for her as she was a stay-at-home mom for most of their lives. They live in a tool shed that has power & water that they pay $400/m to rent to own and should have it paid off in a year or two. They also rent the land that it sits on for $300/month. During freezes and heat waves they are at the mercy of their electric heater/portable AC as obviously a tool shed was not designed to be lived in and has zero insulation. They exhausted their ODP (the extra tax on the poor) this month by the 7th and won't get another dime until January 3rd.  These people are barely surviving with SSA deposits and would certainly be dead in a month without it. 
 
As far as the state supporting people like that outside of SSA, we've reported their wellbeing to adult protective services a few times and the case workers noticed that they don't have a real home, the place is crawling with pests of all types, and pretty much just shrugs their shoulders and says, "they're alive" and moves on.

Yeah but Swam saw them using an iPhone in the checkout line with their food stamps

[tx 3 putt 77,921]

2 hours ago, Nivek said:

Fuck them olds.

[elfenix 34,385]

[Mdhorn 6,091]

17 hours ago, RPM said:

R's already said the olds should just go ahead and die to make it easier on everybody else.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-suggests-he-other-seniors-willing-n1167341

Funny, they say the same thing about covid--it only kills the olds and those who are immunocompromised.