tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post3873916408380855321..comments2024-03-28T13:53:04.287-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: This is fiscally obscenePeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-44409794838889427192017-07-10T10:16:28.538-05:002017-07-10T10:16:28.538-05:00Paul, SSN absolutely is an entitlement. It is not...Paul, SSN absolutely is an entitlement. It is not and never has been a retirement account, despite common perceptions. The government defined it as a tax in court challenges at the inception of the program, and you have been paying that tax for 40+ years, and I have as well for almost 20. However, the money hasn't been careful saved up to be redistributed later - it was all spent as soon as it came in. The "trust fund" is simply a set of bonds which are just draws upon the general revenue now to pay back the money that was spent then, which in turn just means the government borrows even more to pay any benefits that exceed current revenue.<br /><br />The expectation that the government will pay you, me, or anyone else money under any program is the definition of an entitlement. The fact that we have been paying a tax to fund the program for significant periods of time doesn't change the nature of the program, although it does (reasonably) make the people who expect to be the beneficiaries of those programs feel much more "entitled" to them than your average welfare recipient should feel. That said, what cannot be paid won't be paid, and it won't be long before the money simply isn't there. If you are planning on SS being a significant part of your retirement income, I would make other plans.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00192121247584828848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-5315624761270321692017-07-07T17:44:20.352-05:002017-07-07T17:44:20.352-05:00"We are oft to blame in this,
'tis too mu..."We are oft to blame in this,<br />'tis too much proved; that with devotion's visage<br />and pious action, we do sugar o'er<br />The Devil himself."Tabula Rastanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-78257032248898474382017-07-07T17:30:18.521-05:002017-07-07T17:30:18.521-05:00SSN is not an entitlement. I've paid into it ...SSN is not an entitlement. I've paid into it for 40+ years.<br /><br />that being said parts of it have left what it originally was.<br /><br />We are coming for a crash. Might be engineered by the deep state but we will have to see.<br /><br />Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708868713277676628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-66739343176455146592017-07-07T11:30:49.707-05:002017-07-07T11:30:49.707-05:00Yes, and if you want to even just slow down, much ...Yes, and if you want to even just slow down, much less cut, the rate of growth of the debt freight train you're accused of being a heartless monster that wants the poor to starve in the streets.<br /><br />Expect the can to keep on being kicked down the road until it can't be kicked any longer.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08146728790019377401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-74324547318982403782017-07-07T11:05:29.951-05:002017-07-07T11:05:29.951-05:00Agreed with SiG - that's a better picture than...Agreed with SiG - that's a better picture than I expected, while still being terrible. It also makes me wish we could use that $30k per household number to definitively answer the question of whether or not we as taxpayers are "paying our fair share". Somehow I suspect that most of the people whining for higher taxes probably haven't hit that number personally.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00192121247584828848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-35023551441233396452017-07-07T10:55:44.446-05:002017-07-07T10:55:44.446-05:00This is actually quite a bit better than it was in...This is actually quite a bit better than it was in the Obama days so it appears we're moving in the right direction. A deficit of $667B out of $4,000B ($4Trillion), as shown on the Debt Clock, is 16.7%. In 2010 the we borrowed 40% of what we spent. <br /><br /><br />SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-89853066998569967002017-07-07T09:56:15.480-05:002017-07-07T09:56:15.480-05:00When I was a child 50 plus years ago there were ob...When I was a child 50 plus years ago there were obscene things I was protected from. Today those same things are on network television. I have accepted the reality that my children will have a much worse future as the cycle of history continues to swing from one extreme to another. FotoTomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06999878719279422639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-43303660258689174622017-07-07T09:39:41.211-05:002017-07-07T09:39:41.211-05:00I don't quite know what to say.
mortgages = $...I don't quite know what to say.<br /><br />mortgages = $0<br />student loans = $0<br />auto loans = $0<br />credit card debt = $280.29<br /><br />I pay the Visa off each month; I use it so as not to carry a lot of cash and to be able to track my expenditures. I own my own home, humble though it may be. It's comfortable and the neighbors are nice.<br /><br />Both Federal and State governments are so far in debt they'll never recover in my lifetime.<br /><br />WL Emeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00092583484828593165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-19050360827166183652017-07-07T09:32:48.135-05:002017-07-07T09:32:48.135-05:00My wife passed last year, so I've just sold th...My wife passed last year, so I've just sold the house, donated most of our fifty-year collection of stuff to the Church, paid of the car, and moved into an over-55 active community. My debt load is now zero.<br /><br />Finally.<br /><br />All my financial obligations are now generated and paid for monthly. My funeral services and cremation costs are already paid for. I will leave no obligations of any sort to my children, no bills, no garage or storage locker full of stuff, nothing. <br /><br />Although I am 78, I am in good health, and - thanks to the miracle of modern medicine and a reasonable lifestyle - I can, however and wherever possible, enjoy the rest of my days worry free.<br /><br />My great regret is that my wife of a half-century is not here to share in this beautiful sunset of my life.<br /><br />Knock on wood.... There are massive storm clouds on the near horizon.Bob Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-38320263701947423612017-07-07T06:58:28.712-05:002017-07-07T06:58:28.712-05:00A significant percentage of those "dependent ...A significant percentage of those "dependent on Government" are choosing not to work and/or finding ways to get the freebies while working. <br /><br />When a work requirement was put in place in several states, the welfare rolls dropped by in excess of 40%. Same with drug tests. <br /><br />We,as a nation, subsidize laziness....so we get more of it. <br /><br />B https://www.blogger.com/profile/10586046436233366155noreply@blogger.com