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Bush may raise taxes to save S.S.
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Hayabusa Rider
Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
I think SS isn't a crisis as well. I wonder if your concerns are close to mine.
You obviously can't read. I said the $20 billion is miniscule in comparison with the $200 billion spent so far in Iraq.
And you bring up a good point, accidentally I'm sure. You said spending cuts of several hundred billion will be necessary in the future.
BUSH HAS WASTED OVER $200 BILLION IN IRAQ ALREADY. $200 BILLION LESS IN CUTS IF HE HADN'T WASTED IT ON HIS UNPROVOKED INVASION IN IRAQ.
Uh, WTF? How is reforming social security screwing over older generations. FYI, they've already screwed over future generations, many times, over. Doing nothing about SS, Medicad/Medicare and other problems now, screws younger generations over even more.
Both the White House and Democratic Party are using fear. Both are acting like morons. Simply put, private accounts can be put in place responsibly. SS can be fixed in an equitable way. Everything can be fixed. Its just going to require some hard choices. Tax hikes and drastic spending cuts.
And its not screwing over older generations by implementing reforms, tax hikes and spending cuts now. They should be helping fix the finanical problem they will be in the future.
SS isnt in crisis, the US will be though. Actually it wont, instead of doing something right now, older generations will wait and let future generations take care of future problems. Younger generations will be screwed but will suck it up because they will be forced to.
Dude WTF, Im talking about the bigger picture not merely SS. And frankly everything I have said in this thread has come STRAIGHT, from the CBO. Major tax hikes and spending cuts are in our future. Id rather have them now, so older generations can actually help with the problem they created.
Its not BS, the US will be in a financial crisis, sooner or later there will be major tax hikes and major spending cuts. SS is just a tiny part of the problem. Im not simpling talking about SS, Im talking about everything collectively. And ALL this comes from the Congressional Budget Office. The US would be in the same future financial crisis with or without Iraq. The Iraq war is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall scheme of things.
Bleating on and on about Iraq does nothing. We cant magically go back. Its time Congress actually does its job for a change, and solve these future problems before they have a chance to become a problem.
Which Senators?
dannybin1742
Platinum Member
yeah with a republican congress?????? not gonna happen, they will just throw the tax back on the middle class instead of the top 1% who wouldn't notice and extra 5-6% of income tax increase especially when you are making 200k per year
"BBOND" YOU REALLY NEED TO CALM DOWN AND STOP USING ALL CAPS!!!!!!! YOU ALSO NEED TO DECIDE WHAT YOUR OPINION OF TAKE HIKES ARE AND STICK TO THEM AND REMAIN CONSISTENT OTHERWISE YOU JUST LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. YOU CAN'T ARGUE THAT TAX CUTS ARE NEEDED TO CUT THE DEFICIT AND THEN SAY THEY SHOULDN'T BE USED TO FIX SOCIAL SECURITY. MY GUESS IS THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT BUSH DOES YOU WILL SAY ITS THE WRONG ANSWER.. IF BUSH DID EXACTLY WHAT YOU THOUGHT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO YOU WOULD CHANGE YOUR OPINION TO CRITICIZE IT.
robertcloud
Banned
<whisper> caps lock </whisper>
It appears insidious for Bush to spend great sums of money on a largely superfluous and unnecessary war in iraq, and at the same time cut social programs here because of a massive deficit caused by said war.
and to digitalsm: I really am curious about what apocalyptic financial state you are alluding to. Please explain.
Umm, if you would have noticed my use of the capslock key was to mock "BBond's" use of them.
I'm just curious.. Why don't you criticize other wasteful spending in government then? The left NEVER does. You spout off about how wasteful the war in Iraq is.. but then when it comes to cutting some stupid government program to provide air conditioners to eskimos, you guys go wild and claim Bush hates poor people/old people/young people/ whatever fits your agenda.
If you were really concerned about wasteful spending you would be talking about all of it. Come out and say you don't support the war, don't hide behind some BS statement like you are concerned about how much it costs.. you ARE NOT.. thats an excuse.
Engineer
Elite Member
I don't support the war or it's BS costs. OK...now on to SS and then Medicare.....
There is a major problem with simply raising taxes on SS. The money goes to the government, the government issues a bond, governement takes the money, and finally, government spends the money. Not one drop will be sent to a "real" trust fund. So the government is borrowing money from the people of the US for which they get really no intrerest paid to them for (Yes, maybe to the trust fund, but since the fund is empty....you get the drift).
The government could simply borrow the money from external sources when needed (like they do everything else) which, for the short term, leave the money in the peoples pockets to grow the economy (if ever so slowly).
Lastly, regardless of "which" borrowing above is chosen, unless the money is set aside (personal accounts or "real" trust fund), it is simply going to raise the debt of the US without directly benefiting anybody when the bill for their individual SS payment is due because the government spends the money as fast as it arrives at the door.
IMO....and my 2 cents! (CAPS LOCK OFF!) 🙂
Gigantopithecus
Diamond Member
rofl...
robertcloud
Banned
To Crimson: It concerns me because the wasteful war spending dwarfs spending on the beneficial social programs which move the country forward. If the war was an investment in our nation, then I would support it, but I think nothing tangible nor beneficial will come of this war. In essence, the money was destroyed. This is without speaking of the human costs.
For once, I agree with digitalsm, to a point.
Our situation wrt SS and Debt maintenance calls for great fiscal restrain now, and into the future, but the Bush admin and Repub congress are taking us precisely in the wrong direction. We should be paying down the debt, rather than increasing it, so that we'll be in a position to seamlessly make the SS crossover in ~2018.
The budget gap of today vs projections from the FY 2000 tax and spending situation stems from several causes, the WOI and increased military spending in general playing a significant part, along with the taxcuts, increased corporate welfare, non-enforcement of the tax code on top earners by the IRS, and the downturn in the economy. Bush's proposed budget cuts are a drop in the bucket, merely a diversion from the true enormity of the looting currently taking place.
And that's not all, either- it turns out that the Pharma pork (aka senior drug) benefit will cost ~$100B/yr, and plans to privatize SS another ~$200B, while current deficits hover around $400B/yr- and yeh, they want more taxcuts, and to make the current ones permanent, too.
Debt maintenance will be eating us alive before the Repugs are done with us- figure total debt at ~$10T by the end of the Bush term, and interest at ~6.5%, for an annual tab of $650B, twice what it is today, and ~1/3 of federal revenue... increasing at $50B/yr, too... with annual deficits of ~$700B.
SS is truly the least of our worries under this leadership, unless they manage to dismantle it. If they're not planning on the govt going broke prior to 2018, then they're fools, which I don't believe, or charlatans, which I do believe...
Our situation wrt SS and Debt maintenance calls for great fiscal restrain now, and into the future, but the Bush admin and Repub congress are taking us precisely in the wrong direction. We should be paying down the debt, rather than increasing it, so that we'll be in a position to seamlessly make the SS crossover in ~2018.
The budget gap of today vs projections from the FY 2000 tax and spending situation stems from several causes, the WOI and increased military spending in general playing a significant part, along with the taxcuts, increased corporate welfare, non-enforcement of the tax code on top earners by the IRS, and the downturn in the economy. Bush's proposed budget cuts are a drop in the bucket, merely a diversion from the true enormity of the looting currently taking place.
And that's not all, either- it turns out that the Pharma pork (aka senior drug) benefit will cost ~$100B/yr, and plans to privatize SS another ~$200B, while current deficits hover around $400B/yr- and yeh, they want more taxcuts, and to make the current ones permanent, too.
Debt maintenance will be eating us alive before the Repugs are done with us- figure total debt at ~$10T by the end of the Bush term, and interest at ~6.5%, for an annual tab of $650B, twice what it is today, and ~1/3 of federal revenue... increasing at $50B/yr, too... with annual deficits of ~$700B.
SS is truly the least of our worries under this leadership, unless they manage to dismantle it. If they're not planning on the govt going broke prior to 2018, then they're fools, which I don't believe, or charlatans, which I do believe...
robertcloud
Banned
If by social spending you mean entitlement spending which includes SS. I really don't understand what you mean by the imminent financial trouble we will be in. I just want some clarification, not an arguement.
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