Democrats are planning to give seniors $250 check

[Merithynos]

It's not the old people's fault that all the politicians raid the trust fund.

And that's where you are wrong. The poor, innocent, "old people" are the folks that got us in to this mess in the first place, and are the largest voting bloc responsible for ensuring we can't fix it. There is a reason Social Security and Medicare are the proverbial "third rail" of politics.

Our seniors are some of the hardest working most dedicated people this country has ever had. Todays younger generation doesn't even come close to being willing to do the things that our current seniors did to survive. I know people like to joke about stories older people tell about how hard life was for them, but some of them are true. I know my dad plowed fields using a mule and hauled trees to a nearby mill on a cart with his dad to build my grandmothers house. My dad was born legally blind but he didn't sit on his ass and try to claim support from the government. He joined the army and worked for over 50 years , all the while never taking one cent from the government but paying his share into social security the entire time.

And they walked to school 10 miles, uphill both ways...seriously, can we stop the endless romanticizing of how difficult it was for previous generations? All that you're really saying is that you're from blue collar, rural stock (and there's nothing wrong with that). There were plenty of people back then that lived in cities, or the burgeoning suburbia, that worked 9-5 jobs and never so much as grew a tomato plant, or picked up a hammer. And no offense, but your father took money from the government his entire life, since he was a *government employee*. If he truly spent 50 years in the Army, he no doubt collects a hefty government pension, VA healthcare, and Social Security.

I'll let you in on a little secret though - there are millions of people working today just as hard, with less security, as your father and grandfather. I know a lot of them don't count, since they're those damned, dirty, IMMIGRANTS (legal and otherwise), but I bet a lot of them could tell your progenitors stories that would make their hair curl.

Had politicians set up an actual retirement plan rather than a Ponzi scheme, Social Security would be solvent today as regular investments over a person's working life (by SS design roughly forty-seven years) pay off quite well.

Social Security is not at risk of becoming insolvent because it is a "Ponzi scheme", it's at risk primarily due to the demographic bulge caused by aging baby boomers, and by seniors that refuse to accept that changes in life expectancy require commensurate changes in the structure of Social Security. It's also at risk because those same boomers and seniors continued to vote in politicians that followed the fiscal policies that got us to this point.

 

[werepossum]

SNIP

Social Security is not at risk of becoming insolvent because it is a "Ponzi scheme", it's at risk primarily due to the demographic bulge caused by aging baby boomers, and by seniors that refuse to accept that changes in life expectancy require commensurate changes in the structure of Social Security. It's also at risk because those same boomers and seniors continued to vote in politicians that followed the fiscal policies that got us to this point.

That is true of every Ponzi scheme. As long as you can keep growing the base, Ponzi schemes are inherently stable.

 

[Svnla]

While I am not exactly sure what generation you are referring to some of us work very hard to get where we have gotten and would appriciate not being lumped in with the very lazy rest of the generation

That said - Seniors are THE obstacle for SS reform. It's a broken system but seniors make it political suicide for anyone to try true reform. We can't have anyone touching any of 'their money' even though that means I will never see all (or much) of 'my money'. I get their bitching about paying into the system - I really do. The thing is that their bitching and refusal to allow reform is going to prevent ME (and MILLIONS of 20s and 30s young folks) from seeing all ( or much) of the money that I paid into the system. It's the hypocrisy and insistence on passing on their problems to the next generation that really gets me

Very well said. I did add a few more words in your post to point out the urgency. Young people (20s and 30s) will be screw, big time.

Here is more about SS, from US News and World Report (not from some right wing blogs):

The uncertainty over future benefits has led to a debate over whether the current budget and entitlement structure is fair to young people, who may never see all of the money that they pay into the system. (Social Security benefits are based on a person's average earnings over his lifetime and depend on the age of retirement; the current maximum benefit received is $2,346 per month for those who retire at age sixty-six.)

"They should be upset, and concerned that Social Security is structured in a way to give them less than they might otherwise receive. They'll certainly get less than their parents and grandparents, and they're stuck in a position where they are either going to pay higher taxes or get lower benefits, or, what's worse, both," says David John, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
As Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute puts it, "There's no way Social Security is as good a deal for a 20-year-old as it is for a retiree today."

The AARP, which represents retired Americans, has a different perspective. It is quick to point out that there is such great political support for Social Security that it is not in danger of slipping away. The organization released a statement opposing the cost-of-living freeze after the Social Security Administration made its announcement late last week.

AARP would rather maintains the status quo and screw the next generation. Any suggestions to modify SS would be responsed with "OMG, you are going to let grand ma and pa eat dog foods and kick them out on the street".

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-reti...ire&cat=fidelity_2010_getting_ready_to_retire

 

[nobodyknows]

And that's where you are wrong. The poor, innocent, "old people" are the folks that got us in to this mess in the first place, and are the largest voting bloc responsible for ensuring we can't fix it. There is a reason Social Security and Medicare are the proverbial "third rail" of politics.

Actually the people who passed SS are all dead and gone.

What's the solution, kill all the old people? Let them starve? Get real. Most of these folks worked hard all their lives. I realize that this will most likely fall on deaf ears, but don't let your greed blind you.

 

[nobodyknows]

The very same people who scream every time SS reform was or is even mentioned are the ones now complaining. No sympathy for them.

The younger generations didn't put dopes in office, they're just the ones who are going to get stuck with the bill.

Yet dumb asses with attitudes such as yours stick their kids and grandkids with the bills for the unecessary invasion of Iraq and don't think twice about it.

 

[Balt]

Yet dumb asses with attitudes such as yours stick their kids and grandkids with the bills for the unecessary invasion of Iraq and don't think twice about it.

Sorry, guess again. I didn't support GWB or the invasion of Iraq. Any another assumptions you'd like to make?

 

[Exterous]

What's the solution, kill all the old people? Let them starve? Get real. Most of these folks worked hard all their lives. I realize that this will most likely fall on deaf ears, but don't let your greed blind you.

You see? That's a big part of the problem right there. People have no middle ground.

Do you want SS changed? Obviously your solution is to kill old people or let them starve. The only thing this type of discourse will help do is keep the positions polarized with no attempt at reform

What about me and others of my generation when we don't get all of our money even though we've been working hard all our life (assuming I live to collect SS)?

People want to talk about what's fair to the old people with no regards to what is fair to the younger generations.