Krugman: Social security in crisis

[BBond]

Originally posted by: Genx87

How about "anyone who thinks Bush's private accounts plan is the solution is a fool" ?

You could say that. I however never said once it is the solution. The only solution is a solution which either gets rid of SS completely or makes it solvent. But at a point where we are not paying 30% payroll taxes to keep it solvent. That isnt a solution but a bandaid.

I am however in favor or allowing us to put our SS tax into a savings account instead of letting it rot away within the federal govt.

Your ideas don't give much consideration to the people who have been FORCED to pay into Social Security their entire working lives. And before you tell me they should have planned better please explain how they were supposed to pay Social Security, fund a 401(k), savings, and whatever other investments they could manage while up to $5000 per year was being taken out of their paychecks?

 

[Genx87]

Your ideas don't give much consideration to the people who have been FORCED to pay into Social Security their entire working lives. And before you tell me they should have planned better please explain how they were supposed to pay Social Security, fund a 401(k), savings, and whatever other investments they could manage while up to $5000 per year was being taken out of their paychecks?

Once you get past the fact SS was nothing but a tax disguised as a happy faced social program. Then you will start to detach yourself from the percieved right to the money.
After that unless you were making shatloads of money you were not paying 5,000 into the system. I make a slightly above avg wage and my SS taxes came to ~3000 bucks last year. Ill have to recheck but pretty positive that was the final figure.

If you are making enough to pay 5,000 into the system then you had enough to make a 401K work along with many other wealth generating activities.

 

[NightTrain]

Originally posted by: SViscusi

Originally posted by: charrisonA few years ago he said there was..

Where? I've read the colums linked from that page and can't find where he makes that claim.

"Where is the crisis? Just over the horizon, that?s where ? In 2010 ? the boomers will begin to retire. Every year thereafter, for the next quarter-century, several million 65-year-olds will leave the rolls of taxpayers and begin claiming their benefits. The budgetary effects of this demographic tidal wave are straightforward to compute, but so huge as almost to defy comprehension."

Paul Krugman The New York Times, 10/20/96

 

[DealMonkey]

Wouldn't a true right-winger worth his rabid spittle not care if SS is in crisis? I mean, come on, it's the convenient "wealth distribution" target du jour. Why not let it crash and burn?

 

[BBond]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Your ideas don't give much consideration to the people who have been FORCED to pay into Social Security their entire working lives. And before you tell me they should have planned better please explain how they were supposed to pay Social Security, fund a 401(k), savings, and whatever other investments they could manage while up to $5000 per year was being taken out of their paychecks?

Once you get past the fact SS was nothing but a tax disguised as a happy faced social program. Then you will start to detach yourself from the percieved right to the money.
After that unless you were making shatloads of money you were not paying 5,000 into the system. I make a slightly above avg wage and my SS taxes came to ~3000 bucks last year. Ill have to recheck but pretty positive that was the final figure.

If you are making enough to pay 5,000 into the system then you had enough to make a 401K work along with many other wealth generating activities.

If you earned $80K/year you paid ~$5K into SS.

And today, $80K is no big shakes.

Your desire to get off the hook for your end of SS is blinding you to the fact that the people who were forced to pay into the system have no viable alternative now. You just can't take money from people and promise them a retirement benefit then tell them there is no return on their investment when it's time to pay up.

Therefore they will never give up their right to the benefit they financed. And there are many more of them than there are of you.

Even if Bush manages to coerce enough of his Republican Congress into this debacle 9ala the prescription drug debacle) the backlash at the polls will see them all kicked to the curb in 2006.

Then we'll fix the system properly.

A recent CNN poll has most Americans saying the "wealthy" should finance the Social Security system by eliminating the limit on SS taxable income.

Sounds about right to me.

Poll: Wealthy should bolster Social Security

 

[piasabird]

Usually when washington DC has more money it just gets spent in a more wasteful manner.