Cut-Throat said:
2b,
Medicare is in crisis. I mentioned that.
SS is not. - SS needs only minor tweaking despite what your buddy Bush told you. - Do you remember the 'tweaking' that was done in the early 80's? - Raise the retirement age a little, remove the "cap" etc. etc. -
Not a big deal! - Quit listening to Limbaugh and study the facts.
CT,
I don't listen to Limbaugh. Dave Ramsey's on at the same time.
The aggregate "promise" for the over 65/66/67 bunch includes both SS and Medicare. The system is and always has been bankrupt. There is no "account" with our "contributions" in it. Everything is a sham that can be changed on our politico's whims. The system depends on the generosity of our elected officials to divert tax dollars to pay for the supposed "earned" benefits.
They (both parties) have been merrily spending the SS and Medicare taxes on anything that they can think of. No party can claim a moral high ground but both try.
If you want to slice out SS, you can say "solvency" can be achieved with a few years added to when benefits can be collected, an increased tax rate and a little more erosion in the payout. You might even make yourself believe that the current system is anything but an intergenerational wealth transfer. The term "in denial" will also apply. It's not just a river in Egypt anymore.
I'll personally come out OK unless there is a means testing applied other than the regressive income tax applied to the benefits. The losers will be our children and grandchildren. Hence my quote from Keynes.
Here's the question. Knowing what you know today would you rather have put your and your employer's contributions into a tax deferred account that you controlled or would you rather have the wonderful investment known as SS? Now, ask yourself what you would want for your children. The answers don't really matter because reality says that our system won't really change in my lifetime. There are too many political forces around it.
This is a pointless topic but I dislike what appeared to be knee jerk, Kool Aid induced pontification.