Social Security Begins Cashing in USA's IOUs

S

SarahW

Full time employment: Posting here.
Joined
Jul 1, 2008
Messages
619
Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs - Yahoo! News

And the hits just keep on comin'!! I can't wait till they ram health care down our throats and China finally owns our very souls.

Does anyone else ponder the true state of our nation and get depressed? I have to wonder where the hell all this reckless spending and mis-management is going to end, and it won't end well I'm sure.
frown.gif
UGH. Are people truly so oblivious to what is happening? I am heartsick and really TIRED of business as usual in Washington.
 
Social Security and Medicare have been problematic. This fiscal train wreck was seen decades ago and repeatedly ignored. Changes to both of them are inevitable as the money just isn't there. Of course you may not like the changes dished out very much.

The current medical system overhall legislation takes some baby steps towards Medicare solvency. The bigger harder choices have yet to be made.

stayed tuned - this isn't going away.
 
Part of the problem is that for 40-50 years after WW2 the assumption was that each generation would be more prosperous than their parents' generation, and our entitlement systems and pension plans were designed in a way that requires ongoing increased prosperity to remain viable. It was practically a birthright to assume you'd live better than your parents.

It pretty clearly seems to be not true any more, and the strain on entitlements is obvious as the increased prosperity and economic growth needed to continue funding these at promised levels are just not there. At some point we have to eat our spinach and just accept reduced future expectations in order to remain solvent.
 
The feds should never have been allowed to dip into that fund. How do we as a people allow these things to go on?? I'm feeling outraged and I'm sick and tired of my hard-earned tax money being WASTED. Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to pay into SS, and the benefit had better be there when I am eligible for it. :mad:

One other thing that really grinds my oats: when younger workers whine about the number of "baby boomers" that will be drawing SS and how "their money" is supporting that draw. SO:confused:? We crusty old boomers PAID INTO THE DAMN SYSTEM FOR YEARS. It's not like a freebie. GRRRRRRRRRRR. Considering my SS statement and the amount I contributed over the years, I'd love to have my contributions plus the interest I could have made on that money.

I need more coffee.
 
SarahW said:
One other thing that really grinds my oats: when younger workers whine about the number of "baby boomers" that will be drawing SS and how "their money" is supporting that draw.
Click to expand...
Don't you know the poor "dears" have it much worse in every area of their lives? :cool: ...

(Please don't get me started :bat: )...
 
Please, go ahead and start. I don't want to be the only one with my panties in a knot. LOL!!
 
SarahW said:
Please, go ahead and start. I don't want to be the only one with my panties in a knot. LOL!!
Click to expand...
Well, just to get the ball rolling...
- Two of my note/mortgages were at/above 10% when I got them in the mid-late 70's.

- I received my "Greetings" (e.g. draft) letter from Uncle Sam the week I turned 18 (however, I entered the "delayed enlistment program" for the USAF while I was still attending a post-HS tech training school) so I left for basic training the month after I turned 19.

- I went to Nam (after spending 18 months in Texas ). Jury's still out on which was worse (sorry Texans - I love you, but I didn't like the "blowing sands - and tornadoes" of Lubbock that much).

- Just living through the times of the 60's where riots, demonstrations, lack of respect for the military (yeah, I already told my story on that one on this forum), and the "execution" of major "political forces" were the norm - at the time.

- When education was built on a "hope and a prayer", not an expectation as it is today (that may not be fair, and reflects on a family situation - which I won't discuss, but it seems that young folk have more opportunity to pursue/get an education today than any times in the last 100 years in the U.S.)...

To reflect on what I faced vs. my parents/grandparents (who had much larger "challanges") who were part of the "great migration" from western Europe and faced the dual challanges of the Great Depression, along with WWII. BTW, my paternal grandfather (we found the records from Ellis Island) came to this land with the clothes on his back and $20 in his pocket, and no relatives in this country to count on. Even with my "struggles" I would be hard pressed to say if I would have survived under the same situation. I still remember the stories of my mother who (with other childern) went to the local railroad tracks (still steam engines) to pick up pieces of coal that were used for heating/cooking at home. Once in awhile, a local train would pass, and the "fireman" would throw a couple of shovels of coal that the kids could collect (yes, a true story). She was born in 1929, so this would have been in the early, mid-1930's.

Each generation had their "challanges". However it seems like the current younger generation (e.g. 20's mid/late 30's) are a bunch of folks who's only verse is "woe is me" :whistle: ...

I paid (well contributed) to my parents/grandparents (all six) SS payments during their retirement years. I have no regrets. They left me with much more than they "took", IMHO.
 
SarahW said:
One other thing that really grinds my oats: when younger workers whine about the number of "baby boomers" that will be drawing SS and how "their money" is supporting that draw. SO:confused:? We crusty old boomers PAID INTO THE DAMN SYSTEM FOR YEARS. It's not like a freebie.
Click to expand...

I don't think that is quite what we mean by complaining about the "Boomers" - more of a complaint that the system was not designed a) the QUANTITY of boomers, or b) for what it is now being used for (people who have NOT paid a dime into the system)

Despite paying "into" SS for the past 22+ years, when I am finally old enough to actually reap any of my $$ back, the well will probably be dry. Not the fault of the boomers - we are just jealous of your timing!
 
Fireup2020 said:
...we are just jealous of your timing!

Let's not forget that since boomers represent the largest segment of the purchasing public, advertising, movies, even clothing designs are targeted to this generation. What's an almost 40 yr old to do? :flowers:
Click to expand...
I would tell you that as a "youngster " your complaint is no different than ours, as we view our parents/grandparents with their defined benefit (e.g. pension) for private sectors.

How about this one? I worked for a company 1971-79 which had a pension. I left it for a better position. Did I get a pension? Nope - the rule was that you had to have 10 years of service (I had eight).

Next company? Had a pension when I started there in 1979. By the late 80's, the pension was eliminated and replaced with a 401k plan. That meant (in my case) that I didn't start preparing for retirement (along with my wife) till our mid-30's. Our respective pensions went down the drain.

Today's young folk? (Early 20's)? At this time, they know they need to save for their retirement. At least they will probably have a better chance of "completing their task" since they know that they need to save/invest for the long term.

Not to be facetious, but today's "youth" may never need SS - in the far future, as related to their own investments (and that was an argument of private SS investment, as I remember)...

BTW, I doubt very much that any advertising (except for Viagra, Depends, and AARP) are targeted to “seniors” these days. The primary spending target is 20-30’s, as I understand it.

Hey! Don't worry. Assuming you live as long as us, you will see our POV in the future :whistle: ...
 
rescueme said:
Hey! Don't worry. Assuming you live as long as us, you will see our POV in the future :whistle: ...
Click to expand...

Already there! LOL I look like this regarding my adult (ex-step) kids' lives :)nonono:) - not to mention their peers! My parents had the same expressions! And the people who expect handouts really irk me (I work at the same office as GA/food stamps/unemployment) Some just really frustrate me! (and not just the almost 80 yr old collecting unemployment and complaining that his SS is not enough to live on - and barking at me because age discrimination exists in the workforce - and why am I not finding him a job??) :greetings10:
 
Hey Fireup2020...did you used to be Fireup2025 or am I losing it in my old age? :crazy:
 
bbbamI said:
Hey Fireup2020...did you used to be Fireup2025 or am I losing it in my old age? :crazy:
Click to expand...

Yup :greetings10: Nothing to blame on anyone's old age. After [-]I worked my butt off[/-] an opportunity fell in my lap, I was able to recalculate - knocking 5 yrs off the goal retirement year! Thanks for noticing :flowers:
 
Fireup2020 said:
Yup :greetings10: Nothing to blame on anyone's old age. After [-]I worked my butt off[/-] an opportunity fell in my lap, I was able to recalculate - knocking 5 yrs off the goal retirement year! Thanks for noticing :flowers:
Click to expand...
Congratulations! :D

(and I don't feel quite so nutty)
 
SarahW said:
The feds should never have been allowed to dip into that fund.
Click to expand...
So, what would you have done with that extra money that was coming in to SS every year for decades?
-- Convert it into paper currency and put it in a vault earning zero interest? If so, SS would be "bankrupt" many years earlier than it will be under the present circumstances.
-- Have the government buy stocks and private bonds with the money? The last thing we need is more government ownership of the means of production. Plus, as it happens, they would have earned close to zero returns for the last 10 years.
-- Use the money to buy US Bonds, the most secure investment on the planet? That's what they did. If we hadn't done this, then the government would have needed to borrow even more from the Chinese, at even higher interest rates, to keep spending at their irresponsible rate.

The real problem is the ongoing habit of the government to spend more than it takes in. And to take ever more money out of the productive economy rather than simply spending less. It is clearly not sustainable.
SarahW said:
One other thing that really grinds my oats: when younger workers whine about the number of "baby boomers" that will be drawing SS and how "their money" is supporting that draw. SO:confused:?
Click to expand...
For many decades, the average SS recipient drew out far more money than he/she had paid in. Low income people still do. For everyone else . . . the government appreciates your support. Please send more.
 
Fireup2020 said:
I don't think that is quite what we mean by complaining about the "Boomers" - more of a complaint that the system was not designed a) the QUANTITY of boomers, or b) for what it is now being used for (people who have NOT paid a dime into the system)
Click to expand...

how do people who havent paid anything into SS get some money out of it? i am not familiar with that aspect of the program (unless you are talking about dependants where the person they are dependant on paid in)
 
samclem said:
So, what would you have done with that extra money that was coming in to SS every year for decades?
Click to expand...

Well now see...you answered your own question.

samclem said:
The real problem is the ongoing habit of the government to spend more than it takes in. And to take ever more money out of the productive economy rather than simply spending less. It is clearly not sustainable.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm, perhaps they should STOP spending at such an irresponsible rate. Rocket science, FTW!!
 
jdw_fire said:
how do people who havent paid anything into SS get some money out of it? i am not familiar with that aspect of the program (unless you are talking about dependants where the person they are dependant on paid in)
Click to expand...

Collecting off an ex-spouse, collecting SSDI fraudulently, I am sure there are other situations too.
 
SarahW said:
Hmmmm, perhaps they should STOP spending at such an irresponsible rate. Rocket science, FTW!!
Click to expand...

Yes, they [we] should. Let's start with a 10% haircut to SS, Medicare, and Defense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wingfooted
End of the Beginning - Year 3 of 'Three More Years'
Replies
5
Views
2K
Pbkmaine
Pbkmaine
wingfooted
End of the Beginning - Year 2 of 'Three More Years'
Replies
12
Views
3K
pb4uski
pb4uski
wingfooted
End of the Beginning - Year One of 'Three more years'
Replies
1
Views
2K
obgyn65
obgyn65
wingfooted
End of the Beginning in sight --- delayed implementation
Replies
20
Views
4K
obgyn65
obgyn65
ladelfina
The Lifting of the Veil
Replies
20
Views
5K
Independent
I

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom