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Interesting Post on Social Security
By JLP | January 19, 2007
I was over checking out Tom McMahon’s Blog (a weekly habit of mine) and I found a link to an interesting post on Social Security. To get a grasp of the problems we face in the future, check out this graphic:
I’ll tell you: I’m TOTALLY AGAINST raising Social Security taxes! We pay enough as it is.
Topics: Business News | 8 Comments »
January 19th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
One part of the solution is obvious. Increase the age for SS benefits. The age was 65 in the days of FDR, and is now only 68. This increase doesn’t take into account the huge increase in the average life expectancy of Americans. Increasing it to 70 or even 72 would save billions, and it would still be comparable to what it was when it started.
January 20th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Dear Tom, How old are you? I bet you are quite young. Why don’t we raise the age for benefits to 85? I hope you have to wait until you are 68 to draw any benefits.
January 20th, 2007 at 9:49 am
A better question Gerald is how old are you? I’m assuming from your response you are much closer to an age where you can collect social security. During the past 20 years have you written your congressmen and asked them to raise your social security taxes? If not you shouldn’t expect to get out more then you put in.
The younger workforce does not want to pay for the older workforce’s failure to fund the system. Especially when you consider that younger workers will definitely receive fewer benefits; if any at all. If it were possible I would have the government stop collecting social security taxes today and issue everyone a refund check for as much as was possible.
Tom is simply trying to suggest a way that might save just a little of the money for himself and possibly for you. Younger workers do not expect to receive any money from Social Security. It appears that his suggestion to raise the age made you experience the same feeling.
January 20th, 2007 at 11:35 am
The younger generation has been called the entitlement generation but when ever you talk about social security it becomes painfully obvious that it is the Baby Boomers who feel a sense of entitlement.
January 20th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Social Security and Medicare by design create a generational conflict. One generation asks the next generation to pay for their retirement and health care cost during retirement, because they paid for the same for the previous generation’s. Sounds fair on the surface? “I paid for your grandpa’s retirment. You pay for my retirement and your children will pay for yours.”
The problem arises when the current generation close to retirement, the Baby Boomers, is larger than the next generation. It also happens the benefits it voted for itself became larger than what it paid for the previous generation’s. A little creepy, huh? The benefit levels on the books are unrealistic. They must be cut back.
January 20th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Some great comments on this one!
I finally agree with Henry Phish on something!
Gerald,
Raising the retirement age could actually solve a couple of problems:
1. It could help relieve the problem of so many Boomers leaving employment, which could cause a labor shortage.
2. It would help Social Security stay solvent.
January 20th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Or increasing social security is delaying the inevitable… It was a death plan that was organized to increase taxes for the federal government. Instead of working with a bad program, work on something that might work. We should just slowly faze out the program as the time goes on. Give it to all the full beneficiaries lower
January 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 am
I’m in favor of a “Laissez-faire” government. I think the SS system should be nixed or at least we as citizens should be given the option to manage OUR money as we see fit.