|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Social Security is toast.
So is Medicare.
Too many of us old people live longer, so there are not enough working people to support us.
Soon both Social Security and Medicare will be broke.
Our politicians don’t have the guts to do anything about it. Or even talk about it.
It’s easy to see why.
Recently, France’s president, trying to keep his country’s pension system from going broke, raised France’s retirement age from 62 to a measly 64.
People have been protesting ever since.
In America, politicians who even hint at such solutions get screamed at by misinformed seniors: “Don’t touch my retirement funds! You took money from my paycheck for years; that’s my money I’m getting back!”
But it’s not. It’s young people’s money. People my age rarely realize that most of us now get back triple what we paid in.
When Social Security began, a government retirement plan made financial sense. Most Americans didn’t even live until age 65. Social Security was just for the minority who did.
But now Americans live, on average, to age 76. I’m 76. Henry Kissinger is 100. Since most of us live so long, there are just not enough workers to pay for us.
Yet our vote-hungry politicians won’t say that in public.
Even Donald Trump cowers, saying, “No one will lay a hand on your Medicare or your Social Security.”
The most clueless, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, even deny the obvious truth. He shouts: “Social Security today is not on the line going broke!”
But it just is. Reserve funds are projected to run out by 2034.
Medicare’s reserves will run out even sooner.
Of course they will. When I first got Medicare, I was surprised how no one even pays attention to costs. Everything seems free.
“Get an MRI,” says my doctor. I immediately do. I don’t ask the cost. The MRI people don’t mention it either.
Months later, I get a complex notice that says my MRI cost $2,625 and I must pay $83.65. Or sometimes, nothing. Who did pay? Blue Cross? Taxpayers? The paperwork is so complex that I don’t even know.
Old people who scour supermarkets to save a dollar on groceries never comparison shop for MRIs or heart surgery. “Why should I? Someone else pays.”
As my new video illustrates, Medicare is a bomb with a burning fuse moving closer.
“Sooner or later, it will blow up,” says economist Dan Mitchell of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. “Politicians figure oh, well, maybe it blows up in five years or 10 years or 20 years. I won’t be in office anymore.”
Some claim raising taxes on rich people would solve the deficit, but it won’t. There just aren’t enough rich people. Even taking all the money from every billionaire wouldn’t cover our coming bankruptcy.
The only solution is cutting benefits, raising the age when benefits start (sensible, since we live longer) or, Mitchell’s preference, privatizing retirement plans, like Australia and Chile did.
America’s politicians won’t do any of those things.
So what will happen?
“The only other alternative is printing money,” says Mitchell.
“I suspect that’s what America will do,” I tell Mitchell. “We’ll be like Zimbabwe.” Zimbabwe’s president printed money to fund his deficit spending. When the currency collapsed in 2009, Zimbabwe was printing hundred trillion-dollar bills.
Yet politicians don’t learn. In the current debt ceiling deal, Speaker Kevin McCarthy got President Joe Biden to “claw back” unused COVID relief funds and keep two years of non-defense discretionary spending roughly flat.
That’s a little progress. But Biden wants to spend a record $7 trillion next year.
McCarthy said Medicare and Social Security were “completely off the table.”
So the programs are still doomed.
“Sooner or later bad things will happen to senior citizens,” explains Mitchell. “The government will either cut their benefits or all of a sudden start rationing health care. Or reimbursement rates will be so low that you won’t be able to find a doctor or hospital to treat you.”
By the time SS goes bust, they’ll be killing us off anyway.. Euthanasia is barreling towards us and it will hit the older folks first.
And those who won’t toe the woketard line.
You are out of step.
Social collapse is the sole laudable goal we can actually achieve.
Let’s focus on the possible. Find a standing statue. Grab A rope and pull it down now, before they have to turn off the gravity.
And visit the zoo. After the animals clear out, we may need dependable watering and sleeping facilities.
The author left out a few things regarding Social Security. I agree that the retirement age has to be raised. I believe that lifting the early retirement from 62 to 64 may be a good idea. Full retirement should be 67 0r 68.
Now for what the author did not cover. Social Security covers five different programs. Two, you are aware of being retirement and medicare. The other three programs are the SSI, disability program, and survivor benefits. These three programs should be discontinued. Those already collecting should continue to receive those benefits, but no new applications should be accepted.
Here are the reasons for eliminating those benefits. It is not the responsibility of the U.S. government to provide monthly benefits to a surviving family member in the event of a death or disability to a husband or spouse. It is family’s responsibility to carry enough life or disability insurance for those events.
Second, the SSI program is abused because of President Clinton signing the Family Reunification Act. For Americans who for one reason or another just cannot work, this should be handled by each state, not the Federal government.
Did you know that more than 100,000 old people are brought to America every year and start collecting SSI benefits because they are too old to work, all because of President Clinton? They never paid a dime into the Social Security System. They should not receive any benefits whatsoever and yet they receive retirement benefit, medical care under the state Medicaid program, plus other benefits as well.
Do your research as to why America is really going broke.
Agree completely. Recipients of these programs may have not ever contributed a dime into the Social Security trust fund yet can receive life-long benefits. If the American people want to fund these they should be separated out from Social Security and decided on and funded individually.
And disability? Americans who go blind are SOL?
No, an American who is blind should be care for by the individual state where that person resides. You may not be aware of how the Disability Program of Social Security is abused by so many.
Here two examples. A person in his early 20s fry his brain with illegal drugs goes on Social Security Disability because he cannot work. Another, an immigrant from Asia goes on Social Security Disability because she has high blood pressure. There are many people on Social Security Disability who could really work doing something else. I could provide more examples, but is the same old story. They really could do something, but it just so easy to collect money and not work.
How much is the government handing out to the invaders from south of the border, just for coming here and having a heartbeat? They are entitled to nothing; any taxpayer monies should be reserved for citizens, not for invaders who might never lift a finger to do useful work.
citizens and foreign nationals who applied from their home country were vetted and qualified and came here in good faith. THOSE are the only real “immigrants”. The clowns skipping over the madjickal line need sent home. Last week
You may be interested in knowing that the cost of handling all the illegals who have crossed the border illegals since Jan 1, 2023 has cost the Federal, state, and local government 157.7 billion dollars so far. Go to http://www.amren.com, scroll down to June 5th to read the article.
Let’s not even mention the School Lunch programs. They are administered at the school level. ALL kids are encouraged to turn in applications.
Verification of claims – income, number of people in the household, assets – is extremely slipshod, and seldom checked in most Dem-run cities.
Once the family gets a kid qualified, they are considered AUTOMATICALLY qualified for health insurance, food stamps, and a lot of OTHER ‘entitlements’.
Need I mention that MANY illegal aliens have their kids on the program?
The school lunch program is the gateway app.
If the person who has oversight over the program was financially and legally liable for any fraud, and would risk losing their license for facilitating it, a lot of it would stop.
Give trained bounty hunters – people with some training in the application process AND who will rigorously check documentation – bonuses for those found not eligible who are kicked off, and – if illegal – marked deportable. A lot of that crap will stop.
We can solve the financial problems of our country by sending more money to Ukraine. Just a few billion more and we should be in “the black”.
The finances of this country are going down the drain, only a miracle could stop the disaster. I doubt that miracle is coming. That being said, I dont much blame working Americans for milking the system anymore, Boarder jumpers and Afghan re-settlers are getting billions out of this sorry government.
The boat is sinking, the water cant no longer be bailed out fast enough.
The 60’s movie SOYLENT GREEN (Charleton Heston) is now looking much more like a “pre-documentary” every day. Ten years from now I have visions of the elderly trudging through the snows of “climate change” looking for frozen bodies to eat….much like scenes from Stalingrad. Just remember folks, after America becomes Amerika, the world will enter into a darkness that will last for the next thousand years. We will not be there to stop it.
”after America becomes Amerika, the world will enter into a darkness that will last for the next thousand years. We will not be there to stop it.”
Oh will they miss us when we are gone. And if they can take out the Jews also, mmm, no adults left in the house……… What a bloody party that will be.
I doubt that the darkness will last for a thousand years. It took 3500 years to create Western civilization, that magnificent three-legged structure of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. How could anything like it be created again, even given several times that 3500 years?
Leave Social Security for those who are currently on the program, as is. Raise the minimum eligibility for those under 55 to 65 and drop the early eligibility feature at 62 altogether.
That will buy us enough time for more do-nothing politicians to continue to do nothing.
Oh yeah, no Social Security for illegals…..period. Deport them all.
Yeah, as admirable as many of the immigrants are as individuals, the math of giving benefits to unlimited numbers of illegal immigrants doesn’t work.
Please allow me to orrect your erroneous language.
IMMIGRANTS are here by fully complying with all laws and requirements of IMMIGRATION. they are fine.
If someone has NOT fully complied with all the requirements, they have not IMMIGRATED they have invaded.
Please use the proper terms. Legal folks are immigrants, immigrants are legal folks.
Squatters, border jumpers, invaders, are NOT “immigrants.”
Nope, those currently on SS need to be a part of the change. And I say that as one who is retired, and on SS. There should be NO COLA increases ever again.
Will it hurt? No question. But only by making seniors aware that the government debt is raising the cost of living will they – FINALLY – start to think about what voting for the big spenders – both Dem and GOP – has been costing the rest of the wage earners.
The Social Security has already been cut by more tan 30% since 2001. And most people haven’t even noticed it.
1- By not adjusting for inflation.
2- By raising the retirement age.
So it’s fair to say bad things are already happening.
30% less of what the government promised is no joke.
Here’s a solution for future generations.
For every child born in America legally. $10,000 Gets deposited into child’s account by the government, and nobody can touch that money until age of retirement, under any circumstances. The money get’s fully invested in US stocks. All of the stocks.
By the age of retirement, say 62 to be fair, it’ll grow to be a million(give or take), it’s up to the retiree how to spend the money then.
The $10,000 comes from new taxes. A working person pays about $330 per year over 30 years (compare that to current rates).
Here’s the catch, if a person dies before 62, all of the money goes towards funding new borns. No inheritance.
It’ll also help the nations economy by investing into public companies.
The old system fades away when the last person who paid for SS dies.
I hope this grows legs.
Good idea, but not without its flaws. To illustrate, when I was born in 1949, $10,000 bought you a modest house in San Francisco. That’s what my parents paid for my boyhood home. Its current market value is somewhere around $2,000,000, even with the corrections San Francisco has had. That’s in 74 years. At that inflation rate, a child born today with $10,000 would be lucky to get a pack of gum for less than that in 74 years.
Fine.. so WHO decides which stocks to buy into? CLowns like the guy who ran that bank into the groundwith his ponzi scheme? This is a serious question.
If MY ten G’s had been invested in gold bullion the day I was born I could retire a multimillionaire.
Gramps gave me a thousand shares in a proven gold and silver mine when I was blrn. Trouble is, King County Washington’s Stupidvisors dragged their feet for thirty years on the permits they demanded to open the mine for production. By the tie they still hadn;t approved it the principals had all died.
So stupid government aced us all.
Nope. Government should not be involved. Instead, parents should be encouraged to do the saving and investment.
Perhaps only allow parents to claim the deductions if they can demonstrate that they are putting out their OWN money to raise their kids.
Agree completely. Recipients of these programs may have not ever contributed a dime into the Social Security trust fund yet can receive life-long benefits. If the American people want to fund these they should be separated out from Social Security and decided on and funded individually.
If any of the American people want to fund ANY benefits for the illegals pouring into our country or already here, let it come out of their own pockets. There is such a thing as charity; my people have been taking care of one another, if someone is in trouble, for millennia, and it works just fine. As then-President John Adams said, it is not the job of the government to hand out charity (in the case of French refugees from the revolution), no matter how noble the cause; this has to come from private individuals.
Agreed, sir…………………
New federal regs and reqeuirements had some in. This was around 1990 or so if memory serves. Nw records requirements forced him to hire a full time records/billing person. New codes had to be used for everything. To make room for the new otherwise useless employee he had to make a $20K addition to the office, AND pay her high salary, she being a (new_) specialist in federal records mandates. That was only part of the increase. His medical malpractice had been $500 to $600 PER YEAR for years. Now it had gone up to $1200 PER MONTH And the only reason he was able to keepit that low was to end several services he had been rendering for years. He no longer could go see the old folks in the homes where they were living with their caring families.That would have cost him $1000 more per month to maintain. Now they had to be transported at great hassle and expense to his or another office. Many now had to be kept at expensive long term care facilites, no longer at home,public money alost always involved in this. Not to mention now bing “warehoused”away from their close and loving families. Oh, and the next blood panel I asked about cost above $150 for the short list. I sand never mind. (still paying ALL my medical expenses out of MY pocket).
I’ll tell you why costs of living have gone so sky high. Back in the mid 1980’s I was out riding with thelocalcycling club, I at about 40 years, met a man at least ten years younger. We beganj a friendship, some time later I askjed what HE DID for work I’m a doctor. OK. A year on I had a minor issue,maskedif he was taking new patients.Sure, come on in. He charged me his standard oiffice visit fee, $35, which I paid in cash. He also suggested a full blood panel, I said OK, cost was around $50 again I paid cash. I’d never had medical insurance. A few years on I had another issue, office visit was fifty bucks, again I paid cash. I was also making five bucks an hour more at my work. Fine. Five years on (I’ve always been a healthy critter) I was back. THIS tme the office visit was $135, discounted for my crisp bills. Late in the day we sat and chatted for a bit. He’d not been able to join us on our Tues/Thurs rides for three years.b He was VEY sad. I asked about the rate increase. He explained the changes……..
For forty years I had no medical insurance, and paid ALL my medical costs out of my own pocket. The total I paid over that time was well under $1000.
Workplace injury with which the state refused to deal rendered me unemployable, so now I’m “in that category” forced into medicaid whether I want it or jow.
Recent “incident” resulted in a smashed forefinger, bone broken, leaking red stuff. Circumstances made me decide to get to hospital.. main deciding factor was the super high risk of major infection because of the environment at the time of injury.SO, off to the ER I went. Six hours (most of it waiting while docs told others there is no need for any treatment, go home and rest) , five stitches, plain film Xray, , antibiotic injection, referral to outside hand specialist. Total bill, $8000 plus. Referral doc took new xrays, examined, left original stitches, changed antibiotic prescription, had splint made. Decided to do nothing more and just let my body heal. It did. Total bill $350.
Crazy or what?
This untrue. Medicare is the. problem. Without significant intervention it will bankrupt the country. Social Security is easily fixed with modest decrease in benefits and / or tax-increase.
Some families that entered America illegally are getting more money from the US Government every month than I get from Social Security and I paid into that system for decades while they paid zero, nada, not a Dime… How can this be called fair in any culture or system?…. Thats not a trick question.
One last thought regarding Social Security. Social Security is not the only financial problem facing this nation. Consider all the waste and pork barrel projects that have been going on for many years. Consider the millions of people in America who pay no Federal Income tax whatsoever. In 2020 60% paid no Federal Income Tax. Consider all the corporations who pay no Federal Income Taxes because of all the loop holes that exist in our Federal Income Tax system. Listed below is the Tax revenue, money spent, and budget deficit for 2022, 2023, and the estimate for 2024. Remember the Federal Government fiscal year is October 1, to September 30th the following. year.
2022 (Actual) 9/30/22 2023 (In Progress Now) 2024 (estimate)
Tax Revenue 4,897,000,000,000 4,815,000,000,000 4,848,000,000,000
Outlays 6,210,000,000,000 6,344,000,000,000 6,492,000,,000,000
Deficit -1,312,000,000,000 -1,513,000,000,000 -1,644,000,000,000
Source – CBO May 2023
You will notice America is spending more than one trillion dollars more every year more than it collect in taxes.
That is why our national debt is 31.4 trillion dollars. So don’t worry about Social Security because America will be bankrupt before 2034.
Have a nice day.
AND WHEN THEY GIVE AMNESTY AND CITIZENSHIP TO ILLEGALS so they may bring up the rest of Mexico, then what???