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Are YOU willing to give up YOUR Social Security?

Would you give up your Social Security?

  • Total voters
    45
Nonplussed said:
What makes social security so sacrosanct? Is it because another generation promised themselves security in their retirements that they might not deserve? Is it because you have been conditioned to suck the tit of the government in your old age the same way you did your mother's in your infancy? Why is the younger generation to be saddled with the debt of helping the older one keep promises it never should have made at our expense anyway?
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Let me try another spin. It will not have the foul language or insults. In additon there may actually be a fact or two in the post. I wanted to say this because this type of post does not seem to fit your style and may not want to read it.

Let's start with how you or liblady defines an entitlement. If you buy an annuity from goldman sachs that says that if you pay in a certain amount they in turn will pay you X dollars a month for the rest of your life. That is what an annuity is. Now for people who have actually worked for 40 years, made their annuity payments ( and actually are getting a lousy return on their investment) and then recieve the agreed upon payment by month ( which the government gets to set) is that what you call entitlement. Some might call it a return on their investment.

I find this whole discussion about entitlements a strawman to cloud the deficit issue. People who do not want to rein in any spending conflate social security and medicare as entitlements, thus part of the spending problem.

Most people even slightly educated about the finances of this country understand that in the short term, both medicare are social security are fully funded. As a matter of fact social security alone is in surplus of about $4 trillion. The social security fund actually owns treasuries to this amount.

So perhaps the question might be more aptly posed. Do we want to alow the federal government to steal monies that have been put away by citizens, no different than had they put the money into a 401K.

Just think of the outrage from you and others like you if the investment companies holding trillions of dollars of citizens 401Ks decided, hey let's take the money these folks put away to retire and buy windmills with the money instead. If they ask for their money back, call them crybabies and not sure what you said about them sucking something.
 
washunut said:
Let me try another spin. It will not have the foul language or insults. In additon there may actually be a fact or two in the post. I wanted to say this because this type of post does not seem to fit your style and may not want to read it.
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There was no foul language or insults in my post. And no, I will not set out to read a post that begins with a lecture on ettiquette directed at my own post.
 
liblady said:
i asked for age specifically becasue i think older people would vote dirrentelty than younger people. i was also hoping for those who deride entitlement programs to weigh in......no surprise they have not.
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i am under 40 so it is easy for me to vote no - I have been fully aware for some time now that I will never recieve Social Security anyway; and so I am giving up something I never expected to recieve

which makes me typical, at least in the former regard:

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that a majority of retirees say they expect their current benefits to be cut, a dramatic increase in the number who hold that view. And a record six of 10 non-retirees predict Social Security won't be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.

Skepticism is highest among the youngest workers: Three-fourths of those 18 to 34 don't expect to get a Social Security check when they retire....





all i ask, since i know that at current I will pay my entire working life (since economists are near universal that the employers' match comes out of employee compensation, that means I am paying 15% of my income every year, no small amount) into an entitlement system that I will never recieve anything from, is that I be allowed to keep a portion of that in my own, private account.
 
cpwill said:
i am under 40 so it is easy for me to vote no - I have been fully aware for some time now that I will never recieve Social Security anyway; and so I am giving up something I never expected to recieve
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I remember something from years and years ago, the late eighties maybe, that said people of Generation X were more likely to believe in extraterrestrials visiting Earth than they were to believe they would get SS
 
im under 40 and i expect to not get social security when im older. I hope it goes away, we should all be responsible for our own retirement.
 
Blue Dog said:
I agree with you. The gamble could also apply to me collecting SS. One can have faith in the entitlement not going bankrupt. One can also have faith in the market to fund his/her retirement.
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Forget faith. Work to fix. I choose hard work over faith any day of the week. ;)
 
Blue Dog said:
I agree with you. The gamble could also apply to me collecting SS. One can have faith in the entitlement not going bankrupt. One can also have faith in the market to fund his/her retirement.
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Social Security is not going to go bankrupt. If current amounts are contributed to the SS Fund as they are now, benefits will continue unaltered until 2040. After 2040 the benefits will be reduced by 75% until the end of the century, if nothing is done to change how it is being funded.

Based on the fact that we are living longer, and people are working longer, increasing the age from 65 to 67 could keep current benefits stable for some time. There a host of other changes that can be done, and should be done, to keep SS for generations to come. Keep in mind that we are seeing concern for Social Security because the Baby Boomers are now retiring, which accounts for at 68 million people retiring over the next 20 years, but what is not being discussed is the next generation after the Baby Boomers. Gen XYZ now accounts for over 80 million people, and the number will continue to rise. So we have the people to fund SS, and we can continue funding it as long as we adjust for mortality rates and expenses.
 
Nonplussed said:
There was no foul language or insults in my post. And no, I will not set out to read a post that begins with a lecture on ettiquette directed at my own post.
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Great debating skills. You go to Yale with Turtle?
 
washunut said:
Great debating skills. You go to Yale with Turtle?
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Don't lecture people if you want your input to have value. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

And great job insulting. You should go off and lecture yourself.
 
ADG said:
Social Security is not going to go bankrupt. If current amounts are contributed to the SS Fund as they are now, benefits will continue unaltered until 2040. After 2040 the benefits will be reduced by 75% until the end of the century, if nothing is done to change how it is being funded.

Based on the fact that we are living longer, and people are working longer, increasing the age from 65 to 67 could keep current benefits stable for some time. There a host of other changes that can be done, and should be done, to keep SS for generations to come. Keep in mind that we are seeing concern for Social Security because the Baby Boomers are now retiring, which accounts for at 68 million people retiring over the next 20 years, but what is not being discussed is the next generation after the Baby Boomers. Gen XYZ now accounts for over 80 million people, and the number will continue to rise. So we have the people to fund SS, and we can continue funding it as long as we adjust for mortality rates and expenses.
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How about interest on the debt? They'll be using your SS to pay for it.
 
I basically go with what Nonplussed said. I'd like to be refunded what I paid in or at least collect on what I've paid in so far when the time comes, have it revoked tomorrow, and then be allowed to spend/invest with my own decisions.

I don't like investing in a giant slush fund with a PC title like "Social Security".
 
As long as I would no longer have to pay the tax, I would absolutely be willing to give it up and all the money I've put into it thus far.
 
liblady said:
see, you and i agree. why should anyone think it's fair to give the wealthy tax breaks when the same people want to take away ss? how can people be so stupid?
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You see it happening. I see it happening. Some others see it also.

There is a very purposeful and deliberate in this nation to pretend to create one financial crisis after another for the expressed purpose of repealing most of the progressive advances of the 20th century. This comes from the far right in the form of conservatives and libertarians who have bought an ideology, know that they cannot sell this ideology to a majority of Americans, so instead intend to impose it on the masses.

Some of this is being done through conservative judicial activism as evidenced by the Citizens United decision. Some of it is being done via Republican gains in off year elections when the voting turnout is down. Some of it merely right wing propaganda to get people to vote against their own self interests because they have drunk the kook-aid.

I am glad you recognize what is happening and stand against it.
 
Social security was a great investment for me. At last count, I've gotten back ten times more than I put in, and growing every month...

Viva Social Security

ricksfolly
 
from cpwill

A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that a majority of retirees say they expect their current benefits to be cut, a dramatic increase in the number who hold that view. And a record six of 10 non-retirees predict Social Security won't be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.

Skepticism is highest among the youngest workers: Three-fourths of those 18 to 34 don't expect to get a Social Security check when they retire....
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This is what is called a self fulfilling prophecy. With humans, if you tell a child they are worthless and no good and bad to the core often enough, eventually they will believe it and act accordingly. then you can point your finger at them and say "see, I told you so".
 
haymarket said:
This is what is called a self fulfilling prophecy. With humans, if you tell a child they are worthless and no good and bad to the core often enough, eventually they will believe it and act accordingly. then you can point your finger at them and say "see, I told you so".
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that is the dumbest analogy I have yet seen on this board.
 
I voted no im over 40 actually Im collecting social security after being FORCED into paying into it for 46 yrs
 
haymarket said:
You see it happening. I see it happening. Some others see it also.

There is a very purposeful and deliberate in this nation to pretend to create one financial crisis after another for the expressed purpose of repealing most of the progressive advances of the 20th century. This comes from the far right in the form of conservatives and libertarians who have bought an ideology, know that they cannot sell this ideology to a majority of Americans, so instead intend to impose it on the masses.

Some of this is being done through conservative judicial activism as evidenced by the Citizens United decision. Some of it is being done via Republican gains in off year elections when the voting turnout is down. Some of it merely right wing propaganda to get people to vote against their own self interests because they have drunk the kook-aid.

I am glad you recognize what is happening and stand against it.
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Voting for my interests is not in social security You have no idea what you are talking about because YOU my friend have been blinded.
 
Henrin said:
Don't lecture people if you want your input to have value. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

And great job insulting. You should go off and lecture yourself.
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What the heck is this, what exactly is the insult that got you so enraged. Now you can go f*** yourself. I said nothing to you and not much to him based on what I read on this site daily.

If you can't attack the message attack the messanger. Cheap debating trick.
 
Henrin said:
How can you miss the point so badly?
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Wow. I take back everything I said after reading this post. You are much more eloquent than I realized.
 
washunut said:
What the heck is this, what exactly is the insult that got you so enraged. Now you can go f*** yourself. I said nothing to you and not much to him based on what I read on this site daily.

If you can't attack the message attack the messanger. Cheap debating trick.
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What was your message? I was to busy dealing with the blinding light of the lecturing going on to know.
 
Henrin said:
Voting for my interests is not in social security You have no idea what you are talking about because YOU my friend have been blinded.
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If this was at the U.N. I would ask for an english translation of this gibberish.
 
A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that a majority of retirees say they expect their current benefits to be cut, a dramatic increase in the number who hold that view. And a record six of 10 non-retirees predict Social Security won't be able to pay them benefits when they stop working.

Skepticism is highest among the youngest workers: Three-fourths of those 18 to 34 don't expect to get a Social Security check when they retire....


Id like to know where CPwill got that gallup poll from..because its not on gallups site, unless I missed it

Gallup.Com - Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management

Heres an interesting poll, most americans back the unions against the governors that are attacking them

More Americans Back Unions Than Governors in State Disputes

Shortly all the opinion polls are going to change stay tuned...the callousness of the teaparty brats is starting to come in loud and clear to alot of people...the more they whine the more people are turned off....keep that in mind Turtle and CPwill :)
 
Henrin said:
What was your message? I was to busy dealing with the blinding light of the lecturing going on to know.
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Did you even read the post that the other poster objected to, or just react without reading the post like he did.
 
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