Important

so much for the democratic promises when this was first started. the borrowing started about the Johnson era. Reciepents of same will not be taxed on same - well that went h in a hand bag also didn't. biggest ponzi scheme ever.
 
So??????

blades said:
so much for the democratic promises when this was first started. the borrowing started about the Johnson era. Reciepents of same will not be taxed on same - well that went h in a hand bag also didn't. biggest ponzi scheme ever.
Click to expand...

So, what's the answer. Is it do away with Social Security (that some folks call it a ponzi scheme but still take it), do away with Medicare, and while we're at it, disability comp? We seem to want more bennies, but don't you dare raise taxes to cover what we now have.

Look at some counties in Europe, Denmark, Britain, Norway, or Sweden. Yes they're basically socialist countries to some degree with high taxes. But...get the wrong illness and your life savings or house doesn't go away to pay the medical bills. These countries are not socialist countries like communist countries are. One pays up front during one's working life, but gets health coverage, and in most cases free college tuition for the kids or self. Yes, i know most Americans are covered by their work, but one never knows when one gets the wrong sickness and the insurance says, "Well, that treatment is experimental and is not covered."

I'm speaking from experience. I was stationed in Scotland while in the Air Force, and we used the British National health service for our medical needs. It was fine. Most still have their own family doctor and for the elderly, the doctor comes to the house. Try that here.

Ok, that's my opinion, but...most people don't know what they're talking about when the quote how terrible European medical coverage is.

That's all folks...virg.
 
Ss

was never designed to be a true retirement program...where each participant had their own account and value. Its a current worker pays the benefits of those retired plan. Is borrowing the money and replacing it with IOUs a good idea? I don't think so, because its foundation is the full faith and credit of the US Government. What am I worried about...the ANTIFAs and the liberal courts. God help us all if they prevail.
 
Not to worry....

glp said:
was never designed to be a true retirement program...where each participant had their own account and value. Its a current worker pays the benefits of those retired plan. Is borrowing the money and replacing it with IOUs a good idea? I don't think so, because its foundation is the full faith and credit of the US Government. What am I worried about...the ANTIFAs and the liberal courts. God help us all if they prevail.
Click to expand...

Of course SS was not designed to be an overall retirement program with individual accounts. It would have been a disaster. Look how a lot of folks have managed their IRAs and "K" accounts at work. If SS was up to an individual to decide what to invest in, 30% of those accounts would be broke by retirement. Also, SS was not designed to finance the general treasury fund either with IOUs. Clinton's the one who started the tax on SS because the fund was so solvent and successful.

I don't profess to have the answers to todays social finance problems. But...in any society, someone pays the piper. There will always be those who whatever their education, or status, will take more than they give. We can let them die because of their life failures, and kick them out of the way on the way to work, or put up with life's general hardships.

I just know, if you're extremely rich...no health worry's...or dirt poor...the emergency room will help with the county paying. But...if you've worked all your life and have saved a few hundred thousand, and get the wrong disease...you are at the mercy of a private insurance company.
 
Worked my Ass off for over forty years and I put into what little I now get back and it sure in the hell isn't any freebree, hand me down or a bennie. I worked my ass off for it and I will die long before I get back what is owed me back. If Socialism is so damn great think about the Bull S--t those living in Cuba have gone through and it how it so greatly benefited those poor folks. It was such a great deal they risked their lives by getting onto a make shift raft or an overloaded boat in hopes the current would bring them here. It won't be long before before they do the same in trying to leave what some of you not so bright and thankless folks are wanting to do to this Country as if the Castro's haven't already done enough damage to them. Screw the Constitution you say as the times have changed and its no longer relevant and the Devil himself will take over yet more as if he has not already provided enough Hell into this Country.

JLouis
 
Last edited:
virg said:
So, what's the answer. Is it do away with Social Security (that some folks call it a ponzi scheme but still take it), do away with Medicare, and while we're at it, disability comp? We seem to want more bennies, but don't you dare raise taxes to cover what we now have.

Look at some counties in Europe, Denmark, Britain, Norway, or Sweden. Yes they're basically socialist countries to some degree with high taxes. But...get the wrong illness and your life savings or house doesn't go away to pay the medical bills. These countries are not socialist countries like communist countries are. One pays up front during one's working life, but gets health coverage, and in most cases free college tuition for the kids or self. Yes, i know most Americans are covered by their work, but one never knows when one gets the wrong sickness and the insurance says, "Well, that treatment is experimental and is not covered."

I'm speaking from experience. I was stationed in Scotland while in the Air Force, and we used the British National health service for our medical needs. It was fine. Most still have their own family doctor and for the elderly, the doctor comes to the house. Try that here.

Ok, that's my opinion, but...most people don't know what they're talking about when the quote how terrible European medical coverage is.

That's all folks...virg.
Click to expand...

How long ago were you stationed in Scotland? Current reports about health care in England don't paint a rosy picture.
 
Keep on working!

I never minded paying taxes, but then, I've never had to live hand-to-mouth either. Somebody has to pay for roads and military and such. It's waste that's galling, and there's plenty of that in government.

I'm 67. I don't trust that social security will be there for me at 90 or even 80. I don't trust that my 403b won't be stolen by some hacker somewhere along the line. I'm going to keep working and putting away money in some sort of cash vehicles as long as they'll have me. My wife works, but has no benefits, so my work provides health care for us both.

Hopefully, it will work out in the end. I'm not going to stop working when my full SS kicks in at 70 or my pension at 70 1/2. I figure I'll stay on full time until 75 and then maybe go part time. My brother is 75 and still doing computer work (like me) full time.

If it turns out that I'm over cautious, then some worthy causes will get a nice donation. Am I paranoid, yes. Do I have a "bucket list"? No. My bucket list is to live comfortably and die in my own bed. Retiring at 65 and going to live in some sunny place and fish all the time is no longer realistic for most. I'm just embracing the new reality. Life has been good to me and my wife. No compaints. Studies say that people that work longer are healthier and happier anyhow.
 
You....

vtmarmot said:
I never minded paying taxes, but then, I've never had to live hand-to-mouth either. Somebody has to pay for roads and military and such. It's waste that's galling, and there's plenty of that in government.

I'm 67. I don't trust that social security will be there for me at 90 or even 80. I don't trust that my 403b won't be stolen by some hacker somewhere along the line. I'm going to keep working and putting away money in some sort of cash vehicles as long as they'll have me. My wife works, but has no benefits, so my work provides health care for us both.

Hopefully, it will work out in the end. I'm not going to stop working when my full SS kicks in at 70 or my pension at 70 1/2. I figure I'll stay on full time until 75 and then maybe go part time. My brother is 75 and still doing computer work (like me) full time.

If it turns out that I'm over cautious, then some worthy causes will get a nice donation. Am I paranoid, yes. Do I have a "bucket list"? No. My bucket list is to live comfortably and die in my own bed. Retiring at 65 and going to live in some sunny place and fish all the time is no longer realistic for most. I'm just embracing the new reality. Life has been good to me and my wife. No compaints. Studies say that people that work longer are healthier and happier anyhow.
Click to expand...

All though your working life as cited above, you've made the right decisions and deserve what you've earned.
 
vtmarmot said:
I never minded paying taxes, but then, I've never had to live hand-to-mouth either. Somebody has to pay for roads and military and such. It's waste that's galling, and there's plenty of that in government.

I'm 67. I don't trust that social security will be there for me at 90 or even 80. I don't trust that my 403b won't be stolen by some hacker somewhere along the line. I'm going to keep working and putting away money in some sort of cash vehicles as long as they'll have me. My wife works, but has no benefits, so my work provides health care for us both.

Hopefully, it will work out in the end. I'm not going to stop working when my full SS kicks in at 70 or my pension at 70 1/2. I figure I'll stay on full time until 75 and then maybe go part time. My brother is 75 and still doing computer work (like me) full time.

If it turns out that I'm over cautious, then some worthy causes will get a nice donation. Am I paranoid, yes. Do I have a "bucket list"? No. My bucket list is to live comfortably and die in my own bed. Retiring at 65 and going to live in some sunny place and fish all the time is no longer realistic for most. I'm just embracing the new reality. Life has been good to me and my wife. No compaints. Studies say that people that work longer are healthier and happier anyhow.
Click to expand...

Since I own a business, "retirement" is not really an option for me. I started drawing my full SS when I hit 70. Of course, I pay quite a bit of it right back in income tax, but I would rather work and make a lot of money, (and living good), than having to worry about where my next dollar is coming from.

Besides, I love what I do.

I feel fortunate.
 
virg said:
1958-1960 in USAF Security Service. Cite the "current reports" regards not a rosy picture.
Click to expand...
From NYT Jan 3, 2018 Part of a larger article.

“With the N.H.S. coming under pressure as never before, we are asking patients and the public to use the health service responsibly,” she said, “to help ensure that care is readily available for everyone who needs it.”
Dr. Anu Mitra, an emergency physician at Imperial College Healthcare N.H.S. Trust, said that 70 years ago, as the country was recovering from the devastation of war, the health service had been the country’s “greatest gift.” But “awful days like today” are a result of a systematic dismantling of the system eight years in the making.
“Two years ago I’d have point blank refused to examine a corridor patient until they were in a cubicle,” Dr. Mitra said on Twitter early Wednesday. “On days like this it’s unavoidable, I’m ashamed to say.”
The extraordinarily high pressure has led to resignations. In December, Bob Kerslake, the chairman of the board at King’s College hospital in London, quit in protest over what he viewed as the government’s insufficient funding of health services.


“We desperately need a fundamental rethink,” he wrote in an opinion piece in The Guardian.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologized to patients on Wednesday for the postponement of thousands of nonurgent operations. “It is absolutely not what I want,” he told Sky News. “There are real pressures, no doubt about it. This is the busiest week of the year for the N.H.S.”
Patients have accused hospitals of putting them at risk.
“I learned about the new set of deferrals from the news, but if I receive a notification, it will be the third time my operation is postponed,” Graham Groves, a construction worker, said as he sat in a cafe at St. Mary’s Hospital on Wednesday. “This is a disgrace. We injure ourselves while working to pay our taxes, and the government just leaves us to suffer.”


 
blades said:
so much for the democratic promises when this was first started. the borrowing started about the Johnson era. Reciepents of same will not be taxed on same - well that went h in a hand bag also didn't. biggest ponzi scheme ever.
Click to expand...



Yes, Social Security system was not designed to be a retirement program.

Nor was the money WE PAY into it designed to be used as a piggy bank for the crooks in government.

The first BORROWING was in 1968 by Lady Bird Johnson and her Highway Beautification Act of 1968 to plant shrubbery along the newly completed Interstate Highway System. How needy!!!

In the recent primaries of 2018 ONLY 16% of eligible voters voted. No wonder, our schools now teach Heather Has Two Daddies instead of teaching State and Federal Government!!!!

VOTE...its your RIGHT...its your DUTY!!!!


.
 
Tell'im Jerry. Being old and still self employed, I pay 15.3% of my salary to SS on my salary and match all of my employee's .0765 contribution. I do resend our SS money being used for anything else except for our retirement funds.
 
Butch Lambert said:
Tell'im Jerry. Being old and still self employed, I pay 15.3% of my salary to SS on my salary and match all of my employee's .0765 contribution. I do resend our SS money being used for anything else except for our retirement funds.
Click to expand...

Ain't it great Butch. How about paying unemployment on yourself and not being able to draw a dime.
 
If you're ever in St. Johnsbury VT

Stop in at Caplan's Army Store down on Railroad Street and say "Hi" to Gary Ely, the manager. He's 81 or 82 and it's the only job he's ever had. He loves it, and it suits him. He doesn't look much over 70. Besides his job at Caplan's, he has a ministry too. He gets to do what he loves and visit with friends every day.

I used to shoot in NFAA archery tournaments with Gary and Dave Caplan back in the sixties. He stocks Caplan's with about any variety of outdoor and hunting gear that you could ask for. He has no plans to retire.

Besides having a great benchrest venue, St. J has a wonderful natural history museum and their library, The Atheneum, is a must-see. It has a great art collection, including a huge Bierstadt of Yosemite Valley. Also check out Moose River Lake and Lodge for camp gear and taxidermy from great to not-so-great. There are also some good craft and antique shops. Have a Woodsman's Burger at Anthony's Diner while you're there.
 
adamsgt said:
From NYT Jan 3, 2018 Part of a larger article.

“With the N.H.S. coming under pressure as never before, we are asking patients and the public to use the health service responsibly,” she said, “to help ensure that care is readily available for everyone who needs it.”
Dr. Anu Mitra, an emergency physician at Imperial College Healthcare N.H.S. Trust, said that 70 years ago, as the country was recovering from the devastation of war, the health service had been the country’s “greatest gift.” But “awful days like today” are a result of a systematic dismantling of the system eight years in the making.
“Two years ago I’d have point blank refused to examine a corridor patient until they were in a cubicle,” Dr. Mitra said on Twitter early Wednesday. “On days like this it’s unavoidable, I’m ashamed to say.”
The extraordinarily high pressure has led to resignations. In December, Bob Kerslake, the chairman of the board at King’s College hospital in London, quit in protest over what he viewed as the government’s insufficient funding of health services.


“We desperately need a fundamental rethink,” he wrote in an opinion piece in The Guardian.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt apologized to patients on Wednesday for the postponement of thousands of nonurgent operations. “It is absolutely not what I want,” he told Sky News. “There are real pressures, no doubt about it. This is the busiest week of the year for the N.H.S.”
Patients have accused hospitals of putting them at risk.
“I learned about the new set of deferrals from the news, but if I receive a notification, it will be the third time my operation is postponed,” Graham Groves, a construction worker, said as he sat in a cafe at St. Mary’s Hospital on Wednesday. “This is a disgrace. We injure ourselves while working to pay our taxes, and the government just leaves us to suffer.”
Click to expand...


That is ONE news article and ONE disgruntled doctor complaing about the health care system in England. I think you wouldn’t have to search very hard to find the same complaints about our system. whether we complain about the government or a health insurance company, there is not much difference, except we can vote out an unresponsive government.

None of this changes the fact we in the US is the only country with a for profit medical system. Whatever their problems, not one of those other countries are advocating switching their system to ours. Rather than focus on what is wrong with someone elses single payer system and totally give up on the idea, why not look at what is working and improve on the rest? We are Americans. We CAN do better.
 
virg said:
Of course SS was not designed to be an overall retirement program with individual accounts. It would have been a disaster. Look how a lot of folks have managed their IRAs and "K" accounts at work. If SS was up to an individual to decide what to invest in, 30% of those accounts would be broke by retirement. Also, SS was not designed to finance the general treasury fund either with IOUs. Clinton's the one who started the tax on SS because the fund was so solvent and successful.

I don't profess to have the answers to todays social finance problems. But...in any society, someone pays the piper. There will always be those who whatever their education, or status, will take more than they give. We can let them die because of their life failures, and kick them out of the way on the way to work, or put up with life's general hardships.

I just know, if you're extremely rich...no health worry's...or dirt poor...the emergency room will help with the county paying. But...if you've worked all your life and have saved a few hundred thousand, and get the wrong disease...you are at the mercy of a private insurance company.
Click to expand...


What specific tax on SS are you referring to? Does the SSA now have to file a return and pay taxes?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top