Social security, a landmark liberal achievement

[Saint Guinefort]

Why? Because the puppet masters behind the GOP know that an aging voter base is a road to party destruction, so they are trying to appeal to younger voters.

Good point. I fear, though, that this is the only thing they are offering the younger voter. But you are correct. It is something.

Younger voters are the ones still working, who are having that 7.65% deducted from each and every paycheck to support the current retirees. There is a lot of resentment among them because they're also being told that when THEY get our age, SS will be bankrupt.

You're right that we all heard this throughout our working lives. I hope that it isn't going to finally happen, but if anyone can be royally screwed by the Boomers (that's me) it will be the ensuing generation. We already oversaw the explosion of university costs leaving them unable to get a job but with debts well beyond anything we ever faced and now we are holding on with all our might to all the jobs.

I feel really sorry for the next generation.

They'll supposedly have paid into it their entire working lives with nothing to show for it, according to the pro-privatization gang. One of my own kids has fretted about this. I told her that I've heard the exact same thing all MY life too. Yet here we are, still solvent, and we haven't had to move in with her yet. lol

We are dinks (double income, no kids) so we don't have that option. Our hope is to threaten various nieces and nephews.

[Yakuda]

No it doesn't. No one on the left is going that far. That is a mischaracterization.

That's EXACTLY what the "equal pay" argument is about. Beyond that goerge Soros's white male privilege means he had significant advantages over grandmothers. That's unfair is it not? You people want to eat your cake and have it too.

[Saint Guinefort]

That's EXACTLY what the "equal pay" argument is about.

No it isn't. The equal pay movement is equal pay for equal work.

Beyond that goerge Soros's white male privilege means he had significant advantages over grandmothers. That's unfair is it not? You people want to eat your cake and have it too.

This has already been debunked for you in a previous post by Owl. Sorry you missed it.

[ThatOwlWoman]

You are pretty close to what I am. I used my survivor benefit from my spouse until I reached full retirement age and switched over. SS is basically an afterthought for me, but it's nice that I don't have to think about healthcare, my Medicare Advantage premium comes out of my payment, and I get a little spending money once a month. I know some people are dependent on SS. Thank God it is in place and we didn't do something stupid like privatize.

My late MIL had only $929/month in social security, and her meager savings (~$200,000) to live on. Their house was paid off but she still owed taxes on it every year. When she was declared incompetent due to dementia and entered a memory care facility, my husband became her financial and medical power of attorney person. Her finances were a nightmare, she hadn't filed a tax return in years, or paid the county taxes. She was barely getting by; if she had been of sound mind she eventually would have had to come live with one of us because even with a paid-off house, she didn't have enough to live on. I've no doubt that there are many, many other elderly ppl in the same condition. Think how much worse it would be w/o SS.

[Cypress]

You are pretty close to what I am. I used my survivor benefit from my spouse until I reached full retirement age and switched over. SS is basically an afterthought for me, but it's nice that I don't have to think about healthcare, my Medicare Advantage premium comes out of my payment, and I get a little spending money once a month. I know some people are dependent on SS. Thank God it is in place and we didn't do something stupid like privatize.

Part of me says I should wait until 69 or 70 to take the delayed benefit of ~$4,000/month. That could pay for a lot of vacations and toys.

But I could be dead tomorrow or next year, so another train of thought is to take the reduced benefit at an earlier age.

[ThatOwlWoman]

Yakuda's thinking is entirely binary. No dimmer switch, which is ironic, given just how dim the guy is.

He's a good illustration of not only stupidity, but how the privatize-SS gang has managed to convince these idiots that SS is a rigged game that only benefits old retired ppl. It's grievance politics at its best. "Just look at those old people, living it up at your expense! All that money will be gone when you're their age."

[Cypress]

Yakkety-Yuck seems confused as to how SS works. He doesn't seem to understand that benefits are capped once you reach a certain income level. So if the grandma made an average of, say, $150K a year in her working life, she would get the same monthly benefit that Mr. Soros would get. Now if he was a self-employed worker rather than an employee, he also would have paid into the system twice what Grandmother did as an employee. But each would still get the same monthly amount.

This stuff is hard for Reichtards. lol

Good summary.
If a MAGA is going to scream about social security, you would think they would at least have a rudimentary understanding of it

[zymurgy]

Yakkety-Yuck seems confused as to how SS works. He doesn't seem to understand that benefits are capped once you reach a certain income level.

you don't seem to be aware that this program can be changed at any time - and will need to be substantially modified to continue past the 2030's

So if the grandma made an average of, say, $150K a year in her working life, she would get the same monthly benefit that Mr. Soros would get.

false - it uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings currently - but that can and will also change

[Cypress]

this is hilarious.

next, show us how well Enron was doing before that all came crashing down

You have been duped by rightwing media personalities

I was also told 40 years ago SS would crash and wouldn't be there for me when I retired.

Rightwingers have probably been predicting the imminent crash of SS for the last 80 years.

[ThatOwlWoman]

you don't seem to be aware that this program can be changed at any time - and will need to be substantially modified to continue past the 2030's



false - it uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings currently - but that can and will also change

Not false. Your benefits are based on your earnings. What I said is true. The Grandmother in the scenario who made an average of $150K/year her entire working life would get the same SS benefit as Mr. Soros.

Yes, the SS system can be modified by Congress. Certainly the earnings cap can be removed or raised. The FICA deduction can also be raised (or lowered). Means-testing has been suggested.

What's your point? It might change so we should scrap it in order to make wealthy corporations and investment firms even wealthier? Good luck with that.

[Yakuda]

You have been duped by rightwing media personalities

I was also told 40 years ago SS would crash and wouldn't be there for me when I retired.

Rightwingers have probably been predicting the imminent crash of SS for the last 80 years.

Being a ponzi scheme ensures it will be there

[SmarterthanYou]

Provide a link to a reputable mainstream news source

loosely translated to mean 'any link I don't like isn't reputable'

[Yakuda]

loosely translated to mean 'any link I don't like isn't reputable'

That's exactly right.

[zymurgy]

Not false. Your benefits are based on your earnings. What I said is true.

you said it is the average of your lifetime earnings which is not true. Many of us work for almost 50 years - but the top 35 (adjusted for inflation) is used

[Nordberg]

A chunk of SS supports the disabled and those unable to work. It will also help those whose wage earner dies young. Paul Ryan's father died young and SS helped him get by and go to college. He spent his career trying to end SS. I suppose rightys hate it because they really do not care about the people at the bottom or the old.
SS is over 80 years old and has never missed a check. They are run on a slice of their revenue.
SS cannot go broke because it pays benefits from the existing workers. If the workforce cannot cover it, its benefits will be cut to match. It is not allowed to touch the treasury for shortages.
When the baby boomers came along, there were going to be shortages. They increased the paycheck rates to cover them. In short, the boomers paid ahead for their own SS. They built a 3 billion dollar pool to cover them.