When SS started the first people who received a pension never contributed to the plan or contributed very little before they collected benefits. The succeeding generation put the money in for the first collectors. It all comes down to the fact there is enough money/resources to look after the elderly even if there isn’t a dime saved. The combined total of all the US citizens can support the elderly. That’s the bottom line.
If not for the Baby Boomer generation, you might have a point. But the fact is, we have 70 million people to care for. Now, they paid their money in, just like faithful Enron employees, but now we're told the money is gone, spent by politicians over the years, and not available to cover the cost of these 70 million Baby Boomers. No one will go to jail for theft, your remedy is to raise taxes on the current and future generations, to cover the theft.
As for the disingenuous argument there are fewer workers for each retired person compared to years ago we have to acknowledge many jobs have been automated. We don’t require as many workers to produce the same amount and that trend will continue indefinitely as technology advances. So, we have a society that is able to produce products and services with fewer and fewer workers. Instead of holding to the old paradigm that everyone has to work surely it’s obvious that’s not the case. Society can look after the elderly regardless of what money is in the SS fund. There is sufficient for everyone.
Well this exacerbates the difficulty in caring for the 70 million Baby Boomers in retirement, doesn't it? Less workers means less taxes collected, and less that can be paid to cover the theft from the SS trust. I'm failing to see your point even MORE than before!
The problem is how to deal with the new reality. Do we want people working just to say they’re working or do we want people to do things that contribute to the benefit of society? Do we want a society where hospital volunteers are not paid but people who produce things like “Pet Rocks” are considered heroes/role models?
I want people free to engage in capitalism and trade to obtain wealth and prosperity, so as to be able to cover the cost of 70 million retired Baby Boomers. I don't care what they do, as long as it is legal and ethical, and they can make money doing it. And for the record, Apple... I don't know of ANYWHERE
volunteers are paid! Can you cite us some examples of "paid volunteers" anywhere in this universe or reality? Because I don't believe such a thing exists.
And the Pet Rock guy again? Really? Can't you come up with another lame example to toss out? How about the guy who invented the paddle with a ball and rubber band? What about the guy who invented the whoopee cushion or fake vomit? If everything has to all revolve around societal need, why do we pay actors and actresses to make movies, or baseball/football players to play a game? How does that benefit society? Better yet... how about message board posting? How is this helping contribute to the needs of society? Should we disallow Damo from being able to make a buck with a message board because there is no real benefit? I think you have tread down a dangerous and stupid path here, to be honest.
Enron employees never voted for management. They had no say in the workings of the company.
It doesn't matter. They weren't forced to work for Enron, were they? Last I checked, we all HAVE to pay into SS, we don't have a choice. Also, when did we have this vote to allow politicians to steal the SS trust fund? I must have missed that one!
Good for him but as Obama said there are a lot of hard working, intelligent people who do not “make it”. The acquisition of money rests a large part on good luck or good fortune or God’s grace or whatever one wants to call it. You know my story. While not wealthy I was able to retire early. I did nothing or close to nothing in order to obtain my money. I had nothing to do with developers moving into an area dramatically increasing housing values. One deal I got on a rental property happened by bumping into my Real Estate agent at the video rental store and her telling me about a place for sale and the motivated seller. I picked up the place for 2/3 of the then current market value a couple of years before the developers moved in. Tell me, what hard work did I do besides returning a rented video? I’m talking about every $100,000 turning into $300,000 over a 5 year period, however one defines that increase or percentage.
Okay... so while you are explaining this to me, does it not occur to you that you did have something to do with your outcome? You made a decision and it turned out to be a smart decision. The reward for your smart decision was profit. It had nothing to do with "luck" and had everything to do with your ability to recognize an opportunity and capitalize on it. Of course, there was a risk, there always is a risk, but you reasoned the risk was worth the potential reward.
Obama is correct, and I have not disputed this... a lot of hard working intelligent people don't "make it." But here we see the LIBERAL use of "code words" in "hard working, intelligent people" ...that's to imply that others believe poor people are lazy and stupid. I never implied that, I simply said they were less motivated to earn wealth. What you and Obama fail to acknowledge is this... MOST hard working intelligent people, who HAVE THE MOTIVATION to become wealthy, DO! In fact, it's almost impossible for them NOT to, in a free market society. But what you and Obama seek to do, is make it much more difficult for them to become wealthy, by excessive taxation and regulation.
Take two corner stores a block apart. The one nearest the bus stop where two or more buses meet/cross will see a much larger increase in sales. Did the owner have anything to do with the city transportation routes?
Perhaps? Maybe they lobbied at the City Council meetings? Maybe they did research into the traffic flow? Maybe they read an article about how the bus company was expanding its routes? Maybe they paid twice as much for that location? We don't know all the details because this is an imaginary hypothetical. Is the owner of the less profitable store not allowed to relocate to a more desirable location? Does the guy who has more sales also have to deal with more shoplifting or a greater threat of robbery? What if a bus accidentally plows through his store? Is he "better off" than the guy on the next block over then? Lots of unknown intangibles here, Apple.
Not necessarily to become wealthy but anyone who chooses to live in poverty has a problem, other than those who do so for religious reasons. Happy, healthy human beings want a decent life for themselves and their family. My point was you motivated your kids to do things and they learned from that. As you said, “My kids weren't allowed to just hang out all day in their rooms.” You prompted them to go out and that changed their mood. Who prompts the 22 year old to go out? He/she has no money. Their clothes look like hell. They’re on welfare and the baby’s crying. They need help. Counseling. Rather than turning to drugs to dull the hell in which they live. They certainly need something other than being belittled by welfare telling them they’re lazy and enduring spot checks on their living conditions being treated like a convict.
But that is exactly what you want to continue doing more of, Apple... and that is the point... it doesn't work! Not a single solitary wealthy person in this country will credit the benefits of welfare as the reason for their success... not one! You never hear any gazillionaire saying; "Man, if they hadn't raised the minimum wage back in 1976, I would have never made it!" If the 22-year-old has no money, clothes look like hell, baby crying, etc., they don't need to "go out" and they don't need counseling, they need a job opportunity and motivation. Now, as a disinterested third party, there isn't a lot I can do to motivate them from where I sit... but it seems that cracking open my wallet to give them money to blow on "going out" is probably not the best idea for that. What seemed to work best for my kids, as far as motivation went, was to
withhold money. Now, my kids never did without or suffered, I made sure they had plenty to eat and were taken care of in that regard, and I supplied basic necessities, but if they wanted to "go out" or do something involving money, they had to earn the money. It was never just given to them. They had chores to do, which I paid them an allowance to do, the allowance did not materialize unless they did the chores... I withheld it as motivation to do the chores. Guess what? This worked wonderfully! If they had a strong enough desire to "go out" or do something involving money, they became motivated! It is amazing how that works, Apple!
I was a slumlord. I dealt with those folks on a regular basis and it was nothing short of a crime how society treated them. And, yes, I did occasionally help them out with “gifts”.
So do you believe society would treat them better if they were tooling around in a new car with nice clothes and money they didn't earn, but was given by the taxpayers of society? Because I've studied a little sociology, and I don't believe you would ever remedy the problem this way. Society would still look down on them and they would still be stigmatized. The only real way to "fix" this, is to motivate the people to pull themselves out of their condition and become successful... BUT... you are on the side who is attacking success at this time! People who are successful are demonized and thrown obstacles, taxed to death, ridiculed and scorned!
I agree. I am not motivated to be wealthy, either. However, I am not suffering. I can afford to look after myself well and have extra to enjoy life. Again, we’re not talking about being wealthy. We’re talking about suffering. When people don’t have enough food. Or a decent place to live. There is something wrong when people accept that lifestyle, when they believe they can’t change it. Surely you can recognize that.
Oh I do, that's why I give to a great many charity organizations, and not just money, but time as well. I don't want anyone to suffer or not have food or shelter.
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-local/Programs
http://www.jimmiehalemission.com/content.asp?id=384870
http://www.samaritansofhornlake-southaven.com/How-We-Help.html
Here are three charities I am closely involved with in my community. I encourage every American to become involved in local charities, because they do make a world of difference for millions who are in need. As you can see, there is a robust charity network around our country, every city has an abundance of charity organizations, and they can all use your help and support. Of course, you can't really send them money you no longer have in your pocket, if government has taken it to "fund programs for the needy" in your name.... which never seems to actually help the needy, but does tend to pay administrators bureaucrats and political contributors quite well.
But health care plays a vital role.
Not discussing health care here, Apple. Sorry.
