Time to reform Social Security

[Althea]

Truthfully, I don't know a ton of specifics or have detailed ideas on what the best solutions are. I just want politicians to start talking about it more - most of them are currently too terrified to even mention it.

Democrats: Capping FICA contributions at $160,000/year salary should be raised.

Republicans: No.

Democrats: The wealthiest people in the world pay no FICA. Perhaps some cap gains should be subject?

Republicans: No

 

[Stone]

Because you are too ignorant to fully comprehend the intricacies of SSI, doesn't mean it's a scam. You've been getting periodic mailings from SS for years that detail your approximate monthly payout based on your FICA input.

You can collect at 62. Depending upon when you were born. Retirement age isn't 62. If you are still working full time, then collecting at 62 might not make sense. If you don't earn much money right now, then collecting at 62 is a no brainer. If you were an employee for most of your life then waiting for full payment at 66 1/2 will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

If you are an employee, SS is the best investment you ever made.

I dont read that shit....I have my own retirement. Doesnt matter though,...I want the original agreement followed to the letter whether I need it or not. Whats right is right.

 

[Althea]

I dont read that shit....I have my own retirement. Doesnt matter though,...I want the original agreement followed to the letter whether I need it or not. Whats right is right.

The original agreement has not changed.

 

[Stone]

Bush tried to have it all go to the Market. When he crashed the economy, millions of seniors would have been living in the street.

Many are now. Young and old,...Especially in the more libtarded of cities. Libtardation is truly a plague upon the land.

 

[Hawkeye10]

Its too late and America is too broken to do it.

The collapse of America is now.

 

[Althea]

Many are now. Young and old,...Especially in the more libtarded of cities. Libtardation is truly a plague upon the land.

Sure they are.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

People are so afraid to talk about it - it's the "third rail." But the hard reality is that benefits will have to be cut in the next 10-20 years unless SS is changed.

It's a good program. We need it. But it will continue to both eat up the national budget and provide diminishing returns as time goes by.

I favor at least partial privatization, or some investment in the market. It makes no sense to have 1-2% returns when you can get a much greater yield. But there are other proposals out there, and we need to let our representatives know that they NEED to talk about this, and address it. They're avoiding it now because they're afraid of voters, but it's just postponing the inevitable.

Kudos to Nikki Haley for having some courage & actually talking about reform in her campaign.

Since SS isn't going away, the way to fix it is two-fold...

First, put no cap on income that can be withheld into Social Security but a cap on outlays. Right now, the cap is $160,200. Remove that but leave the maximum monthly outlay the same.

Second, privatize something like 20% of the monies taken in to invest outside of the government for higher rates of return. This has two advantages. First, it puts more money into Social Security to pay out to recipients, and second, it puts more of the money in Social Security to work investing in the private sector to grow the economy.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Because let's face it most people are short sighted. And in a society where you need money to do everything, it becomes a societal imperative to reduce poverty. You reduce poverty you reduce the suffering and desperation that can bleed over into your -supposedly- self reliant world.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/socia...benefits, 37.7,benefits, only 10.3 percent do.

Yep. It doesn't help that our entire economy is built upon consumerism rather than frugality and saving for something decades down the road, or even to buy something next month.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

As I'm sure you know, any FICA payments above what SSI pays out go to treasuries by law.

Right now earning about 5%.

Covid probably saved SS millions over time. They certainly have room to move the top FICA liability to $200,000/year.
Maybe a 2% FICA tax on cap gains over $500,000/year would help?

Or means testing for wealthy people who were subject to FICA?

I think that all of these ideas have merit. There will be a huge fight over defining "wealthy," of course. Any time we discuss taxing the wealthy -- or depriving them of public money -- the Republicans circle the wagons and pass the ammunition.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Because you are too ignorant to fully comprehend the intricacies of SSI, doesn't mean it's a scam. You've been getting periodic mailings from SS for years that detail your approximate monthly payout based on your FICA input.

You can collect at 62. Depending upon when you were born. Retirement age isn't 62. If you are still working full time, then collecting at 62 might not make sense. If you don't earn much money right now, then collecting at 62 is a no brainer. If you were an employee for most of your life then waiting for full payment at 66 1/2 will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

If you are an employee, SS is the best investment you ever made.

Thank you. I would just add to that "If you were a low- or middle-paid employee, SS is the best investment for you."

 

[Nordberg]

Social Security was started because there was a crying need for it. Many old people were starving and suffering. Reality intrudes into people's lives. People get ill, they get into accidents. inflation eats up their savings, they get scammed or their spouse dies. When you are young, you think it will all be different for you. So did the oldies.
A large part of SS is spent on people who have been crippled or are unable to work for mental problems.
They help people who are taking care of grandparents whose kid died leaving children behind. They help kids whose wage-earning parent died. They help the disabled.

 

[leaningright]

Social Security was started because there was a crying need for it. Many old people were starving and suffering. Reality intrudes into people's lives. People get ill, they get into accidents. inflation eats up their savings, they get scammed or their spouse dies. When you are young, you think it will all be different for you. So did the oldies.
A large part of SS is spent on people who have been crippled or are unable to work for mental problems.
They help people who are taking care of grandparents whose kid died leaving children behind. They help kids whose wage-earning parent died. They help the disabled.

Yes, and I’m for every one of those things. I support trying to find ways to stabilize SS for those that rely on it.

 

[Nordberg]

Yes, and I’m for every one of those things. I support trying to find ways to stabilize SS for those that rely on it.

The wealthy do not want regular people getting healthcare, Social Security, or any other help from the government. They have no use for the people. People pay in for SS . It is no handout.

 

[NiftyNiblick]

People are so afraid to talk about it - it's the "third rail." But the hard reality is that benefits will have to be cut in the next 10-20 years unless SS is changed.

It's a good program. We need it. But it will continue to both eat up the national budget and provide diminishing returns as time goes by.

I favor at least partial privatization, or some investment in the market. It makes no sense to have 1-2% returns when you can get a much greater yield. But there are other proposals out there, and we need to let our representatives know that they NEED to talk about this, and address it. They're avoiding it now because they're afraid of voters, but it's just postponing the inevitable.

Kudos to Nikki Haley for having some courage & actually talking about reform in her campaign.

Dumbest fucking post of the day.

It's the underregulated private sector that's fucking up our national standard of living
and the Trump SCOTUS is out to dismantle whatever regulation is left.

When the alleged "centrists" start talking like motherfucking teabaggers,
you know that America's swirl down history's toilet drain has become unstoppable.

The abject stupidity of my countrymen
makes me glad that most of my life is in the rear view mirror.

Privatize social security?
That was Dubya's great idea.

Kudos to the button head cunt Haley?
Fuck you, BE.

__Nifty Niblick

 

[Into the Night]

Republicans? Do they still exist?

I kid, I kid. This has been one of my more "conservative" positions - though, I actually think it's a progressive ideal. Because improving returns for SS recipients would be progress, after all.

Communism is not progress.

 

[Into the Night]

Truthfully, I don't know a ton of specifics or have detailed ideas on what the best solutions are. I just want politicians to start talking about it more - most of them are currently too terrified to even mention it.

Fair enough.

 

[Into the Night]

Because you are too ignorant to fully comprehend the intricacies of SSI, doesn't mean it's a scam. You've been getting periodic mailings from SS for years that detail your approximate monthly payout based on your FICA input.

You can collect at 62. Depending upon when you were born. Retirement age isn't 62. If you are still working full time, then collecting at 62 might not make sense. If you don't earn much money right now, then collecting at 62 is a no brainer. If you were an employee for most of your life then waiting for full payment at 66 1/2 will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.

If you are an employee, SS is the best investment you ever made.

It is a scam. The ROI sucks. It's a Ponzi scheme, with the government taking the lion's share of the proceeds. Despite this, the government is broke.

 

[Into the Night]

The original agreement has not changed.

Yes it has. See here and here.

 

[Into the Night]

Since SS isn't going away, the way to fix it is two-fold...

First, put no cap on income that can be withheld into Social Security but a cap on outlays. Right now, the cap is $160,200. Remove that but leave the maximum monthly outlay the same.

Second, privatize something like 20% of the monies taken in to invest outside of the government for higher rates of return. This has two advantages. First, it puts more money into Social Security to pay out to recipients, and second, it puts more of the money in Social Security to work investing in the private sector to grow the economy.

This is gambling with someone else's money (the best way!). It also is an undue bias on the stock market, essentially putting the stock market under full government control.

 

[Into the Night]

The wealthy do not want regular people getting healthcare, Social Security, or any other help from the government. They have no use for the people. People pay in for SS . It is no handout.

It is a handout. It is money taken from the productive by force and given to the unproductive (with government taking their nice little cut in the process!).

It is communism. It is theft. It is NOT charity.