Osama bin Laden is dead

[Lady's Human]

Okay, so now we're up to 50 billion..........

The Deficit is NOT going to get fixed without doing something about SS, Medicaid and Medicare.

It's simple math, guys, you can't leave 61% of the budget untouched and expect to fix the problems.

[wombat2u2004]

Yes we give a lot of foreign aid. But being poor in America is different then being poor in other parts of the world.
Being poor in India or Pakistian means not having clean water, not having shoes, a toothbush, cloths, a bowl, a glass. Not having a bed or medicine for vaccines for kids. It means no heat, no electic. No nothing. Maybe you have one blanket to share with three peope. You might never have a pair of shoes in your life time. Watching your child or your brothers and sisters starving to death. That is poor.

And why is that in this day and age ????

[pomtzu]

The Deficit is NOT going to get fixed without doing something about SS, Medicaid and Medicare.

What "something" would that be? I depend on SS for my existence and am barely scraping by. Medicare is fine if you don't have to use it, but if you have only minor health issues even, the amount you have to put out in co-pay and deductibles could sink you in no time flat. So you then really need to purchase a supplemental plan to cover these expenses, so that's more money to put out from that big SS check that you receive.

If the government makes cuts in these programs, then I do believe that they will see a MAJOR increase of people filing for welfare and food stamps. What else can they do???? They worked all their lives, paid into the system, expecting to get some of it back when they retired, and now they might be told "sorry about your luck"??? Gives you a real warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn't it???

[Lady's Human]

I've been paying into SS and medicare for my working life, and frankly I don't expect to see a single dime of it, which is why I'm making other plans.

Ponzi schemes eventually fail, even if they're sponsored by the government.

[wombat2u2004]

They worked all their lives, paid into the system, expecting to get some of it back when they retired, and now they might be told "sorry about your luck"??? Gives you a real warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn't it???

In what way do you mean "expecting to get some it back" ?? You mean by Aged or Disability SS ???

[pomtzu]

I've been paying into SS and medicare for my working life, and frankly I don't expect to see a single dime of it, which is why I'm making other plans.

Ponzi schemes eventually fail, even if they're sponsored by the government.

Well - if the retired and soon to be retired had any inkling that they wouldn't have what they were paying for, I'm pretty certain that most would have made other plans/arrangements too. Too late now to be worrying about we coulda/shulda done, as we didn't expect to be in this boat. However, I believe I did hear that any cuts wouldn't affect anyone already over the age of 55. I just feel sorry for my kids and grandkids.

[Lady's Human]

You weren't paying anything for yourself. What you paid into SS while you were working was tabbed to pay someone else who was already retired. Of course none of the cuts would affect anyone under 55, why would the congresscritters upset a solid voting bloc?

Craven fools.

[pomtzu]

In what way do you mean "expecting to get some it back" ?? You mean by Aged or Disability SS ???

SS - retirement - my reward for having worked for 45 years and never having collected anything other than 1 week of unemployment the whole time. Yes - I did have to retire on disability 2 years before what I normally would have at 65, but since I was under 65 I could not get Medicare and I did have to pay for my own private healthcare insurance to the tune of over $500 each month, or do without. At least I qualified for SS tho. Medicare kicked in when I turned 65, but between that and my supplemental health insurance, I still pay about $250 each month out of that big SS check. And I don't even carry prescription coverage, which is more big bucks than I care to dish out, but I take next to no meds - fortunately!


ETA: We certainly did get off topic here. Sorry.........

[wombat2u2004]

SS - retirement - my reward for having worked for 45 years and never having collected anything other than 1 week of unemployment the whole time. Yes - I did have to retire on disability 2 years before what I normally would have at 65, but since I was under 65 I could not get Medicare and I did have to pay for my own private healthcare insurance to the tune of over $500 each month, or do without. At least I qualified for SS tho. Medicare kicked in when I turned 65, but between that and my supplemental health insurance, I still pay about $250 each month out of that big SS check. And I don't even carry prescription coverage, which is more big bucks than I care to dish out, but I take next to no meds - fortunately!

Yeah. Well I suppose one of the big problems is how the country is going to sustain an ageing population. I believe people of our age group are sort of at the crossroads. I assume the USA and Australia are sort of similar in the way things are run, and how they can approach a problem like this.
Compulsory superannuation was introduced here in Australia about 18 years ago, before that, some people had superannuation, but most didn't, because most people believed that when they reached 65 for men or 60 for women, they would get their old aged pension. It's always been that way, so you can't blame people for not providing for their own retirement. Yes, they thought as you do, you work hard all of your life, and you pay into the system, and in turn the system will provide for you when you retire, and that is fair enough.
Why I believe we are at a crossroad, is because everyone now is providing for their own retirement, so the direction has changed, and now the question is.... why they should subsidise someone elses retirement ? ie: The aged population.
I believe that aged and disability pensions should continue to be paid as they always have. There should be no cuts, and the sum of money payable should be adjusted regularly to account for changes in the CPI and inflation etc, so that those people receiving such pensions, can live comfortably. (That happens here in Australia.) And that the govt. shouldn't even consider reducing the lifestyle of those folks.
I also believe that people who have superannuation be allowed a part pension to "make up" any shortfall, so that they would receive the sum equal to the aged pension. (That also happens here in Australia)
And I also believe that the people who disagree with this should take a real long look at themselves, and start to realise a few truths.

[Bonny]

Yeah. Well I suppose one of the big problems is how the country is going to sustain an ageing population. I believe people of our age group are sort of at the crossroads. I assume the USA and Australia are sort of similar in the way things are run, and how they can approach a problem like this.
Compulsory superannuation was introduced here in Australia about 18 years ago, before that, some people had superannuation, but most didn't, because most people believed that when they reached 65 for men or 60 for women, they would get their old aged pension. It's always been that way, so you can't blame people for not providing for their own retirement. Yes, they thought as you do, you work hard all of your life, and you pay into the system, and in turn the system will provide for you when you retire, and that is fair enough.
Why I believe we are at a crossroad, is because everyone now is providing for their own retirement, so the direction has changed, and now the question is.... why they should subsidise someone elses retirement ? ie: The aged population.
I believe that aged and disability pensions should continue to be paid as they always have. There should be no cuts, and the sum of money payable should be adjusted regularly to account for changes in the CPI and inflation etc, so that those people receiving such pensions, can live comfortably. (That happens here in Australia.) And that the govt. shouldn't even consider reducing the lifestyle of those folks.
I also believe that people who have superannuation be allowed a part pension to "make up" any shortfall, so that they would receive the sum equal to the aged pension. (That also happens here in Australia)
And I also believe that the people who disagree with this should take a real long look at themselves, and start to realise a few truths.

Well Said! Wombat

A lot of people in the U.S. live beyond their means & the rest of us end up paying for it. Not everyone is collecting S.S. & a lot of so called baby boomers are out their trying to help the so called X generation from going under. They put in a lot of hours volunteering in schools, rest homes, hospitals, etc., but I guess that doesn't count? We are just a bunch of leeches sucking THEIR got to have it now system dry.

[pomtzu]

Wom - SS recipients here have not had a cost of living raise in 2 years. The powers that be decided that inflation wasn't all that bad , and we didn't need any raise. Oh yeah - let's see the powers that be, try to live on what I do each month!
I wish I had the benefit of a 401K retirement plan all the years I worked, but I didn't. It wasn't until about 10 years before I retired, that the company I had been with already for over 10 years, implemented one. I paid in the max allowable that was met by company funds, but 10 years didn't amount to much. Had I had such a plan all my working years, I would have had a nice nest egg. Again - too little/too late.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

I worked for over 25 years and paid into social security all that time. I don't feel a bit guilty over drawing it now. I did have a bit of a retirement fund, unfortunately, I had to live on it while I went from doctor to doctor while the government decided on my disability.

Believe me it is no fun living solely on disability. I'd go back to work in a second if I could.

All I can say is for all of you lucky enough to still work, save every cent you can and buy your own home. When you get on limited income there is no money for rent or mortgauge payments. At least not on my budget.

I'm sure all us oldsters will die as soon as we possibly can and get out of the way.

[Karen]

As someone who is sandwiched between the baby boomers and generation X-ers, I have been told since I was a kid that give the economics, not to count on Social Security existing by the time I am able to retire. I fully expect to be working until I am at least 80. I started paying into the system when I began working at 17, but have never regarded it is something I can count on.

Am I glad it exists for those who need it? Of course! That's entirely separate from expecting it to be available for me.

[lizbud]

I've been paying into SS and medicare for my working life, and frankly I don't expect to see a single dime of it, which is why I'm making other plans.

Ponzi schemes eventually fail, even if they're sponsored by the government.

There's that pessimist side of you talking again. As a Postal Worker you
will have SS and a Government pension that you'll draw from, right?

And it only makes sense for everyone to also save, invest, and take other
measures to help themselves before they get to retirement.

[Lady's Human]

As a FERS retiree, i will have a small (damned small) annuity payment, SS (yeah, right) and my 401-k equivalent.

I will also (as military retiree) be collecting a military pension at 60.

The only portions I actually count on are the military pension and the TSP.