Social Security, Medicare: Better news - For Who??? I'm not sure.

Social Security, Medicare: Better news - For Who???

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070423/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/social_security

In this article, it says we have till 2041 for the Social Security trust fund to be exhausted and 2019 for Medicare.

I think this deserves as much disscuion time as getting ride of Imus, whacked out people on shooting sprees, is the war wrong or not and most of the other topics we hear about in the media...


What can they do?

What can we do???

I don't think its fair to keep paying in and paying in if I'm never going to get anything back...

If I was to be excluded from S.S. tax now, atleast I could put it in savings and it would be there, even if small amount... Its something and better than nothing.....

 

give me what I put in since I started working and cash me out, then scrap that socialist crap.

 

Shhhhttt, I've been paying in for over 25 years now, knowing I'll never see a dime... I've got nine fingers, someone else's achilles tendon in my knee, three fused vertebrae, and a burst eardrum among other minor broken bones, 2nd & 3rd degree burns, and bruises.

When I applied for Social Security Disability after my medical retirement I was turned down because (Get this) I was receiving too much from the my regular retirement and the Veterans Administration, even though the Veterans Administration Disability payments are tax free and go unreported.

Yep, I've paid it in and continue to do so, but apparently will never receive it...

 

I think many people confuse social security, medicare, welfare, and any other government program. Social security is the fund we all or most of us pay into that pays us a certain amount when we retire based on how much we contributed over our lifetime. What people fail to understand is that there is nothing wrong with this system as it was originally designed except for two things. Certain administrations don't seem to be able to keep their hands off of this fund and the baby boom bubble is reaching retirement age and their are less people underneath them to pay into the system. This program isn't a government handout as in welfare, it is our money that we've paid in and invested it. It forces people to save for their retirement because we all know people are lousy at doing this on their own and would eventually become dependent on the government if they didn't have this money at a time when they would be physically unable to work. It doesn't pay much and I wouldn't count on it being there when you retire. Your coin collection is a better investment prospect.
We are not the only country facing a huge population of elderly compared to the younger citizens of those countries. Japan is utterly screwed in this repect. They don't have immigration and they are aging to the point where about 20% of the population will be supporting the other 80%. Most Western countries face this problem but countries like India, China, and Middle Eastern states have relatively young populations. The system as know it will have to change but it is still worth saving rather than abolishing.

 

I am not cofusing anything, I would like to opt out if they are saying I wont benefit from the system. I do not have an irrational hatred for social programs or socialists and I know such systems can work...sometimes people need help and the elderly who have worked all thier lives and paid into this system are a good cause but I loath paying into a system, all the while being told I wont be able to benefit from it...I can invest the money elsewhere and do a better job and not have them dipping into the funds for other things. By opt out I mean getting most of what I have paid back...HA...funny I know. It takes a lot of gall to force me to pay into a system and then tell me I wont benefit from it...

 

I agree...

I'm just really frightend of retirment or that I may never have enough to live on anywhere near what I do now......

Much like a lot of people I sock away 15% pretax into my 401K, and pay bills with the rest.... After that I don't really have enough to futher invest, unless I cut out everything I do now.. Which isn't much... My only realy hobby or place I spend money on is coins and i don't spend that much...

 

Same here, but then I also worry about where I should go with the money as I don't know enough about investing...

 

I'm not anti-social security in any way, but this statement is misleading. The funds paid into the social security system flow through to the general funds of the federal government and are spent immediately, not invested. In return, the federal government writes and IOU to the social security "trust fund" in the form of a bond with many of the characteristics of a US savings bond [e.g., lower interest rate in return for ability to cash it out in the future at face value plus accrued interest regardless of the interest rate environment]. So basically the federal government is promising to borrow more money in the future on their account through the regular Treasury bond program to fund the IOUs in the SS trust fund at some future date. This isn't exactly what people normally think of as "investing" because nothing is being set aside.

However, I don't think the social security system is in danger. In the future, the age a which benefits can be received will no doubt rise, perhaps by several years. A one year increase means there will be one more year of funds paid in and one less year benefits will be paid out. Two for the price of one! There will also probably be means testing, and probably an increase in the income limit from which deductions are made. Add all of this up and the program will probably continue beyond the life expectancy of anyone reading this.

 

Social security should be for those who pay into it. We have illegal's drawing from it.

 

Thats what Burns me up...

Why should I work my whole life paying taxes and into S.S., when other just have hope across a line and stick their hand out...

Some of them never pay, if I didn't pay, they would come looking to take my car, my house, my dogs house and anything else they could get their hands on...


Keep working, Millions are depending on you...

 

Paying in without any hope of ever collecting is actually more true.

 

I would say is also true not more true and not fair to them either, but its their fault...

They are here Illegally... Wait,I forgot we can't say that anymore, its Un Documented... I forget my PC'ness from time to time...

I have no problems with imigrants come here leagally and follow the law...

Two wrongs, don't make a right, but why should they be able to break the law...

 

I think that we all seem to agree on this that the noble social security idea has been abused and used by both political parties, lets face it both parties had amble political power time over the years to seriously address the issue, who seem to use it as a cash cow for other then what it was orginally designed for.