Medicare and Social Security Funding at issue again

[whell]

Now the government is updating its projections - if you can believe them - and the insolvency of Medicare and Social Security will arrive just a bit sooner than expected: starting in 2018 for disabled recipients of SS benefits, and 2036 for seniors.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...-u-s-says.html

Max Baucus and company suggest we should kick the can down the road - no need to take any action at this time, we can deal with it later. Its more important to secure and continue paying benefits for today's beneficiaries.

Paul Ryan and company say that this further underscores the need to fix or reconstitute these programs today to secure a level of benefits that are sustainable.

Who's right?

[finnbow]

The answer (as always) lies somewhere in the middle. However, in American politics, there is no middle.

[BlueStreak]

I have a hard time believing those numbers anyhow. They keep changing as if someone isn't making progress with their efforts, so a greater sense of urgency is needed. In otherwords--------Ryan met a lot of angry people on his town hall tour, so now it's going down sooner. Next thing we know it'll be going bankrupt at dinner time, so we MUST adopt his proposal at an emergency session.

I agree with Finn.

Dave

[noonereal]

It is simply time for the mainstream left to take to the streets.

Replace the stolen money from the fund and repeal retroactively the taxx cuts since Bush.

All US financial problems solved.

Now for good measure lets repeal the SS cap.

This stuff is real simple.

[piece-itpete]

Youz are probably all waiting for me to say, it's all BS, it's all a shell game at this point anyway.

I live to serve

Pete

[merrylander]

Funny how we were not allowed to stop the banker's bonuses because it was "a contractual obligation" but it is quite ok to break contracts with ordinary people.

[flacaltenn]

Whell::

Paul Ryan and company say that this further underscores the need to fix or reconstitute these programs today to secure a level of benefits that are sustainable.

Who's right?

If you're honest about -- you'll find quotes from Pelosi and others on the left saying that Soc Sec and Medicare ARE INDEED "on the table". IMHO -- They are more accurately "on life support". So we get a rare opportunity to see both sides ADMIT to a crisis that they have created.

In fact, those future doomsday dates are total cowcrap because there is no Trust Fund. Social Security went negative ALREADY!. That's why it's on the way to the O.R. for emergency organ scavenging. Because the politicians can't steal from something that's operating at a loss. NOW-- they care. A large part of the Obama deficits are because the payroll tax surpluses of 300Bil/yr (in the 90's) have reversed to liabilities of -40Bil/yr.

NoOneReal:

It is simply time for the mainstream left to take to the streets.

Replace the stolen money from the fund and repeal retroactively the taxx cuts since Bush.

All US financial problems solved.

Now for good measure lets repeal the SS cap.

This stuff is real simple.

Replace the money stolen from the FUND??? NOW you want accountability?
When SS was still producing a surplus (to be stolen) during the Bush years, he proposed using some of that surplus to DEFER future liabilities by letting younger people take a 10% personal interest in their accounts. Made too much sense.

Besides any good leftist will tell you that those SS/MC IOUs are backed with Treasury Bonds... Well maybe only leftists who use their VISA to pay their Mastercard.

Repeal the SS Cap??? Can't do that. This is UNIVERSAL retirement insurance. The SS fund was created for ALL Americans... That's why FDR is so dam revered. You start making SS into a welfare program and the American public will never fall for a promise of Universal ANYTHING anymore.. (((Wait -- that's a great Idea NoOneReal -- go repeal the cap, means test the hell of it and make the rich pay)))

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by flacaltenn

Replace the money stolen from the FUND??? NOW you want accountability?

Yes, Now, before and later.

Repeal the SS Cap??? Can't do that. This is UNIVERSAL retirement insurance. The SS fund was created for ALL Americans... That's why FDR is so dam revered. You start making SS into a welfare program and the American public will never fall for a promise of Universal ANYTHING anymore.. (((Wait -- that's a great Idea NoOneReal -- go repeal the cap, means test the hell of it and make the rich pay)))

BS repealing the cap does not make this a welfare program. That is a bogus assertion.

[BlueStreak]

When did you start believing anything Pelosi says?

[merrylander]

BTW y'all do realize that SS is required by law to put all its surplus funds into Tresuries, it is not a choice.

It never ceases to amuse me that here we claim to be the richest country in the world yet we can't look after our citizens like all the other industrialized nations can. It seems we would much rather enrich Big Pharma and the Health Insurance industries. Even if some children do go to bed hungry.