Fixing social security

[Hnthrdr]

I’m sure they would. What would we do with the tens of millions of impoverished elderly people this would create, though?

Heck em, maybe this will help fix the housing crisis? They can sell the properties they bought for nickels on the cent back in the day and maybe younger folks can afford a house again?

 

[Treeshark]

No employer contribution, to clarify. Mtengineer seems to think that every employee has access to a employer 401 or like retirement plan, they do not.

Got it.

I know they don’t, because… I don’t. One man LLC, so I suppose I do via a SEP.

This brings up another train that is heading down the tracks… with the explosion of the “gig” economy (think Uber, things like that) there are many more people nowadays working as 1099s. If you don’t have your s$&@ together, there is no one there to bail you out. This is going to be a massive problem in a few decades.

 

[BuzzH]

Who doesnt offer a 401k on a full time job nowadays?

About 1 out of 3 employees don't have access to a 401.

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www.ellevest.com

 

[Treeshark]

Heck em, maybe this will help fix the housing crisis? They can sell the properties they bought for nickels on the cent back in the day and maybe younger folks can afford a house again?

Ha. Not sure about that man, I don’t begrudge anyone anything- I’m going to be a geezer some day too, we all are.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Ha. Not sure about that man, I don’t begrudge anyone anything- I’m going to be a geezer some day too, we all are.

I’m just joking but it always cracks me up to hear boomers whining, didn’t hardly fight in any wars, yet they love starting them. Had a pretty easy row from the financial end of things and also destroy any type of manufacturing jobs in the USA with their policies , but lord forbid you touch any of their entitlements. It’s like when they tell millennials to just stop eating avacado toast and then they can afford a house haha we should all have a little humor in these dark days

 

[BigHornRam]

I’m just joking but it always cracks me up to hear boomers whining, didn’t hardly fight in any wars, yet they love starting them. Had a pretty easy row from the financial end of things and also destroy any type of manufacturing jobs in the USA with their policies , but lord forbid you touch any of their entitlements. It’s like when they tell millennials to just stop eating avacado toast and then they can afford a house haha we should all have a little humor in these dark days

Biggest mistake boomers have made is spoiling the shit out of their kids.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Biggest mistake boomers have made is spoiling the shit out of their kids.

Agreed, people want to know who made all the lazy entitled millennials… umm take a look in the mirror pops

 

[brian flatlander]

I'd like some specific examples of these savings being passed down to the consumer when trump lowered corporate tax rates to record lows.

What are we paying less for in 2024 than we did in 2016?

With the massive tax breaks Congress handed to corporations, should be a snap to give hundreds of examples of consumers realizing the kindness passed on to them from corporate America.

 

[brian flatlander]

your're living off the gov't and sounds like working for them too true definition of a libtard

 

[406dn]

401ks dont "come up short" people fall short on replacing their income and properly investing enough.

Don't be willfully ignorant.

People making less than 50k a year have that much in just getting by expenses. They will never get ahead, very far. Every pitfall in life is much more difficult.

 

[406dn]

Barring some sort of physical or intellectual disability, there has never been a time of more job opportunity/upward mobility in my lifetime than the past five years.

Boy, that sounds like a full throated endorsement of Bidenomics.

I would not know directly, having hurt the workforce participation rate by retiring.

 

[brian flatlander]

Got it.

I know they don’t, because… I don’t. One man LLC, so I suppose I do via a SEP.

This brings up another train that is heading down the tracks… with the explosion of the “gig” economy (think Uber, things like that) there are many more people nowadays working as 1099s. If you don’t have your s$&@ together, there is no one there to bail you out. This is going to be a massive problem in a few decades.

who do you want to bail you out the gov't ??????????????????

 

[Derek44]

Boy, that sounds like a full throated endorsement of Bidenomics.

I would not know directly, having hurt the workforce participation rate by retiring.

Yeah. Almost sounds like the strongest economy ever. Now I’m overly confused as to where all the complaints are coming from that this is the worst economy ever.

 

[brian flatlander]

Don't be willfully ignorant.

People making less than 50k a year have that much in just getting by expenses. They will never get ahead, very far. Every pitfall in life is much more difficult.

still money left over for booze and cigerettes

 

[Big Fin]

If we're interested in discussing the topic of the original post, fixing social security, we sure seem to have strayed down a peculiar path to discuss such.

Here is how quickly the Social Security Funds will be depleted - https://www.ssa.gov/policy/trust-funds-summary.html

And if anyone wonders how Congress could find the money to fix some of the SS deficit, well, it seems the SS recipients need to make the case that they are "Too Big To Fail" (TBTF). We could solve the funding issue, but the SS recipients aren't Too Big To Fail.

We place sideboards on what are the possible solutions to funding the SS solvency issue. Yet, we never place sideboards in how we bailout, subsidize, or give tax preferences to TBTF crowd. The TBTF economy gets to operate in a different sphere than the rest of us.

Below is a list of the Trillions we've used to bail out Wall Street, the banking industries, insurance grifters, groups to took huge risks on mortgage bets, and a series of other stupid decisions far riskier and far more costly than the guy who made a few bad decisions where he now needs Social Security as a supplement.

Total this up over the years and adjust it for inflation to current dollars and see who our Representative Republic is representing - https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/government-financial-bailout.asp

Imagine if these companies in the bailouts were allowed to "tough it out" and Uncle Sam didn't save their sorry asses. The folks running the companies, the investors who should have lost billions, and those rinsing/repeating such might actually have to account for their own risks, bad decisions, and lack of "bootstrapping."

Imagine if instead we put even half of that bailout money in the SS Trust Funds. This SS insolvency discussion wouldn't be happening today.

We are a kidding ourselves that we are a capitalist economy so long as we keep a safety net in place for businesses/people in the "TBTF economy." Yet, about every decade or so, we jump in a with another billion/trillion for the chosen winners. Then we complain about the reasons we have a Social Security deficit.

It has been these bailout events, with 2008-09 in particular, and my years of reading the subsidy via tax laws that closed my mind to any belief in the fallacy that we have a free market economy. Between tax subsidy, cash subsidy, and bailouts for bad decisions, the US is hardly an example of a "free market" as I studied in Econ. We have more socialism for corporations and wealthy folks, the TBTF economy, than we do for working people, but so long as we wrap it in the banner of "capitalism," we seem comfortable denying the socialist structures that support our markets and the companies/individuals benefiting most from such.

I know it surprises some people when I chuckle at their claim of a free market economy here in the US. Maybe I'm just too jaded from seeing small businesses sink/swim (Too Small To Care About) on their own and being an insider to see how winners get chosen via tax policy.

I'm all for less socialism/more capitalism/free markets, especially for the people and entities relying on the gubment's "Too Big To Fail" safety net. They aren't in favor of that. They need that safety net to soften the risks they take while keeping the rewards from such. I don't see too many of those TBTF folks worrying about funding a SS deficit.

We could easily solve the SS/Medicare problem if we wanted to. We just don't make it a priority over bailing out and subsidizing the biggest and wealthiest. Fixing the SS solvency is way higher on my priority list than keeping the TBTF economy artificially propped up.

I am thankful we have a Representative Republic. I'm skeptical as to whose interests are being "represented" these days.

 

[406dn]

still money left over for booze and cigerettes

Do me a favor.

I don't find your posts interesting, at all. So I won't comment on any of your other posts and would appreciate it if you returned the favor.

 

[Forkyfinder]

We certainly have eroded to chrony corpratism.

About 1 out of 3 employees don't have access to a 401.

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www.ellevest.com

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www.google.com

 

[BuzzH]

We certainly have eroded to chrony corpratism.

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www.google.com

You're stuck on repeat...I posted the same statistics.

Thanks for reaffirming.

 

[SAJ-99]

While it totally opinion I think we may have been better off in the long run. Just my gut feeling. They'd of been better off not mandating any shutdowns while they were at it. Again also my opinion.

Hard to make that argument when the US has performed much better than every other country and much better than any economist forecasted. Pandemics once every 100yrs are a tough sample size, but doing nothing when you are in the decision room isn’t really an option. I do agree that the inflation was a consequence. But I would say the choice is was to worth it. There isn’t an alternative universe where the choices were different to compare to, so everything from everyone is speculation.

 

[Nick87]

Hard to make that argument when the US has performed much better than every other country and much better than any economist forecasted. Pandemics once every 100yrs are a tough sample size, but doing nothing when you are in the decision room isn’t really an option. I do agree that the inflation was a consequence. But I would say the choice is was to worth it. There isn’t an alternative universe where the choices were different to compare to, so everything from everyone is speculation.

Time will tell..well actually not really because like you said no alternate universe. Oh well damage is done. Worth it or not depends on a lot I guess.