Bill Gross, on the other hand, has long been among the best at what he does - assessing entities that issue debt and deciding which of these entities are able to pay back their debt at a reasonable interest rate. Read it and weep.
"Oh, but you're just too negative. You know we'll eventually have to come to a compromise on entitlement reform."
Sound about right? Yeah, read it and weep.
Well... there comes a time to do away with protocol and tell it like it is. According to the numbers, either 53% of you or 58% of you are absolutely clueless. 53+58=111, meaning that there's plenty of overlap in the two numbers which, quite frankly, makes the picture even worse. This is no longer a partisan matter. The Republicans are keeping their distance from Paul Ryan these days, aren't they? That's all you need to know. There is no political will to save America's future and there is no electoral will to force the political class to do so. We've become a society of people who think that we've earned a certain level of benefits and services, while we are convinced that someone else should pay for them. Bring on the riots.
Apathy is the norm in America these days. Scare tactics and sound bites win elections. These people do not do their jobs once elected, and nobody pays attention enough to see it.
ReplyDeleteJohn Adams said "Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people"
He also said "There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt."
We are a society that thinks we deserve a certain level of benefits and entitlements because we pay out the nose in taxes. I for one think that as a contributing member of society I am entitled to AFFORDABLE health care that dosent bankrupt me..That I am Entitled to my Social Security check when I reach the mandated age because I will have paid into it for umteen years. That I am entitled to a above average public school system because I have paid for it in advance.....That if I think that spending a gajillion dollars towards our war machine is a curse to the expense of all other social benefits,,,I am entitled.....
ReplyDelete"We" most certainly don't pay out the nose (or any oher orifice) in taxes. 50% of the population pays no income tax at all. Guys like you and me pay a little bit (toward wars in the Middle East, bridges to nowhere, and all the rest), but we contribute chump change compared to those evil profiteers on Wall Street. It's been that way for several decades now.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Medicare at the root of the referenced survey - again, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you've paid for the benefits enjoyed by your parents and grandparents. Nothing more, nothing less. It was one hell of a pyramid scheme while it lasted. Those days are gone. The red ink that we were told would arrive in fifty years is here today. The program is bankrupt.
Social Security will eventually be fixed by raising the income cap, raising the age of eligibility, and means-testing benefits. This WILL happen, and the program will continue. This will also expose the foundational lie behind the scheme. It's not a government-backed pension. It's middle class welfare. All well and good, as far as I'm concerned, but I would appreciate some honesty in the discussion.
Medicare - no - it's a black hole. Unless some form of the Paul Ryan reform takes place, the program will remain in the red forever. The most amusing thing is that Ryan's approach would actually save the plan, while the current approach will finish it.
Everything that is paid for by individuals gets cheaper over time. Everything that is subsidized by the government gets more expensive over time. I'll repeat myself now for emphasis. EVERYTHING that is paid for by individuals gets cheaper over time. EVERYTHING that is subsidized by the government gets more expensive over time. (Housing, college education, and health care - QED.,)
Ryan would move us toward a more efficient market. Instead, the voters will ensure that we stay on our current trajectory toward bankruptcy. It's a bummer. It really is.
I know from previous conversations that you would be comfortable paying more taxes in exchange for more services. You don't speak for "us" though. The vast majority of Americans want someone else's taxes to pay for this stuff.
The reality is that we could confiscate every dollar of wealth from the dreaded 1% and we would almost fund the Obama government for a year. Almost. Then, when the next year arrives, what do we do? There are no more rich people, after all. We already took their money.
So... as a wise man once said... bring on the riots.
Depends on how you define Taxes....Fed tax..SS Tax..State Tax......Medicare medicade Tax..Food Tax.sales tax..Fet Tax....The tax collected on every gallon of gas sold both excise Tax and federal gas tax, Which is equivalent to about 40 cents a gallon....Real Estate tax....personal property tax.....And on almost all of these taxes the rate is the same regardless of whether or not you are a Wall Street profiteer....or what your income level is...Seems like a lot of Taxes to me???
ReplyDeleteYes, I know all about getting nickel-and-dimed in order to ingulge every liberal fantasy about how the perfect world should be. I could go on for hours...
ReplyDeleteLet's not get sidetracked though. The study was about Medicare, for which you currently pay 1.45% of your earned income. Perhaps we have differing definitions of "through the nose" but, in any event, the taxes collected are woefully, disgracefully, embarrassingly short of providing enough money to cover current expenses. I'd need to invent a new adverb to describe how short they are of future expenses. 'Fucktastically' maybe?
Your Medicare taxes and mine are spent as soon as they're collected. Then there's a shortfall. (Maybe worth the read, just for reference. Skip to the table on Page 15 if you don't have the patience.) The excess money to keep the failed program afloat has to come from somewhere. So it's taken from general federal tax revenues, which are primarily provided by wealthy people. Pretty soon (2013), even the immediately-spent payroll tax part of the deal will be subsidized by the evil profiteers. As I already mentioned, I do kick in a little bit (a few thousand bucks a year), but I'm no Daniel Snyder.
It's obvious that the program needs reformed. So...
Massive tax hikes on everyone to balance the books? Hah. Fat chance of that. No political will from the pols and no electoral will from the rest of us.
Massive benefit cuts to balance the books? Not likely, at least beyond the $500 million that ObamaCare will already cut. $500 million ain't enough to fix the problem though. Again - no political will, no electoral will.
Either of these options could work, at least in theory. My own belief is that the massive tax hikes would suck tons of money out of the economy and do more harm than good but, you know, that's just how we right-wing hatemongers think.
I also think that the massive benefit cuts would lead to denial of care for people who need it most - a completely unacceptable outcome. (That last sentence is an ObamaCare preview for all of you, at no extra charge.) But, you know, that's just how we people with elderly friends and grandparents think.
Or I guess we could actually try to fix the shit that makes health care get more expensive over time while EVERYTHING paid for by indivuals gets cheaper. The polls say there's no public will for that approach either though.
Desertdog uses the word 'apathy.' I might lean more toward 'selfishness' or 'imoorality,' in light of what this impending train wreck will do to future generations of Americans, but either way...
I think it was my second typo in that comment, but 'imoorality' did invoke the image of cattle being led to the slaughter when I read it.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a terribly long week though. Probably it was my second typo.
(ingulge)