Well, hell
I should maybe be apologing for my flippant attitude about this subject
But being a hand-to-mouth person
It's amusing to me that people think someone will pay the grocer when they get old
If you haven't figured out how to survive by the time you get old
You'll just die with the rest of the old folks
Who think some government gives a shit about them
I will work until I'm dead

What other choice is there?
Trusting some government program
Run by
Duely elected
Accountants, thieves, and lawyers
To send me a check?
I'll carry cement blocks
First
And pay for my own rice & beans
Thank you...cc

While that may work for you, there is a lack of acknowledging any 'debt' to society or debt of gratitude towards those who went before.

While it's not impossible to imagine that your scenerio is one which we may be faced with, in your scenerio, what happens to those who are or become disabled or through some other fault not of their own making they become unable to pack blocks?

SSI was formed to address this need and provide a floor to prevent people falling below poverty level, to prevent those such as any of us from becoming too much of a burden on family or friends who may or may not be in a position to provide adequate support.

SSI prevents the widows and children who may be left without an adequate provider in their family through accidental death or physical illness and failure.

SSI is insurance... it was created to share the responsibilities of caring for our aged, our disabled, our infirm and our unfortunate.

It's fine to think you can go it alone...... but we are a society, a community if you will, with social responsibilities. In this dIscussion of who gets what and how much, we should not lose sight of why SSI was created. We should not lose sight of our responsibilities to those who may not be as fortunate as others.

We should not forget that our responsibilities should extend beyond our own needs.

That there be crooks and thieves doesn't give us an excuse to not recognize our responsibilities to the commons.

Getting rid of the crooks and thieves is just one more responsibility we should attend to.

(my memory was of your door always being open, ......I can't imagine that changed)

I know I don't begrudge the fact if I can carry an extra block or two as long as I am able, so long as the job gets done to everyone's benefit, that's where my satisfaction lies.

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It's true that acknowledging any debt to society is not high on my list of things to do anytime soon.
I do feel however much gratitude to those who have gone before and shone by their example a standard of excellence that continues to inspire me to not just lay down and die.
My primary activity is gathering enough food to support life and beating insistent wolves away from my door which I steadfastly refuse to fit with a lock.
It is perfectly reasonable to envision a future when packing blocks will be beyond my physical capability and the quest for dinner will need creative refinements in order to succeed.
As a backwater dweller yourself for so long, I'm sure you keep a list somewhere of 'What the hell am I going to do if that happens?' alternatives to resorting to criminal activities for survival.
For me, mindfull of the incessant countdown, striving to reach absolute zero, concurrent with the disaccumulation of the sluff that sticks to my shoes and slows me down- keeps me very busy getting the best out of however many days remain.
My Golden Years started about age 23 and I went all the way through Old Age and died more than once since then.
My contribution to society is not making a mess or leaving one
when on that
One night- I call it a day...cc

.
There are FICA taxes for Social Security and Medicare.

The taxes are withheld automatically.

So many years from now Social Security Administration will use an automatic formula to calculate my guaranteed benefits and send me a monthly check.

If I work hard and my salary goes up, that check will be bigger.

I should probably save elsewhere if I don't want a big income drop-off at retirement.

I don't really feel any sort of "dependence" or "neediness".

I feel more like I'm putting money in the bank for later.....

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Barely a third of the public approves of the way President Bush is dealing with Social Security and a majority says the more they hear about Bush's plan to reform the giant retirement system, the less they like it, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

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.
Most 55-year-olds today probably expect to live at least another 20-25 years, by which time the Bush privatization-plan will have added several trillion dollars in new debt to an already debt-strapped country.

Sure, the president can promise that their checks will keep coming, but he's only going to be around another 4 years, and Congresses of the future won't feel bound to protect anyone as the deficit continues to rise.

It's no wonder seniors are feeling a bit antsy.

(Well, that and some seniors apparently care about the future of their kids and grandkids. How bizarre, huh?)

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

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.
Skepticism of Bush's Social Security Plan Is Growing
.

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>
> .
> Skepticism of Bush's Social Security Plan Is <a> href="http://tinyurl.com/6f2co">Growing[/url]
> .
>

I thought there wasn't anything written in stone on his plan. Everything is up for discussion. He made a few points on SSI to start looking at.

Can the democrats come up with something other than raising taxes?

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Red Bull Air Racing

Gas price by zip at Seti

> Can the democrats come up with something other than raising taxes?


That's funny....

You ask that question as if the Democrats have not offered anything on Social Security. I'll just have to assume you only read what you want to find and ignore the rest.

(It should be mentioned that ignoring one side of the debate is a tactic to attempt to deflect the discussion from the issues. Regularly employed by those who wish to muddle the issue.)

Not saying you are doing this, but I think you're capable of going to the Minority's websites and seeing for yourself what they have offered and what their statements are.

From what I understand, the Democrats are saying that the solvency of Social Security is what the issue was framed in debate by the Republicans.

So, they have addressed plans to reform Social Security to address the threat of insolvency.

Since private accounts do not address solvency, and analysis shows that the increased debt involved in those plans would exacerbate the insolvency of Social Security, they are talking about other alternatives.

Bush has suggested raising taxes.... why do you ask if the Democrats can come up with something other than raising taxes?

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The argument over Social Security privatization isn't about rival views on how to secure the program's future - even the administration admits that private accounts would do nothing to help the system's finances. It's a debate about what kind of society America should be.

And.....

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As a brit, I thought I'd add some flame to the fire.

The present British experience proves that a partially privatised Social Security does'nt always work.

Here you have the choice of topping up your social security contributions or opening a private pension. In the early 90's the government encouraged everyone to go the private route.

These funds preformed terribly, and now most financial institutions are advising those over 52 or on a low income, to reinvest their funds in their social security pension.

The government is keeping suspiciusly quiet, allegedly because they can't give financial advice - didn't stop them before.

Just a thought to consider.

[edit: corrected spelling]

5 and 1/2,

Every private account scheme that I have researched, from various state plans in the US, to other country's plans such as England's, has ended in abject failure.

I don't know how many people remember the presidential debates of 1987, but candidate Pete du Pont advocated partially privatizing Social Security back then.

His opponent in the debates? George H.W. Bush.

His response?:

"I think it's a nutty idea to fool around with the Social Security system and run the risk of [hurting] the people who've been saving all their lives.... It may be a new idea, but it's a dumb one.

GW's pop says it's a dumb idea......

GW's pop said invasion and occupation of Iraq was a 'dumb idea' too.

Just another case where Junior could learn from his pop, but didn't, ....eh?

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You know... considering the fact that Social Security was a lousy idea from the get-go, maybe it's not such a bad idea to let it crash and burn in a few years. Except that I'll be footing the bill for it (along with all the other productive citizens in the country).

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I see a bad traffic accident up ahead, I generally let off the gas, apply the brake, and change lanes.

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> I might would be offended at that if you didn't have nearly 500 posts inside
> of 3 months.
>
> One of us certainly spends to much time on the computer and not enough in the
> REAL world.
>
> But I guess if all I had to do was sit on my ass to collect a government
> check, I'd be a shut-in with only the internet for a friend too.

No what you do is shit on your ass to collect a government check, and spend your time on the internet computing Posts vs Time.

Curiously the recent spate of Bush quotes seems somehow at odds with what he's boldly stated before..... President Bush is beginning to acknowledge some of the constraints of his plan for individual accounts.

He warns audiences they will not be able to just cash in their accounts when they retire.

In Tuscon: "You can't liquidate your personal account when you retire. It's the interest off your personal account that will complement your Social Security check, no matter how big or little it is, that you're getting from the federal government. That's important to remember."

In Denver: ".....when you retire, you can't pull all your money out."

In Albequerque: "........(you) can't liquidate the plan upon retirement because it's a part of the retirement system."

He said his 'proposal', is "not the way to fix the system." He told reporters, "personal accounts do not solve the issue."

..............Huh?

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