Puterbac News Network and Political Discussion Thread

[innocentbystander]

That worked for previous generations, but we'll see if it works for the next. After SS dies, who will elders move in with? The second child of their third ex-spouse? The adopted same sex couple of their preferred sperm donor?

They are going to have to...

[innocentbystander]

Chris Christie applauds Mitt Romney....

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/05 ... l#comments

“While folks may not agree with what he said, that type of candor is what Americans expect from a serious presidential candidate today.”

[innocentbystander]

I think an episode of Growing Pains sums the disconnect that Gen-X (born 1965 to 1978) has with the Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) regarding retirement, Social Security, and Responsibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Gr ... s_episodes

"Be a Man" March 11, 1986

Mike stays home alone and has an unsupervised party while the rest of the family goes to visit Maggie's parents, who are having financial trouble, and won't accept money from anyone, not even Jason.

Let me set the stage. In 1986, the first of the Baby Boomers turned 40. This was probably the "prime" of the earliest Baby Boomer's physical health combined with their peak earning power, the high water mark of their Boomer life (which over the next ten year would start to decline.) The Reagan spend-but-don't-tax economy was humming along nicely. Everyone was working everywhere, particularly in higher paying defense industries. General Motors employed over 700,000 employees (GM's high-water mark.) Gasoline was dirt cheap (thank you strong dollar) and everyone was vacationing. The Boomers' kids weren't quite old enough for college yet (so the Boomers could remain in denial of tuition cost realities.) Even though teachers taught their children politically correct bullshit, deep down the Boomers knew that AIDS was just a gay man's disease (because of gay men's unique sexual promiscuity.) And every Boomer that bought their brand-new split-level-ranch in the 1970s was sitting on $50,000 equity.

Life was good. And Dr Seaver/Alan Thicke (on Growing Pains) was every man's favorite Boomer.

Fast forward to this episode. Maggie's folks are about to lose their house on Long Island. Why? Money. They need $20,000 and the need it now. Apparently, Maggie's WWII generation dad (ex-police officer) who is getting BOTH government funded Social Security AND government funded civil service pension (not employee self-funded IRA or 401k, two things unheard of at the time) is insufficient to make the mortgage payment (if he still had a mortgage) or the New York property tax payment. So they have to sell the house and move (to "somewhere.") In their minds, they have no other choice. Never once was it mentioned that New York property taxes (which are used to fund grandpa's civil service pension) were "too high" or that grammy and grampy are fucking morons for still owing $20,000 on a mortgage while retired. No. We just see Dr Seaver and Maggie asking (in fact begging) to give their parents the $20,000 they need to "save the house" as if every Boomer could step in and do the same for their folks. And of course, the grand parents refuse because grandpa has "pride."

So, Dr Seaver plays a little "jedi mind-trick" on his father-in-law. The Irish drinker that the old man is, Dr Seaver bets him $100 that he can't drink a shot of Irish whiskey without slurring his words. Of course, the old coot takes the bet and wins. Then Dr Seaver says "double or nothing" and they double, and double, and double, and double, and double. Until the math works out to be over $20,000. So NOW the old fuck takes his son-in-law's money AND gets to keep his pride AND the house! A win-win! The end.

So what did we learn here? Pride. Elderly ignorance. Refusal to save for the future. Refusal to acknowledge financial reality of old age. All of these deeply human weaknesses are in play here (weaknesses that I feel Gen-X is not afforded the liberty of having regarding THEIR retirement) are weaknesses still apparent in Baby Boomers. And they vote! And they don't give a fuck where their SSI check comes from, that's for damn sure.

[Owlman]

The Reagan spend-but-don't-tax economy was humming along nicely.

While Reagan decreased marginal rates, he markedly increased taxes in 1982 and 1984 and according to a former aide to Joe Biden and a former aide to Jesse Helms (very interesting law/business school class), the 1986 revenue neutral tax overhaul closed so many loopholes that both Repubs and Dems knew that it was a tax increase.

[Professor Tiger]

Outlook Worsening for Social Security, Medicare, Trustees Say

Published May 13, 2011 | FoxNews.com

If you're 58 or older and plan to live to the average American life expectancy of 83 years, then you're in good shape.

But if you're planning to live past the year 2036, don't count on Social Security.

And if you're relying on Medicare, don't even think about the math.

That's the picture laid out in a new report released Friday by Social Security and Medicare trustees, who say the bad economy has shortened the life span of the trust funds for the nation's two biggest benefit programs, even as Americans' life spans are getting longer.

Currently, 46 million American seniors use Medicare. For those depending on the medical insurance plan, the hospital fund exhaustion deadline is now set at 2024, five year's earlier than last year's estimate.

The report says the Social Security trust fund that now helps 55 million retirees, disabled people and children who have lost parents will be exhausted in 2036, one year earlier than before.

The trustees predicted that Social Security recipients, who now average $1,077.22 in monthly payments, will receive a 0.7 cost of living bump in 2012 even while noting that the cost of funding the program will jump dramatically in the next 24 years.

"We're going to have substantial continuing cost growth in the Social Security program to the point where by the mid 2030s costs will be roughly 50 percent larger, nearly -- relative to the size of the economy," said trustee Charles Blahous, a Hoover Institution fellow. "At the point of trust fund exhaustion in Social Security, we would be looking at either a 23 percent benefit reduction for an increase in the payroll tax rate to 16.4 percent."

The trustees said that they moved up the target date for the Medicare hospital trust fund because health care costs continue to rise while fewer people are working and paying Medicare premiums into the fund.

Last year's report had extended the life of the Medicare fund by 12 years -- to 2029 -- to reflect the savings they say would be found in the massive overhaul of health care that President Obama got Congress to pass in 2010.

"The Obama administration has already taken steps to strengthen and extend the solvency of Medicare, implementing policies including those in the Affordable Care Act that will save nearly $120 billion for Medicare over the next five years," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, another trustee.

The projections associated with the new law are still included in the trustees' calculations, but payroll taxes have fallen dramatically enough to reduce the life span.

The deficit in the Medicare trust fund is no surprise to Democrats and Republicans, who are sparring on how to reform the system to extend its lifetime. They argue that the annual "doctor fix" associated with rising medical care costs removes projected savings each year. Other cost cuts have been difficult to realize.

House Republicans have passed a plan introduced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan that would replace Medicare with a voucher-like payment system for future retirees. Paul said Friday that the program would prevent a raid on Medicare trust fund "ensuring that Medicare savings go toward saving Medicare, not creating a brand new entitlement."

"Rather than allow opponents of reform to allow Medicare to collapse, the House-passed budget saves Medicare, making no changes for those 55 and older and offering future generations a strengthened, personalized Medicare program they can count on," Paul said.

Sebelius said the proposal goes the wrong way.

"Some in Congress want to take us backwards and have proposed a plan that would end Medicare as we know it and shift costs to seniors and the most vulnerable. That's the wrong way to reform Medicare," Sebelius said.

But Republicans who have been urging Congress to act on the plan submitted by Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, said Friday that the new projections are a wake-up call to take action.

"Washington has no excuse. We have known for years this was coming," Senate Budget Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions said in a written statement. "House Republicans have passed an honest, serious plan to confront our nation’s long-term challenges. It has been 744 (days) since this chamber has passed a budget. If Senate Democrats go another year without passing a budget it would be a national scandal."

Even as some Republicans plead for changes to Medicare, Social Security reforms are evidently already off the table. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has insisted that Social Security doesn't have a problem.

After meeting with President Obama on Thursday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged that changes to Social Security won't be part of any deal to reduce spending as part of an extension of the debt limit.

Six trustees oversee Social Security and Medicare. They are Sebelius, Blahous, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue and former Congressional Budget Office Director Robert D. Reischauer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[GBJs]

That worked for previous generations, but we'll see if it works for the next. After SS dies, who will elders move in with? The second child of their third ex-spouse? The adopted same sex couple of their preferred sperm donor?

THREE!

That's three lucid comments in the last couple of weeks. Who stole Prof's login!

[10ac]

Bullshit. Link?

[Toemeesleather]

Why waste time on SS...we've got at least 25 years of solvency left, global warming otoh, will get us by 2016 if we don't act.

[puterbac]

Medicare, Social Security Funds Expiring Sooner, U.S. Says

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-0 ... -says.html

----

Social Security deficits now ‘permanent’

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... #pagebreak

[puterbac]

New Yorkers under 30 plan to flee city, says new poll; cite high taxes, few jobs as reasons

Read more:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/201 ... z1MLE7ujPV

[puterbac]

Can't say I disagree with the punishment. The bastards is just getting a drop in each eye. Look wtf he did to her...

Iran to blind criminal with acid in 'eye for an eye' justice

Retribution granted to woman who had acid thrown in her face by man she refused to marry

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ma ... minal-acid

[Professor Tiger]

I'm surprised that an Iranian court would punish a male at all for horribly disfiguring a woman for life. The victim is, after all, only a woman. They are valued far below camels and goats in traditional Muslim societies. I would have guessed that the court would make the attacker pay her father a hundred bucks and call it even.

She's just lucky he didn't accuse her of adultery as an excuse for what he did. Then she'd be on trial, not him.

[10ac]

Yeah, but she's just a woman. I thought stuff like that was ok over there if it was only a female.

[Professor Tiger]

copycat

[10ac]

I was just slow hitting the submit button.

[It's me Karen]

lol AC just used about 50 words less.

[AugustWest]

I would have guessed that the court would make the father pay her attacker a hundred bucks and call it even.


fyp.

[Professor Tiger]

In a traditional Muslim country, I still think the attacker would have paid the father a hundred bucks. That would be considered fair compensation for damage to his property.

[GBJs]

Bullshit. Link?

I'm not digging through 20-odd pages to find three comments that others may not consider lucid in retrospect.

[Professor Tiger]

All my posts are lucid, cogent, and sage. Pick any three.