| Author | Message | ||
     Aesquire |
SS was sold as an Insurance program. After Congress "appropriated" all the money from SS, it's a Ponzi scheme. My parents, and your potential future payments come out of the general fund. IIRC the outflow is now larger than the inflow from SS taxes. Since they spend more than they take in, the payments are partially borrowed. When they hit the point, approaching rapidly, that the interest payments are bigger than the tax income, it's going to collapse. Much as I'd like to blame one party, or one President, this is the path we have been on for a while. Each Congress "kicks the can down the road" so they can give those who bribe them, and on occasion their employers ( you ) your money, without slowing the spending increases for a bloated and arthritic bureaucracy. Obam has created more debt that every President from George ( Washington ) to Bill ( Clinton ) Combined. So despite his continued and "transparent" lies, he sure as heck hasn't done a thing to fix it. But that's well known except for the kool aid drinkers. So..... back on track. What do you, Patches, & you, Garry, think of the current admin's support for Muslim genocidal terrorists in Syria? | ||
| Torquehd |
"Extra-credit question: Where was 0bama born?" he wasn't born. He was reincarnated. Which totalitarian dictator he was in his previous life is up to your interpretation. | ||
| Pwnzor |
How could any Faction of are Government call Social Security an Entitlement when I paid for it all these years? How does it differ from putting Money into a Saving Account or a 401K? It differs in that you have been forced to hand it over, and the money goes into an untouchable (by you) and invisible fund that is supposedly safely stashed away for you. Of course, now the gubmint is talking not so quietly about seizing assets in the form of 401k, IRA, Roth accounts... So the differences are fading into obscurity... which is why I have always favored this method of saving:  Although I am engaged in both... Here's a helpful tip: check your pocket change. Quarters dated 1964 or earlier have a melt value of approximately $4.00 Discuss. | ||
| Fb1 |
Honolulu; Hawaiian: hono'lulu is the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu. It is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Situated on the island of Oahu, it is known worldwide as a major tourist destination; Honolulu is the main gateway to Hawaii. -wikipedia Thanks for the geography lesson. What evidence is there that he was actually born (or reincarnated) in Hawaii? Meanwhile, the man who solemnly pledged - on the record, for all the country to hear - to cut our national deficit in half by the end of his first term rocketed past the $17,000,000,000,000 mark on Friday in full afterburner. Instead of decreasing our national debt, like he promised, under his watch he's actually increased it by 60%, "all by his lonesome." One can only imagine what our debt will be at the end of his second term... | ||
| Oldog |
I know I do, I also know I took an oath to defend the constitution as a Marine. Also served my state with a Governors appointment Open question, to Obama haters, how do you serve this nation? As a former soldier how do you define treason, aiding and abetting, giving comfort? Would providing weapons to a group we are in conflict with be such an act? You know alqueda the folks who brought us 9-11.... As a soldier you were tasked with defending the constitution, "against all enemies foreign and domestic"? At times the recent political theater has been dominated by seeming obstructionists. the republicans, led by John Bohenr (sp) are termed to be "obstructing" but harry reid, who has "pocketed", numerous house bills refusing to allow them to come to a vote is not, It would seem to me that reid is obstructing the countries business, in support of the current admin.. if the republican proposals were so bad why not let them die on the floor of the senate, rather than prevent them from being acted upon? the house in causing the latest shutdown is attempting to do its job, obama has violated his oath of office. there are dark and troubling parallels between 1930s' Germany and the current political situation, pay attention I serve my country by obeying the law, paying my taxes, when I can supporting law enforcement and or the troops. Happily I missed the southeast asia senior high-school trip that messed up so many men by scant weeks. This president seems to be bent on disrupting our government, wrecking the economy, and creating a quasi marxist - moslem sympathetic state, with a dependent populace. I see more businesses struggling to stay open, and more failing every day under the burden of onerous circular regulations, excessive taxation, extravagant governmet waste, and overtly corrupt and unresponsive government. There is more but I have to go and try and earn my living so mr obama can take it from my employer and "Spread it around". I did the patriotic thing, the only thing I can now, I voted against the current president recognizing that he was unfit to lead. The his "fundimental change" was for the worst... I dislike mr obama because of his deeds, he has much to answer for and little to defend it. | ||
| Gregtonn |
Anyone still have an original Social Security card issued in the '60s? I do. The bottom line under my signature says, "FOR SOCIAL SECURITY AND TAX PURPOSES-NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION." Does anyone else find that ironic. G | ||
| Patches |
"Obama has created more debt that every President from George ( Washington ) to Bill ( Clinton ) Combined. So despite his continued and "transparent" lies, he sure as heck hasn't done a thing to fix it." I agree with you 100 percent. But it is not just a Democratic or Obama thing, the latest Debt Deal (R)Mitch McConnell -Bridge to Nowhere. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/mitch-mcconn ell-kentucky-dam-project-98510.html Most of the Money will go to Administrative Cost and Guess who the Administrators are? | ||
| Chauly |
Got mine. Yes, ironic... And Jim: My lottery number in 1973 was 6. I turned 18 on January 27th, the day the Paris "Peace" Accord was signed. The draft ended (as you well know) January 31st. That close shave is when I started losing my hair...coincidence? I think not. I scrapped my Air Force enlistment plan and went on to college. A very personal question, one that you need not answer, do you ever have twinges of "survivor guilt", having friends and/or relatives that did not return from that class trip? Being two years younger, that may not be true in your case, but I have a great deal of trouble visiting the Viet Nam Memorial... (Message edited by Chauly on October 21, 2013) | ||
| Patches |
The reason I asked about S.S. and the Retirement plans is what is to stop them from labeling every thing an Entitlement and taking it from you? This is not the article I was looking for but it gives a general idea. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1654148/p osts | ||
| Cityxslicker |
If you did not pay into it and are receiving benefits from it - then yes - it is indeed an entitlement take a long and critical look at the number of 'disability' claims and that trajectory in the last 20 years. as for government I am no longer convinced that there is really any difference between a Criminal that wears a Red Jersey vs a Blue Jersey. | ||
| Sifo |
How could any Faction of are Government call Social Security an Entitlement when I paid for it all these years? How does it differ from putting Money into a Saving Account or a 401K? It differs in that you have been forced to hand it over, and the money goes into an untouchable (by you) and invisible fund that is supposedly safely stashed away for you. Actually it differs from a 401K in that you don't own it, or have any sort of right to anything that you have put into it. You put cash in to pay for others. Later generations put money in for you. This is why it's an "entitlement" program. The baby boom generation is going to be a huge strain on the system forcing them to get less and less, while today's young folk are going to pay more and more in. GWB did BTW, try to fix this to an extent by making a portion of your contributions something that you actually own and could pass on to surviving family. The Democrats roundly bashed that idea. I don't understand the mindset that it's better to have the government own your retirement funds. Has anyone ever tried to calculate the rate of return on your SS investments? I did at one point. It came out to about 1.2% APR. That's pathetic! Of course since that time, they have targeted my age bracket to have cuts in benefits. By the time I can draw SS I'm likely to have a negative yield.  | ||
| Sifo |
    | ||
| Macbuell |
The reason I asked about S.S. and the Retirement plans is what is to stop them from labeling every thing an Entitlement and taking it from you? This comment/question says everything about your mentality. It appears your only concern is protecting your government benefits. That kind of short-term mentality will bankrupt this country. Sadly, this mentality is shared by a significant percentage of the population and we are marching towards a scenario where all taxes are paid by a small minority. When we have reached that tipping point, it will be too late. The last figure I heard was that 47% of the population paid $0 in taxes the last tax year. 47%! We are close to already being at that tipping point. (Message edited by macbuell on October 21, 2013) | ||
| Torquehd |
Open question, to Obama haters, how do you serve this nation? } While I don't claim to hate Obama, I fervently disagree with his perspective, decisions, and methods. "I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." The oath requires you to support and defend the constitution AND obey the orders of POTUS. Using logic, you must obey both. If you choose one side instead of the other, you are guilty of treason. The constitution precedes the current president, and he believes that the constitution needs to be changed. "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Preserve. That is explicitly stated by the inaugural oath. The second he decides to alter the constitution, he is as guilty of treason as any service member who does not obey executive orders. When I spoke the enlistment oath before the flag and before God, a chill ran up my spine. I don't believe I'll ever be faced with a situation that would cause me to have to choose between obeying executive orders, and committing treason. But it's still a heavy weight if you're a young man who understands the weight of your sworn word. Then again, there are many people, including our president, who blatantly do not mean what they say. | ||
| Sifo |
  | ||
| Reepicheep |
Great post torque, thank you for your service. It is hard. Interpreting the constitution will always be challenging, and some non obvious conclusions may emerge that need to be enforced. This is expected. But when it really does start going to hell in a handbasket, the flat out unconstitutional decisions that the military is asked to enforce will be declared as "non obvious but constitutional conclusions" like above. Except that will be a lie, and one likely abetted by a corrupt Judicial system. Roe v Wade is the pinnacle of this dilemma. It made abortion legal based on the right to privacy. Is that a legitimate constitutional conclusion that just isn't obvious on the surface? Or was that a flat out violation of every persons right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness whitewashed by a corrupted judicial branch? When the end comes, it will be preceeded by a LONG slippery slide down a muddy slope. The beginning and end will be obvious in hindsight, but it will be hard to see in the middle. | ||
| Patches |
"This comment/question says everything about your mentality. It appears your only concern is protecting your government benefits. That kind of short-term mentality will bankrupt this country." It is NOT a government benefit when I paid it in for over 30 years now. P.S. Macbuell I Got Your "mentality" comment | ||
| Sifo |
It is NOT a government benefit when I paid it in for over 30 years now. Have you not "paid into" all the other entitlement programs for that same time? | ||
| Sifo |
Let me put it to you this way. You haven't "paid into" anything. Government has "taken from" you. | ||
| Reindog |
Everyone here understands that of the SSN "contributions" that your employer and you have made over the decades, $0 have actually gone into an account with your name on it? Right? The SSN fund was raided decades ago and is simply a Ponzi scheme transferring "contributions" from current workers. This works until the system crashes onto itself as there are fewer workers to people receiving checks from the government. I get the distinct feeling from certain posters that they fundamentally don't understand how they have been robbed. ACA is going to ratchet this crime up several notches. But be happy, Obama and Biden have a "laser beam" focus on the middle class. Yes, they do. | ||
| Hootowl |
The fund was not raided. There is no fund. There never was. All SS funds go into the general fund, always have. You haven't been paying into SS, you've simply been paying a tax. They even call it a tax. At the time it was first implemented, you had to be 65 to get benefits. The average life expectancy was also 65. The payment amount was just enough to keep you from eating out of trash cans. It was expected that there would be very few people collecting this benefit, and those who did wouldn't do it for long. Things have obviously changed. These are the structural problems that need to be addressed if we're to make the system viable. | ||
| Fb1 |
This is our "leader" from four years ago, making empty promises (or outright lying, take your pick): Pop quiz: How does what he said measure up with what he's actually done in the intervening years? | ||
| Fb1 |
I'm surprised his nose isn't twenty feet long. Maybe all our taxpayer dollars are going to plastic surgery... | ||
| Strokizator |
Don't get me wrong, I've planned my retirement so that I don't have to rely on S.S. (I predicted its demise 40 years ago and am surprised it's held out this long). I'm just angry because I was never able to opt out and the smiling, slimy bastages who perpetrated this on us justified the payroll confiscation by promising the fund was solvent and that it could go on in perpetuity with just slight adjustments over the years. If you want a start another thread on this, I've a lot to say. Otherwise I'll try to be a quiet angry old man. WHERE'S MY EBR AX! | ||
| Fb1 |
One term? Dang, I wish he really meant it when he said it... | ||
| Hootowl |
Just another lie | ||
| Fb1 |
Source, more: http://statelymcdanielmanor.wordpress.com/2013/10/ 19/third-party-possibilities/ | ||
| Sifo |
there no longer appears to be anything approaching a moderate left Sure there is. It's called the Republican party. | ||
| Fb1 |
Sure there is. It's called the Republican party. Concur. Mr. McDaniel bloodies up the old-guard, lifer, aristocrat GOP's pretty good in his piece, too:
And has this to say about a TRUE conservative:
| ||
| Fb1 |
Yeah, I know: This is the "President Zero" thread. So sue me. 
Source, more: http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/10/21/wel come-home-an-eight-minute-standing-ovation-for-tex as-senator-ted-cruz/ |
