Samuelson: How Baby Boomers Are Robbing Our Grandchildren
Robert Samuelson wrote this piece that was published in Newsweek. The premise:
As someone born in late 1945, I say this to the 76 million or so subsequent baby boomers and particularly to Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, our generation’s leading politicians: shame on us. We are trying to rob our children and grandchildren, putting the country’s future at risk in the process. On one of the great issues of our time, the social and economic costs of our retirement, we have adopted a policy of selfish silence.
Nancy Pelosi promises to “build a better future for all of America’s children.” If she were serious, she would back cuts in Social Security and Medicare. President Bush calls “entitlement spending” the central budget problem. If he were serious, he, too, would propose cuts in Social Security and Medicare.
He backs up this statement with the following points:
- 65-and-over population will double by 2030 (to almost 72 million, or 20 percent of the total population)
- In 2005, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (the main programs for the elderly) cost $1.034 trillion, twice the amount of defense spending and more than two fifths of the total federal budget. These programs are projected to equal about three quarters of the budget by 2030, if it remains constant as a share of national income.
- The tax increases required by 2030 could hit 50 percent, if other spending is maintained as a share of national income. Or much of the rest of government (from defense to national parks) would have to be shut down or crippled. Or budget deficits would balloon to quadruple today’s level.
- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are pay-as-you-go programs. Present taxes pay present benefits. In 2005, 86 percent of Social Security payroll taxes went to pay current retiree benefits. True, excess taxes had created a “surplus” in the Social Security trust fund (it hasn’t been “plundered”) of $1.66 trillion in 2005; but that equaled less than four years’ worth of present benefits. More important, Medicare and Medicaid represent three quarters of the projected spending increase for retirees by 2030.
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Please read the entire piece. He balances his condemnation equally to the right and left, and there is plenty of blame to go around. I do not agree that you cut benefits to those that make more. There are cuts that can and should be made but that is not one of them..I would deny any illegal a benefit first and foremost as they committed a few crimes prior to even putting those funds in. I agree with raising the age to 70, but he assumes that the person making more will save more and doesn’t take into account that we do have poor people that will do as little as possible in order to collect a benefit!
Hat tip to Noel Sheppard
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, basil’s blog, Stuck On Stupid, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Rightwing Guy, 123 Beta, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The HILL Chronicles, Woman Honor Thyself, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.  Â
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January 11, 2007 - 11:12 PM on January 11th, 2007
I simply want them to make taking a portion of your payments private to fund your own retirement an option. EVERY FEDERAL government employee has had that option since the mid 80s and those that took the option have a much rosier retirement picture than those that didn’t. Why is it okay for all of these @#$%^&* democratic congressmen and senators to have a PORTION of their Social Security taxes go into a privatized account but not for the rest of us? I realize that to the hard core libs that doesn’t seem the least bit hypocritical, but it sure does to the rest of us. For all of those congressmen who claim that privatized accounts will lead to smaller benefits for those who opt for them, I just have to ask if they are lying or stupid. Either they are lying about privatized accounts being bad, or they are stupid to have signed up for them. Seeing as history has shown that privatized accounts pay on average more than 6 times as much in return as the current system, the facts would lead me to believe that they are lying. It’s time to bite the bullet, fix the system and allow the option for privatized accounts while it’s still possible to retire young enough to enjoy it rather than work yourself into an early grave.
January 11, 2007 - 11:26 PM on January 11th, 2007
Now Who’s the NAZI? Dems Move to Squelch Right to
Will future historians compare Senate bill #1, being moved by Reid, Durbin, Schumer, Leahy, Lautenberg and GANG as the beginning of the end of the American Republic?
January 11, 2007 - 11:38 PM on January 11th, 2007
Babysitting a Civil War
Local hero and United States Senator Barack Obama commented on the Today Show about the President’s new plans for Iraq. In particular, he intoned what has been a recurring theme in the criticism of our presence there. “We’re not going…
January 12, 2007 - 06:49 AM on January 12th, 2007
Links To Hollywood #9
Gwen Stefani – Who wants one of her goody bags? – Popbytes
Barry Bonds – Looks pretty damn good as a girl – Bumpshack
Anthony Michael Hall – Has a dirty mouth! – Dlisted
Aniston’s Breasts most impressive guests – A Socialites Life
Angelina – Adop…
January 12, 2007 - 07:07 AM on January 12th, 2007
A Tale of Two Times/OTP
THIS is an open trackbacks post, open all weekend long. Link to THIS post and track back… Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack…
…
January 12, 2007 - 07:46 AM on January 12th, 2007
Air Force Sergeant Michelle Manhart in Playboy
Staff Sergeant Michelle Manhart is in trouble with the Air Force for posing nude for Playboy.
An Air Force staff sergeant who posed nude for Playboy magazine has been relieved of her duties while the military investigates, officials said Thursday.
I…
January 12, 2007 - 07:52 AM on January 12th, 2007
Open Trackback Weekend
Send your best posts, and enjoy the weekend. I took this pic (click to enlarge) at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve The Reserve consists of 8,300 acres and protects unique ecosystems like Engelmann oak woodlands, riparian wetlands, coastal sage
January 12, 2007 - 08:09 AM on January 12th, 2007
Fast food, Halal food
Your local Kentucky Fried Chicken, or other fast food restaurant, may be serving halal meat. What does that mean? Halal meat is meat that has been slaughtered according to Muslim law. Specifically, facing the animal toward Mecca, ‘reciting “Bismillah…
January 12, 2007 - 08:30 AM on January 12th, 2007
UNCHECKED IMMIGRATION = NATIONAL BALKANIZATION: IS
Here’s a News-roundup You Will Not Likely Discover in the Mainstream Media
January 12, 2007 - 08:42 AM on January 12th, 2007
[...] Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, third world county, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, stikNstein… has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. [...]
January 12, 2007 - 08:51 AM on January 12th, 2007
Strange legitimacy (Weekend Open Trackback)
Muslims have a greater claim to Australia than non-Muslims because they arrived as fee-paying immigrants rather than “shackled convicts”, the leader of the 350.000-strong community said Thursday.
Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, mufti of SydneyR…
January 12, 2007 - 10:41 AM on January 12th, 2007
Meet My Blog-Daughter
Meet Susanna. Not only is she my blog-daughter, but she’s The Daughter Of The House. She deserves your respect and admiration, having had to live with me for a mother for the last sixteen years. Just surviving my cooking should merit some kind…
January 12, 2007 - 12:36 PM on January 12th, 2007
I remember AARP lobbying against any privatization of SS, even a portion. Their big reason was that the money might go into risky investments, like the stock market.
While at the very same time, AARP investment counselors were oitching to members to manage their portfolios in the very same investments!
January 12, 2007 - 01:24 PM on January 12th, 2007
[...] Trackposted to Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, basil’s blog, The Amboy Times, Phastidio.net, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Wake Up America, Rightwing Guy, The HILL Chronicles, third world county, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. [...]
January 12, 2007 - 02:02 PM on January 12th, 2007
thanks for the link..so true..the economy..one more thing to worry bout eh?:razz:
January 12, 2007 - 02:04 PM on January 12th, 2007
[...] Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. Filed under Politics | | Trackback URI Leave aComment [...]
January 12, 2007 - 02:57 PM on January 12th, 2007
Beltway Traffic Jam
Create your own linkfest below.
To join in, choose a post from your blog to highlight, edit it to add a link to this post, and then send a TrackBack. If your blog doesn’t automatically generate one, use the Send TrackBack feature below. For m…
January 12, 2007 - 02:57 PM on January 12th, 2007
Beltway Traffic Jam
Create your own linkfest below.
To join in, choose a post from your blog to highlight, edit it to add a link to this post, and then send a TrackBack. If your blog doesn’t automatically generate one, use the Send TrackBack feature below. For m…
January 12, 2007 - 03:30 PM on January 12th, 2007
Sienna Miller Factory Girl Nude Sex Scenes
Egotastic’s Phil thinks it’s high time Sienna Miller got an Academy Award for her talents.
Well, I don’t if she’ll be getting any awards for her acting, but if they give out awards for getting naked on screen, then Sienna is d…
January 12, 2007 - 06:47 PM on January 12th, 2007
[...] Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, basil’s blog, Stuck On Stupid, The Amboy Times, Phastidio.net, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Wake Up America, Rightwing Guy, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The HILL Chronicles, third world county, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. [...]
January 12, 2007 - 10:04 PM on January 12th, 2007
To Halal or not to Halal tis the question
Culture wars of late have are centering on fast food chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds and several others in the business regarding serving Halal food. Halal food basically is derived from the Jewish roots of Kosher foods. I give an …
January 12, 2007 - 11:22 PM on January 12th, 2007
[...] Trackposted to Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, The HILL Chronicles, Dumb Ox News, and The Uncooperative Blogger ®, Rightwing Guy, Wake Up America, Outside the Beltway, third world county, The Random Yak, The HILL Chronicles, Woman Honor Thyself, Adam’s Blog, Right Truth, Big Dog’s Weblog, stikNstein… has no mercy, basil’s blog, Pirate’s Cove, The Amboy Times, and Phastidio.net, Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, The Random Yak, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, basil’s blog, Stuck On Stupid, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, 123 Beta, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, stikNstein… has no mercy, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox News, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe. [...]
January 12, 2007 - 11:34 PM on January 12th, 2007
Two Blog Posts That You Need To Read Now
Michael over at internetmonk.com
offers up a list of blogs he would like to see being written in the blogosphere (here’s a taste):
What are the blogs I’d like to read?
I’d like to read blogs written by pastors and church leaders in the third…
January 13, 2007 - 06:41 PM on January 13th, 2007
I’ve squirreled up enough crack to last me for 100 years. I will never have to rely on Social Security for my crack buys.
I recommend the rest of you do the same because you never know…
January 14, 2007 - 10:28 PM on January 14th, 2007
I think we should raise taxes.
…particularly on the rich. (!)
Social Security? Raise the cap.
We also need some form of Universal Health Care.
How much are we spending in Iraq each week? 5 billion or so? I think we can find better uses for that money.
January 14, 2007 - 10:36 PM on January 14th, 2007
“I think we should raise taxes.”
Of course you do. It is need to fund the social programs that you so desire to- those that when implemented too heavily, would collapse our economical growth and ensure future votes by expanding the entitlement state.
I see no reason for “univesal health care”. That is addressing (incorrectly) the sypmtoms of the ailment, and not the cause.