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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (215304)	1/18/2005 12:04:22 PM
From: neolib	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1573923

I'm not sure why Bush isn't trying to do just that. It's probably the same reason why he's allowing the federal budget to explode. Stay the course, these are "temporary" problems, a safer world with a strong economy will fix all the ailments. You may be correct. I suspect most of those pushing for reform are trying to change the 90/32/15% bracket PIA formula of SS. They want to see it shifted to a formula just like an IRA. The individual gets sole returns for what they put in. This will mean less money returned in the lower income brackets (since they put in less), more money in the higher brackets (as they pay more in). It is consistent with conservative ambitions in general. It would be interesting to see a chart showing rate of return vs AIME income level. People like mindmeld decry the low effective SS ROR. Such a chart will show a very excellent return at the low end, and a rotten ROR at the high end. That would be a good starting point for the discussion of SS reform. BTW, I'm not against some or even a significant alteration of the PIA formula is. It is just that I like clarity and honesty in such discussions. I'm curious how many people realise that SS is mostly a progressive tax system which shifts money from wealthier working individuals to less well off working individuals.

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (215304)	1/19/2005 1:31:45 AM
From: Peter Dierks	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1573923

Sounds like my wife. Could the next Congress resist dipping into the newly secured general funds of the revised SS fund? Congress spent the excess contributions like drunken sailors all through the sixties, seventies, eighties, and the nineties until the numbers revered at t he end of the nineties and the claims exceeded the contributions. Perhaps President Bush and his team theorize that a statement showing actual funds owned would be difficult for the Government to successfully forge. How long would a trustee last if they were reporting 401k statements but not buying the funds? Auditors would soon detect it and closure would come fast. Taxpayers might not react well to a line item on a benefits statement labeled T-Bills or other forced borrowing if they elected a different strategy. I wonder if Bush is not hoping to use collective individual self interest to police the government appropriation of retirement savings. Sorry I ignored the part about deficits. Peter