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

To: Road Walker who wrote (216946)	2/2/2005 11:45:20 PM
From: Joe NYC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1586030

John, So your point is that we should cut SS spending rather than, say, offensive military spending or pork spending? Even though the tax payers and employers paid money into FICA specifically for SS? That money has been spent. How exactly does it pertain to the future? Joe

To: Road Walker who wrote (216946)	2/3/2005 5:46:54 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 1586030

So your point is that we should cut SS spending rather than, say, offensive military spending or pork spending? Even though the tax payers and employers paid money into FICA specifically for SS? My point in that post was exactly what I said that there really is no trust fund socked away for people's retirement and that there are large liabilities in social security and Medicare that will have to be met. My point in that post was not about spending cuts but I do think we should cut spending. I don't think the spending cuts should be restricted to social security but I don't think social security should be immune. It is the biggest area of government spending (although eventually it will be passed by Medicare). I don't think that the fact that taxpayers paid FICA specifically for SS gives SS any sacred untouchable status. I would cut social security by gradually increasing the retirement age, perhaps eventually indexing it to average or average projected lifespan. I might also support a change in the indexing for social security increases. Pork spending should be slashed in a big way, much bigger in terms of percentages then social security should be cut, but the dollar cut will be smaller because (depending on exactly how you define pork) there is a lot less of it to be cut. I do not think we should cut funding for Iraq or Afghanistan at this time, although I see it as being something that will happen down the road. I also think just about every corporate or farm subsidy in the federal government's budget should be eliminated. That would be a good start. Tim