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

To: Alighieri who wrote (624840)	8/17/2011 4:02:40 PM
From: i-node	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577883

>> we want things in the USofA but resent paying for them This is not an accurate characterization. People "want" these things because they think they're paying for them. Probably something close to 99% of SS recipients today believe they "paid into" the system and that they're simply getting back what they paid in. They don't understand that they paid in NEXT TO NOTHING compared with what they receive back. It is a totally f*cked up system in which a person can work minimally for some period of time then receive years of benefits. SS never had a chance. If you pose the question rationally to them I think you get different answers. For example, if you say, "Do you think SS should be cut to reduce the deficit?" just about everyone will answer, "Hell, no". But if you pose it as, "You're social security benefits are causing the deficit to be substantially higher, because you're drawing out more than you paid in. Given that, would you be in favor of reduced benefits for future retirees?" you would get different responses. Even you, purportedly an educated, smart person -- are unable to comprehend the concepts of cash versus accrual accounting and the fact that there is no accounting surplus in SS. You cannot understand the meaning of "unfunded liability", and you have no concept of how this program, which has cash in the bank, could possibly be broke. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that SS is broke. Medicare is the same story, different verse.

To: Alighieri who wrote (624840)	8/17/2011 4:26:39 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1577883

Al, > You know better than that...that's just institutionalized debt...we want things in the USofA but resent paying for them... I don't see how anything you said contradicts what I said. Let's say we raise tax revenue to cover the $1.5 trillion. That's going to have a measurable effect on the GDP. John Fowler called that the "credit card economy." But that was back when Bush was running up the deficit to the tune of $400 billion a year. > just look at the latest surveys...when people are asked if we should reduce medicare and SS benefits they overwhelmingly say no, including republicans...but they are all deficit hawks... Like I said, everyone is to blame for this. Tenchusatsu