It is unclear tonight whether the defunding of Social Security and Medicare will continue for another two months or another year or, not at all. Congress, at least those not already on vacation, are still pondering this.
Of course, seniors are hoping the final answer is “not at all” as they know, or should know, that Medicare, per a report issued earlier this year by the Trustees of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, will go broke in 2024. And, once it does, by law, annual benefits must be cut to match annual revenues. Of course, the same can be said for Social Security, but, at the moment, Social Security has a slightly longer “shelf life”.
Yet, the President is continuing to champion this defunding of Social Security and Medicare, as are the Democrats in Congress.
I’ve always been told that it is only the Republicans who want seniors to eat dog food and die quickly.
Did I miss something?
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You left out something: as of Jan. 1, 2012, 160 million Americans will have a tax increase, compliments of the Republican led House.
Actually, it would be because of a Democrat controlled Senate, who talked a good game about helping the middle class, with the help of Øbama, who mere weeks ago promoted a full year tax holiday. Now the story changed. Why? Because they need to look like tax cutters rather than the stereotypical liberal tax hikers, and if they can bash the Republicans in the process, all the better (for them), particularly when the Christmas hiring bump goes away. They need to rehash this topic every two months up to the election, instead of getting it over with. It makes them look busy while doing nothing much. They have nothing else to run on, unless failure becomes a positive.
If tax cuts are so beneficial to the middle class, which they seem to be when politically advantageous, then they should make the Bush tax cuts permanent. If not, then they should go with the Øbama tax increase.
The Democrats should just stop being hypocrites.
Sammy,
In governmentspeak, what you call a payroll tax is actually FICA…the Federal Insurance Contribution Act. It was”‘sold” to the American public by FDR (Social Security) as an insurance “policy” that you paid into via paying a percentage of your income so that when you retired, your money (plus interest) would be returned to you in your “golden years”. The same can be said when LBJ instituted Medicare…a percentage of your income will be “saved” by the federal government to insure your medical expenses in your “golden years”.
Do you believe that any of the 160 million Americans that you refer to will accept fewer “benefits” when they retire because they are absolved of the “tax” for two months, or one year, for that matter?
If the President wants to cut taxes for all, let him do so. Cutting FICA payments is not a “tax” cut.
SOS, if the Republicans are soooo worried about hurting SS BTW, there is a 2.6 trillion surplus…(they really are not, they are drooling about handing it over to Wall St.) , they can just raise or eliminate the cap- that would make it solvent for 75 years.
Then why are the Democrats balking about a full year’s extension?
I see no evidence that the government is any better than Wall St. (they sleep together: look at who advises Ø) in managing money. The return on SS is worse or equivalent to the lowest return on a savings account, but at least you know the money is actually in your savings account.
Do CongressCritters pay income tax and FICA? Or they exempt from that common citizen’s burden?
And Sammy you left out the 6 million who can’t find work and probably a good amount of our 68 million seniors who have to cancel their doctors appointments (27% cuts in medicare payments).
I watched a video late last night as the Republicans walked out -RAN out for their vacations-while the dems were trying to debate and Mr. Speaker ORDERED C-Span to cut the cameras while the Dems were talking. So much for democracy and transparency..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV71OKdEqRI&feature=player_embedded#!
And, from the Wall St Journal editoriaL:
“GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected. Given how he and House Speaker John Boehner have handled the payroll tax debate, we wonder if they might end up re-electing the President before the 2012 campaign even begins in earnest.”
I will accept your $2.6 trillion figure, but, the money does not exist. Beginning with LBJ all FICA collected that was not spent on benefits was spent by the government on other budget items, giving the trust fund IOU’s in return. Now, when benefits paid exceed revenues, the trust fund “cashes in” the IOU’s and the federal government has to come up with that money from somewhere. With more and more Baby Boomers retiring each year, and with lowered FICA collections per the President’s plan, the IOU’s will be cashed in more frequently, and in larger amounts each year. This is a death spiral for Social Security and Medicare, as well as our federal budget.
Turned off the cameras! Where could they have learned that trick?
Try here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcpFUkFKygY
Or this? http://thehill.com/homenews/house/63941-democrats-lock-republicans-out-of-committee-room
The thing no one seems to get that my Mom does as a former treasury agent, and person who has done payroll for multiple companies is that how the hell are companies and the government supposed to calculate the tax breaks for 2 months? Payroll taxes are done quarterly, so what is a three month period you have to figure out the taxes for two months. Neither side, the government or business has a means to do that.
Here’s my cynical view because I remember LBJ in 1964:
Obama will do anything to win reelection. It’s smoke and mirrors and all made moot politically by mid-summer.
Sec. Def. Panetta has begun the administration sabre rattling against Iran. By July there will be a Gulf of Tonkin-like major crisis. By September we will be at war with Iran. Obama knows Americans have never turned out a wartime president and he really wants to be reelected.
I’ll be happy if I’m wrong.
Yeah, the democrats definitely cannot make up their collective minds on this and Fancy Nancy is out there sputtering away in front of the cameras that it’s the Tea Party’s fault? Weeeak, Nancy…really weak.
On the lighter side, I ran across this today:
Commemorative Pistol
Ruger is coming out with a new pistol in honor of members of the United States Congress
naming it the “Congressman” because it doesn’t work and you can’t fire it.
Until you see the government actual cut spending (not cut increases in spending) there will be no tax cuts, ever. It’s all BS.
Wake up sammy22, someone has to pay. We are all officially slaves to the government. Our freedom and liberty no longer exist. We need to end the tyranny.
SOS, you know very well that the IOUs are Treasury bonds that are bought on the same market that the Chinese, Japanese and American entities buy them. So implying that these bonds are not as “good” as cash in a “bank” (plus the interest they get), is like saying that the US government will not pay off the bonds. This would happen if the US defaults.
I think the fundamental difference is that the government will pay them through higher taxes on this and future generations, rather than letting the money work through investments and accrue value by building the economy instead of leeching off of it. IOUs are a promise (of future taxes), not tangible cash, and as you say, reliant on the future health of the U.S., which, with Øbama and the Dems, seems a lot less rosy.
Fascinating : Geheimtipp für Englisch
Here I am in Germany; Hamburg to be exact. I try to get OL from here to listen. I am confronted with devastation, since “I am told WTIC cannot stream here [probably due to a German block on the internet] … “yet” I find an add in German immediately above the ‘sound-off sister’ !?! How in this world did you accomplish this !?! It is a tip “to learn English”.
I am here for six weeks. I am frustrated because I cannot listen to Jim. But I can access my e-mail, and I will no doubt keep…
The USA will ALWAYS pay it’s bonds & my SS,but with inflated(cheaper) money.
Whatever its origin, Social Security is lightening rod here. Both Ds and Rs should agree to stop playing politics with the now institutionalized program. Many people see it as their primary means in retirement. Like it or not, few send their SS checks back.
What to do? Continue funding SS with government bonds that are yielding <1% annually? The only alternative is to generate more income for SS. Is “new revenue” for SS equal to new taxes? If so, here’s a thought.
Politicians in D.C. are going to raise taxes anyway (inevitable), why not fund SS? Some here have even suggested raising or eliminating the $107k income ceiling currently applying to FICA. Hmmm. The trick will be to get the money out of the general fund. (With all of those politicians palavering over the treasury . . . LOL.)
SS has to become a nonpartisan issue.