Skwmom
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:04 PM
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Are future HUGE entitlement cuts basically a foregone conclusion? |
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Edited on Wed Mar-25-09 12:05 PM by Skwmom
The U.S. is broke and buried under a ton of debt (which will get even bigger once the next round of bailouts occur). That sacrifice they keep talking about - I think it's coming. But it's kind of hard to talk about when you're handing trillions to the greedy jerks who created this mess.
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theoldman
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:08 PM
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1. Your title and post do not match. |
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Entitlements and bailouts are two different things.
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Skwmom
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:11 PM
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4. Hmm... trillions of bailouts have to be paid for somehow (for example, by HUGE |
msongs
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:08 PM
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2. nah, the military/industrial complex funding is secure for eternity :-) nt |
CrispyQ
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:10 PM
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3. I think social security benefits will be cut substantially. |
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They may have a cut off age, or not. Either way, they will try to use the current economic crisis to steal it from us.
I pointed out in another post that when our taxes are spent on We the People, they call it entitlement, but when our taxes are given to big business, it's good for the economy. :eyes:
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Kurt_and_Hunter
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:12 PM
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5. Yes, eventually, though only the very youngest readers of this will be affected |
Skwmom
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:16 PM
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7. I think the "chickens will come home to roost" long before that. |
Kurt_and_Hunter
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:17 PM
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8. For medicare, perhaps. For Social Security, probably not. |
joeglow3
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:14 PM
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6. I think the day will have to come. |
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Edited on Wed Mar-25-09 12:29 PM by joeglow3
I am not saying this from a political perspective. Rather, I am saying it as a tax CPA. A couple years ago (BEFORE the shit hit fan) I went to training in Chicago. One of the 2 hour presentations was on the national debt over the next 40 years. At the rate we were growing, there was a point in the not so distant future where our tax revenues could NOT even come close to paying interest and social security. They looked at all the options, including, raising taxes, letting AMT take over (i.e. do not "patch" it), cutting all defense spending, etc.). There were only 2 solutions that seemed feasible:
1. Cut entitlements drastically. Can't cut interest payments and this is the only other large piece of the pie. 2. Raise taxes drastically across the board. Works to a certain point, but raise too much and you run into a LOT more expatriation and fraud.
One other thing that came out of it was the need for the IRS to focus on enforcement. People/companies not paying the taxes (usually through not filing at all) is the single largest treasure trove.
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Skwmom
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:18 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
9. The scary part is that it didn't even include the trillions spent on rewarding |
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the crooks that caused this mess. I think this has accelerated the pending disaster.
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terisan
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:28 PM
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10. The administration is acting in in order of their priorities. Wall Street got full bailout |
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Edited on Wed Mar-25-09 12:29 PM by terisan
because their needs were addressed first. Our budeg will be cut because our needs are being addressed next and there is less "moneyy (debt load possible); next so-called "entitlement" reform will be presented , social security will be labeled an entitlement even though it is not and we will be told our government can't afford it and we must sacrifice.
so I think you are right. They are going to try, as did Bush, to cut benefits to social security and increase payments. They want us to sacrifice, yet they and Wall Street do not.
There are excellent reasons to not touch social security.
Voters need to be setting the priorities but we still are not doing that.
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Skwmom
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:32 PM
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11. I think they are putting off the use of the word "sacrifice" until they |
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finish with the next round of bailouts.
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terisan
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Wed Mar-25-09 12:54 PM
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12. I guess we will need to be ready. nt |
Median Democrat
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Wed Mar-25-09 01:08 PM
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13. Some Entitlement Cuts Plus Tax Increases Are Necessary |
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We can thank Bush for the tax cuts and spending increases for making things worse, but the idea of Social Security going broke is misleading. Rather, at a certain point, social security taxes will not cover social security benefits. Then taxes will need to go up and benefits may need to be reduced.
My take is that people are living longer, so social security should be both strengthened, but adjusted to reflect the fact that people can work longer. I am totally against any effort to privitize social security.
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