Social Security:                                                                    Back
 
   8/27/04 Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday that the country will face “abrupt & painful” choices if congress doesn’t move quickly to trim the Social Security & Medicare benefits that have been promised to the Baby Boom Generation. 
   The Social Security System was designed on the premise that the workers of today would be paying the retired workers of the past. At first it worked good, not that many workers were on the receiving end and the life expectancy wasn’t that much longer then the age of retirement. Today there are many more people receiving S. S. and they live longer (collect benefits longer) & so put a strain on the system. Now within the next decade, the baby boomers (Children born after the end of World War II) will be reaching retirement age, some of us have already taken early retirement, and the system will be overwhelmed. This problem could have been put off if the National Debt wasn’t as bad as it is today or if the economy wasn’t as stagnant as it is. The less people employed, the less people who are paying Social Security Tax. 
   We may in time have to raise the retirement age. The people who are forced to work longer won’t lose because they will probably live longer and will catch up by collecting for a longer period of time. For the time being we have to stimulate economic growth. We have to create jobs.
   Allowing workers to buy into personal retirement plans is not a good idea. Most people would just use that money to better their life today & how many personal retirement plans went down the drain in the Enron fiasco or the drop of the stock market a few years back. Companies go bankrupt. Most Americans don't have the knowledge needed to invest wisely & even if they do they don’t have the time. 
   By the way privatizing Social Security would benefit the riches of us the most & didn’t they already get their gift horse with their big tax break. 
 
   I recently found this USA Today dated 7/02/04 WASHINGTON — U.S. and Mexican officials signed a controversial agreement this week that could allow millions of legal and undocumented (illegal) Mexican immigrants who work in the United States to collect U.S. Social Security benefits.
 
   During his acceptance speech at the RNC he again mentioned giving a Social Security Tax break to workers so they could invest in their own retirement plans. I said before this is a bad idea. For every one who wins, I feel, 5 will lose. That's just the way it works on Wall Street. Also, if the money is taken out of the system to give these breaks where will the money come from that will be needed to cover the people, who have worked all their lives and paid into the system and our now on or near retirement.
 
   9/04/04 Washington (AP). The Bush administration stated that Medicare premiums will shoot up 17% next year. The $11.60 per month increase will be the largest increase in the programs history & follows a 13.5% increase this year and a 8.7% increase last year & that doesn't count a $10. increase in the deductible  for Part B services. So much for George Bush's help for seniors that he has been bragging about.
 
   When I was in Bali & Thailand I saw a perfect system. The older people stayed with the families and were treasured for the knowledge they had attained by living a long life. They took care of and taught the children and helped out in other ways but that wouldn’t work in our society. We need Social Security.

   The main problem with the Balinese system is that it is one of the main causes of population explosions. The more children you have the better you will be taken care of in your old age. The last thing we need today is large population growth. I recently heard that the earth's population will double in my lifetime. Do we really want the earth it resemble India.
 
   12/9/04: (CNN) Social Security reform: A guide. There's lots of disagreement about what to do with the system. Here's a rundown of some key issues. Read what they say in may be of interest to you.