Bush concedes

No, the Democraps don't advocate doing nothing, they want to raise FICA taxes to cover the loss. FICA is already outrageous, any working stiff like me would agree. What I don't undertand is why I have to pay it. Isn't it voluntary? Why is my employer required to withold it? It's MY future, after all. Shouldn't I, the one working, be able to decide how best to invest my retirement funds?

And there are other major problems with the Galveston system. As Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) has noted, Galveston "contracted for a fixed-income annuity at an average annual rate of 8.6 percent. But there's no way the U.S. economy could live with interest rates that high over the long term; Galveston's example can't be generalized to the entire nation." Further, as Brookings Institution senior fellow Henry Aaron noted in his testimony to the Senate Committee on the Budget on January 19, 1999, in addition to lowered benefits for most workers, the Galveston plan "exposes all workers to risks that no social insurance plan should countenance," while failing to provide inflation protection or guaranteed annuities for spouses and benefits for divorced spouses. Aaron also noted that the Galveston system could not feasibly be translated to America as a whole: "Those who withdraw from Social Security run away from a burden that the nation cannot escape -- specifically, the obligation to pay off the unfunded liability -- leav[ing] that burden for those who remain under Social Security to pay."

Critics maintain that instituting private accounts similar to Galveston's for all workers would cause harm for many.

"These plans won't work for most people and would destroy Social Security for the vast number of Americans who depend on it," said Eric Kingson, a professor of social work at Syracuse University who has studied the Galveston plan.

"What we can learn from the Galveston experience is who will win and who will lose if we move toward this privatization plan," he said. "People who work long and hard at relatively low wages get a proportionately higher benefit from Social Security, and that's because its purpose is to provide a basic set of protections for Americans."

The bottom line for many Galveston County retirees is the size of their check every month. And some say they have been bitterly disappointed.

"I get around $460 per month now, but under Social Security, I would have gotten $1,000," said Joyce Longcoy, who retired in 1998 after 23 years working for Galveston County. "They are putting this up to be a model for the rest of the country. Some model."

I know the employer is forced to match it, but why can't I just opt out? Eh?

I know the employer is forced to match it, but why can't I just opt out? Eh?

If I were self employed, do I have to pay double FICA? I know it's suggested, but is it really enforced? I don't think so.

I cannot support wealth redistribution, no. I should be able to either invest the (close to) 10% or give it directly to my parents and children. You apparently have a problem with that.

Does everyone hear that giant sucking sound?

dyslexia wrote:

There is a war between the ones who say there is a war and the ones who say there isn't.

I'd be voting for there is a war. But then again I am a neocon who has an insatiable blood lust for war and death. The higher the body count the better, the more money The Man can get the better, screw the poor and starving, they are to stupid to know the difference.

I cannot support wealth redistribution, no.

I cannot support wealth redistribution, no. I should be able to either invest the (close to) 10% or give it directly to my parents and children. You apparently have a problem with that.

Does everyone hear that giant sucking sound?

Quote:

I cannot support wealth redistribution, no. I should be able to either invest the (close to) 10% or give it directly to my parents and children. You apparently have a problem with that.

Does everyone hear that giant sucking sound?

As Dookie said, you certainly have no problem when the distribute more wealth to the already wealthy.

But, more to the point: you are forgetting your responsibility and obligation to the thousands, if not dozens of thousands, of those less fortunate who have worked hard their whole lives to make YOUR life easier, cleaner, educated, and safe. You owe them money, and SS is how you pay it. It's not a complicated concept.

Cycloptichorn

How do you figure Anyone owes them money? Did they work hard their whole lives for free?

A startlingly ignorant remark, if indeed you are serious.

If I were self employed, do I have to pay double FICA? I know it's suggested, but is it really enforced? I don't think so.