Politics

[deewayne2003]

No it's not. The percentage of people who are collecting SS is miniscule compared to people who paid into it.
If we wouldn't have SS we would be looking at a poverty crisis in this country and probably spend billions in tax dollars.
Every civilized country on earth have some kind of social safety net system.
What we have right now is not enough and that's why you see millions of senior citizens still working all over the place to make ends meet unlike any other developed country in the World.
Wealth distribution you mentioned is happening but unfortunately in reverse.
10% holds the majority of the wealth. In 2022, they held 60% of all wealth, a figure that has increased from 56% in 1989.

When social security was enacted there were 33 people paying in for every 1 collecting benefits; because the life expectancy was 62yo and thus the age to collect benefits was 62.

Now the life expectancy is 79yo but collection age is still 62yo and there are 3 people paying in for every 1 collecting benefits - the system has always relied on those paying to provide for those collecting despite the myth of the "trust fund" that was ruled unconstitutional by the supreme court in 1938.

 

[rookhawk]

I also do not think we should look at Social Security or Medicare as handouts. They may not be run efficiently, but what I draw in social security is a result of forty years of maximum contributions to the program. Medicare premiums (at my income level, not much different in cost than a private sector policy) are deducted from that social security payment.

The problem with entitlements like Social Security is it brings attention to the very wrong thing. People whine like ninnies about it being cut when that is irrelevant.

The relevant discussion is sound money. The government will never orphan social security, they'll just inflate the money until the benefit is absolutely worthless, whatever the amount due.

Inflation is the ultimate redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the upper class. Middle class chumps like almost all of us invest and save in IRAs and 401Ks which are no different than Social Security in principle. (just better ROR) Real inflation robs us of the buying power of our savings while we sleep.

The upper class have no such problems because of how they allocate their money, the super majority of their money is in companies they directly control or in tangible assets that index with inflation such as real estate. (hence the term "Real")

I heard recently that real inflation since the beginning of Covid was 18.9%. That's roughly 1/5th of the buying power of middle class savings eroded from un-sound money thanks to the uniparty.

The stupid middle class is more concerned with how many dollars they get from social security rather than with what they can buy with those fiat currency dollars.

 

[USN]

The problem with entitlements like Social Security is it brings attention to the very wrong thing. People whine like ninnies about it being cut when that is irrelevant.

The relevant discussion is sound money. The government will never orphan social security, they'll just inflate the money until the benefit is absolutely worthless, whatever the amount due.

Inflation is the ultimate redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the upper class. Middle class chumps like almost all of us invest and save in IRAs and 401Ks which are no different than Social Security in principle. (just better ROR) Real inflation robs us of the buying power of our savings while we sleep.

The upper class have no such problems because of how they allocate their money, the super majority of their money is in companies they directly control or in tangible assets that index with inflation such as real estate. (hence the term "Real")

I heard recently that real inflation since the beginning of Covid was 18.9%. That's roughly 1/5th of the buying power of middle class savings eroded from un-sound money thanks to the uniparty.

The stupid middle class is more concerned with how many dollars they get from social security rather than with what they can buy with those fiat currency dollars.

Well said Sir!

 

[Brent in Az]

Trump announced a "YUGE" trade deal with Vietnam.

 

[deewayne2003]

The problem with entitlements like Social Security is it brings attention to the very wrong thing. People whine like ninnies about it being cut when that is irrelevant.

The relevant discussion is sound money. The government will never orphan social security, they'll just inflate the money until the benefit is absolutely worthless, whatever the amount due.

Inflation is the ultimate redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the upper class. Middle class chumps like almost all of us invest and save in IRAs and 401Ks which are no different than Social Security in principle. (just better ROR) Real inflation robs us of the buying power of our savings while we sleep.

The upper class have no such problems because of how they allocate their money, the super majority of their money is in companies they directly control or in tangible assets that index with inflation such as real estate. (hence the term "Real")

I heard recently that real inflation since the beginning of Covid was 18.9%. That's roughly 1/5th of the buying power of middle class savings eroded from un-sound money thanks to the uniparty.

The stupid middle class is more concerned with how many dollars they get from social security rather than with what they can buy with those fiat currency dollars.

Agreed and well said!

My personal finance professor back in 2003 also taught us about how inflation benefited the wealthy because they are the ones that own the most real estate; so I bought farm land in a state with low property taxes thinking it would be my best bet to accrue wealth and actually have an investment that benefitted from inflation.

 

[rookhawk]

Agreed and well said!

My personal finance professor back in 2003 also taught us about how inflation benefited the wealthy because they are the ones that own the most real estate; so I bought farm land in a state with low property taxes thinking it would be my best bet to accrue wealth and actually have an investment that benefitted from inflation.

It is an interesting personal anecdote you've shared. I'm in farm country and farmers are in general, broke. (e.g. last year in Illinois, the average farmer lost $12 per acre if they planted corn, $51 per acre if they planted soybeans) Nonetheless, pre-Covid farm land was selling up here for about $7000-$8000 an acre and its now selling for $12,000-$14,000 per acre.

How can both be true at the same time? There are a lot of wealthy people with cheap access to capital buying up large swaths of tillable land nationwide. They clearly think the RoR over time is going to skyrocket and of course if you buy the right land, you get a windfall on 10% of it being developed into businesses and neighborhoods over time that may cover the entire investment.

Land is definitely a hedge against inflation and farm land adjacent to civilization has low Ag taxes until some of it gets annexed and developed.

It appears that the value of land is pricing in long-term inflation since its immediate value per acre does not cash-flow if mortgaged.

 

[Doug3006]

I’m not arguing….just asking….

The average wage in the US is up 20% plus since 2020. Meaning real earning power has been slightly positive, assuming the 18% cumulative inflation figure is right.

Social Security payments have been ratcheted up every year, and cumulatively exceed the 18% inflation slightly. Agreed that sustaining these increases forever is highly doubtful.

So, aren’t wage growth and SS adjustments relevant to this conversation?

 

[rookhawk]

I’m not arguing….just asking….

The average wage in the US is up 20% plus since 2020. Meaning real earning power has been slightly positive, assuming the 18% cumulative inflation figure is right.

Social Security payments have been ratcheted up every year, and cumulatively exceed the 18% inflation slightly. Agreed that sustaining these increases forever is highly doubtful.

So, aren’t wage growth and SS adjustments relevant to this conversation?

I just checked the print data to confirm my figures. Between 2020-2024 the US Government shows a cumulative annual inflation rate of 19.8%. Lets call it 20% since the end of last year.

I think the challenge is that sector-based inflation rates are not all the same, its the average. A large standing seam steel roof install has gone from $25,000 to $70,000 in that time frame, for example. Steaks have gone from $6.99 a pound to $12.99 a pound.

I would wager real inflation is higher over that time horizon for essential items and food, but that is merely conjecture.

 

[Altitude sickness]

What’s old is new again. Tom touches on many timely subjects. But he was saying this 14 years ago

 

[deewayne2003]

I’m not arguing….just asking….

The average wage in the US is up 20% plus since 2020. Meaning real earning power has been slightly positive, assuming the 18% cumulative inflation figure is right.

Social Security payments have been ratcheted up every year, and cumulatively exceed the 18% inflation slightly. Agreed that sustaining these increases forever is highly doubtful.

So, aren’t wage growth and SS adjustments relevant to this conversation?

@Doug3006

Depends how you define wage growth, we have only seen wage growth for blue collar workers in the last few years, after all 2 generations ago you could sustain a family of four on construction worker pay and today you would be in poverty unless you are a journeyman electrician, skilled pipe fitter/welder, ect.

ICYMI: Blue-Collar Wage Growth Sees Largest Increase in Nearly 60 Years Under Trump

In President Donald J. Trump’s first five months in office, real wages for hourly workers have seen their largest increase under any administration in

www.whitehouse.gov

While people with property and assets love cheap labor the truth of the matter is that illegal immigration has decimated the earnings of working people while massively inflating the profit margins of the capital gains class while also keeping their cost of maintenance and improvement low. The last study I read on wage gains showed that with inflation figured in the American worker hasn't seen any purchasing power increase in their wages since the 1986 Reagan amnesty.

It is an interesting personal anecdote you've shared. I'm in farm country and farmers are in general, broke. (e.g. last year in Illinois, the average farmer lost $12 per acre if they planted corn, $51 per acre if they planted soybeans) Nonetheless, pre-Covid farm land was selling up here for about $7000-$8000 an acre and its now selling for $12,000-$14,000 per acre.

How can both be true at the same time? There are a lot of wealthy people with cheap access to capital buying up large swaths of tillable land nationwide. They clearly think the RoR over time is going to skyrocket and of course if you buy the right land, you get a windfall on 10% of it being developed into businesses and neighborhoods over time that may cover the entire investment.

Land is definitely a hedge against inflation and farm land adjacent to civilization has low Ag taxes until some of it gets annexed and developed.

It appears that the value of land is pricing in long-term inflation since its immediate value per acre does not cash-flow if mortgaged.

@rookhawk

You are correct about the average farmer being broke but that also has to do with the old guard of the farming industry having the mindset of......

"I've been farming for 60 years and I know what I'm doing!"

I see it on a regular basis with farm consulting where the elderly are over spending on herbicide and fertilizer because they are not soil testing or calibrating spray rigs and just last night I attended a cattleman's association meeting where a 55yo who has taken over his 86yo fathers ranch is seeing 3X the hay production of his father because he simply took the scientific approach to figuring out what the soil actually needed before fertilizing as well as identifying weeds and making proper herbicide selection; while also cutting his production cost in half.

Further he is actually having the hay forage tested for nutrient content and sending excess hay to market with documentation giving the hay a massive value added benefit.

As for land values in my area, it helps that I am within 1.5hrs of DFW airport and the Texans that sold their houses/property to the California refugees/plague are buying up property; combined with the announcement of the new Hardrock Hotel and Casino being built has also helped land prices.

In 2019(pre covid) I bought 26ac with asphalt road frontage that bordered my west property line for $2,250ac; last year the 100acres to the south of me sold for $1.7mil; subtracting the value of the house and shop on the property I believe the land value of that place is roughly $9,000ac and I get form letters and phone calls on a weekly basis offering to buy my land.

If you were trying to make a living off of buying land to raise cattle or crops in our area you would starve; it's simply a supplement to your normal vocation, unless you have enough land where economies of scale kick in.....hence the rise in corporate agriculture.

Simply put my land is not a production asset, it's a retirement fund that I can hunt and fish on......

 

[skydiver386]

No it's not. The percentage of people who are collecting SS is miniscule compared to people who paid into it.

When you have people like little old Ida May collecting over $22,000 after having put in $22.00, yeah, it's a handout.

If we wouldn't have SS we would be looking at a poverty crisis in this country and probably spend billions in tax dollars.

We already do that. Welfare, section 8 housing, food stamps, wic, etc.

Every civilized country on earth have some kind of social safety net system.

Unfortunately this safety net has become a hammock for many.

What we have right now is not enough and that's why you see millions of senior citizens still working all over the place to make ends meet unlike any other developed country in the World.

So the plan is to drive on with more of the same failed plan? If you like another country better, feel free to move there and take advantage of their fantastic social welfare plan

Wealth distribution you mentioned is happening but unfortunately in reverse.
10% holds the majority of the wealth. In 2022, they held 60% of all wealth, a figure that has increased from 56% in 1989.

...and much of this due to Government taxation and wealth distribution programs, which you seem to be perfectly fine with, except that it favors them instead of you.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

What’s old is new again. Tom touches on many timely subjects. But he was saying this 14 years ago

A truly great man.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Not for little ears. Video on the whole sbr/aow/sbs/suppressor thing

 

[DillonG]

I planned my retirement with the assumption that I would not be able to count on my social security benefits to make ends meet... I recommend that everyone currently in the work force capable of doing so, plan the same...

While I do agree with others that social security in itself should not be regarded as a government "handout", the federal government has mismanaged the system so poorly, it has become a monster that is now the main driver of the national debt that must be addressed sooner than later...

A wide range of potential solutions have been proposed, including increasing the full retirement age, hiking the payroll tax on wages over a certain amount, and reducing benefits for higher lifetime earner... A tiered system has also been suggested where current contributors in the workforce will pay into the system at the same rate, but receive lower benefits at the time of retirement...

I believe that the solution will ultimately have to be a combination of all of the above... Every group will have to make a sacrifice which of course will likely be the most unpopular piece of legislation ever proposed when that day inevitably comes...

I would vote for anyone that would give the option of paying into Medicare and SS, or not. The government could keep what I paid in already. We can call it charity. I know the difference between independently investing and being forced to pay into failed government programs, to support the largest voting base by age the U.S. has ever witnessed.

I agree with your mindset though. Blame my opinion on my age, if necessary.

 

[BSO Dave]

I would vote for anyone that would give the option of paying into Medicare and SS, or not. The government could keep what I paid in already. We can call it charity. I know the difference between independently investing and being forced to pay into failed government programs, to support the largest voting base by age the U.S. has ever witnessed.

I agree with your mindset though. Blame my opinion on my age, if necessary.

Your opinion is shared by a great many, and one that I would also have supported given the option...

The problem with it and why you will never see SS contribution as optional is twofold....

1) The program is fully dependent on the younger workforce contributions to pay for the retirees currently receiving benefits... Even if every younger worker like yourself decided to opt out and even forfeit their contributions to date, the liability would still be unfunded... When reforms actually do take place, you will likely see something in the form of what I mentioned previously where a tiered system will be in place that will pay out a much smaller percentage of benefit compared to your contributions...

2) The other issue is this... I have no actual data to back this up, but I would bet that the vast majority of younger workers lack the financial responsibility and discipline to save and invest for their own retirement... That's really the main reason SS was established in the first place... FDR believed that a government-run retirement safety net was necessary for Americans recovering from the Great Depression... In fact, the entire New Deal was based on growing the government to provide a whole host of post-depression social welfare programs which included G.O.s like the CCC, PWA, and the TVA which created tens of thousands of government jobs...

Of course, back then, the U.S. population was exponentially smaller and the demographics of the workforce where entirely different than they are now... But even then, fiscal conservatives who opposed FDR like Senator Bob Taft (not President Taft) predicted the inevitable failures of creating these types of social welfare programs...

 

[Doug3006]

Social Security was a lame idea to begin with. It’s a pension scheme designed by Democrats rather than investment firms.

Imagine if Eisenhower had created a government-owned highway construction department rather than harnessing the private sector and free market competition to build and maintain our highways. We’d still be waiting for Interstate 70 to be completed. Instead we hired private construction companies to build highways that are the lifelines of commerce.

Why didn’t the government establish the funding mechanisms (I.e., worker and employer contributions) and allow the employees to decide who would manage their money? I think New York Life or Fidelity would have generated me millions on what my employers and I have pumped into SS over my career.

 

[wesheltonj]

Well, I see my Congressmen was just on TV, saying he's currently a NO vote. What a surprise.

 

[spike.t]

Pathetic !

This fool is arguably the second most powerful individual in Britain

We be f’cked !

Starmer backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves after tearful appearance at PMQs

A spokesperson for Reeves says it was a "personal matter" - meanwhile, the PM declines to rule out tax rises when pressed by Kemi Badenoch.

www.bbc.co.uk

All useless fkn pieces of shit......I despise them with a vengeance.......

 

[Wheels]

What many had figured out by the end of 2017 is finally coming to light. Hard to believe it took this long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940452440937263396

 

[Brent in Az]

What many had figured out by the end of 2017 is finally coming to light. Hard to believe it took this long.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940452440937263396

I'm sure that the CIA knew about it for years. It's another rotten to the core alphabet agency.
If they are just now revealing info, it means they are getting some heat from higher up.
CIA doesn't put anything out freely.