We need to face the reality of living longer. I have chosen to continue working rather than retire, I believe it is healthier for the soul to keep contributing, as able, to society. As a nurse, I have seen many folks decline rapidly when they stop working. Raising the age when one receives benefits makes the most sense financially and socially. Finally, I am well aware that the cost of care is very high at the end of life, so making healthy choices during working years is important.
Nice article! I appreciate the unbiased approach. I think our politicians are sensitive to the issue. The age limited was successfully raised in the past. We had plenty of time to plan when we were told that our benefits would be later than our parents.
Social Security isn’t Welfare, unless you’ve never paid into it.
If the monies that government demands from employees and employers were in a nongovernmental program people would receive much more at retirement. Also, if the payee dies the remaining money would be given to a beneficiary.
There’s a reason governmental officials and employees have a different retirement plan.
Most importantly why isn’t the welfare system going broke??
Congress over time has changed who receives Social Security to where it is paying addicts and more. It was supposed to be a retirement account. Not so much anymore.
Sadly SS has now turned into a fund the illegal cartels program, keeping those without visible means of support fully supplied with their daily habit drugs. This is not helping.
Get to know what state tax payers must now support to fully fund government employee pension plans, compared to where we stand in the current Social Security plans for everyone else; https://transparentcalifornia.com/agencies/pensions/
This is how we created two very separate Americas, and one very self-interested and growing partisan voting block. With currently 22 million current government employees in the US being funded by taxpayers to fully fund their own unique government employee pension plans.
Peter (us) is now getting robbed to pay Paul. (them). Yet there is no such guarantee to fully fund Social Security. The old myth government employees accepted lower pay in expectation of a good pension later got buried decades ago.
Learning how to use the election process to put government employee interests on both sides of the bargaining table, is what created this current unsustainable public pension funding crisis - the one crisis one rarely hears much about since it gets buried by all the other deflective crises: climate change; Russia-Russia-Russia; covid-covid-covid .....etc, etc...
Convert all defined-benefit government employee pensions to the Social Security base, or a defined contribution 401K-type plan only. Anything more for personal retirement comes from each government employee's own personal contributions to their own IRA or Roth IRA. Like everyone else. The savings are then redistributed to ensure the Social Security promise to everyone else remains fully funded.
Government employees must directly invest in the economic health of America, like everyone else if they want their own retirement planning protected. Right now there is a reckless detachment between government actions and the looming insolvencyof government promises.
Someone can run the numbers to see if this one change alone can revive the solvency for the original promise Social Security; but not the expanded candy store payout Social Security has become to be one more political slush fund.
Of course, there must be a million current laws and regulations that would need to be overturned to carry this out. But the exercise alone underscores how convoluted and distorted our under-funded government retirement liabilities have become. Americans can no longer tolerate lavish and automatically funded government employee pensions, while facing government underfunding for their own. (See Transparent California to learn how this government public pension shell game plays out just in California.)
Simplify, simplify, simplify, and be honest about the basics instead of leaving this now critical government function open to partisan gamesmanship and political extortion.
Every election includes Democrats falsily accusing Republicans of wanting to reduce or eliminate S.S. I would like to see a break down of the payouts. For example, is Aide for Dependent Children ione of S.S. programs?
Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), also known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was a grant program established by the Social Security Act of 1935.
Social Security was originally intended to be a trust. Gradually this "trust" fund has been robbed. We as legally "forced" contributors to this trust fund (what an oxymoron of a term), have every reason to have lost all trust in the fund. The SSA has woefully abrogated its fiduciary duty. IMO, it is OK for the Fed. Gov't to still mandate payment into a retirement system, but the contributor should have control over which fund their moneys are deposited; meaning optional payment into a PRIVATE investment account, which is safe from the robber-barons in the Federal Gov't.. Meaning your SSI tax withholdings, as reported on your W-2, should be directed into the qualified investment account of your choosing (e.g. local bank savings; Chas. Schwab, etc.). Even the safest private investment into a mere savings acct, would yield far greater return to the taxpayer than the NEGATIVE interest rate we are getting from the SSA. Who ever thought it was a safe to place the wolfs in charge of the hen house???
Nice article! We'll written. Although it did touch in some of the proposals, which it would had listed the top 3 or 4 running around congress like the obvious removal of cap for taxes or the reduction in COLA over time. Some favored by one side and another one by the other. The author clearly wanted this article to remain neutral and it certainly did so.
Excellent Tim. The founders knew that the government should be limited. Look what it as produced - poverty and leanness to many struggling families. Handouts remove a man's self worth and steals from the next generation . Vote for Prop 13 to protect generational wealth. VOTE 2024
What was not mentioned was the ever-increasing illegal alien situation. The borders have been open for some time, and the current Administration is encouraging foreigners to flood our borders. Their elderly automatically qualify, their many disabled children qualify, etc. Foreigners pay less than 10% into our system (many work for cash, get auto benefits, etc.) yet take most of our resources. The other issue is the politicians who keep taking out of the Social Security piggy bank for their pet projects that don't benefit most taxpayers or Americans. But their donors benefit.
Here is a solution, direct the endless “aid” to so many foreign countries, reduce military spending and direct it towards our country’s needs. Further, the US is really not a working successful model if huge quantities of borrowed money are necessary to make it work.
Our city officials or staff don’t contribute to SS. CalPers. Employees and elected officials contribute 7% and the city gives 21%. This was in 2011, may be different now. Fire and PD have more generous plans. These unions support, through campaign contributions, the people who vote for their wages. 🤔
The last two sentences were the gist of the article. High schoolers must be taught the realities of work and saving. NOT, to think the U.S. govt. is the "Mommy" when they get older.
Of course the frail or those never able to have worked should be helped.
We need to face the reality of living longer. I have chosen to continue working rather than retire, I believe it is healthier for the soul to keep contributing, as able, to society. As a nurse, I have seen many folks decline rapidly when they stop working. Raising the age when one receives benefits makes the most sense financially and socially. Finally, I am well aware that the cost of care is very high at the end of life, so making healthy choices during working years is important.
I could not agree more. I am 70 and have no plans to retire.
Nice article! I appreciate the unbiased approach. I think our politicians are sensitive to the issue. The age limited was successfully raised in the past. We had plenty of time to plan when we were told that our benefits would be later than our parents.
Number one mistake in this column.
Social Security isn’t Welfare, unless you’ve never paid into it.
If the monies that government demands from employees and employers were in a nongovernmental program people would receive much more at retirement. Also, if the payee dies the remaining money would be given to a beneficiary.
There’s a reason governmental officials and employees have a different retirement plan.
Most importantly why isn’t the welfare system going broke??
Very well stated, Ms. Self. Why indeed isn't the welfare system going broke? Oh, wait, let me start up that printing press over there!
I thought Federal employees participated in SS since 1984?
Yes, that is correct; so does the U.S. military.
Congress over time has changed who receives Social Security to where it is paying addicts and more. It was supposed to be a retirement account. Not so much anymore.
Sadly SS has now turned into a fund the illegal cartels program, keeping those without visible means of support fully supplied with their daily habit drugs. This is not helping.
Get to know what state tax payers must now support to fully fund government employee pension plans, compared to where we stand in the current Social Security plans for everyone else; https://transparentcalifornia.com/agencies/pensions/
This is how we created two very separate Americas, and one very self-interested and growing partisan voting block. With currently 22 million current government employees in the US being funded by taxpayers to fully fund their own unique government employee pension plans.
Peter (us) is now getting robbed to pay Paul. (them). Yet there is no such guarantee to fully fund Social Security. The old myth government employees accepted lower pay in expectation of a good pension later got buried decades ago.
Learning how to use the election process to put government employee interests on both sides of the bargaining table, is what created this current unsustainable public pension funding crisis - the one crisis one rarely hears much about since it gets buried by all the other deflective crises: climate change; Russia-Russia-Russia; covid-covid-covid .....etc, etc...
Convert all defined-benefit government employee pensions to the Social Security base, or a defined contribution 401K-type plan only. Anything more for personal retirement comes from each government employee's own personal contributions to their own IRA or Roth IRA. Like everyone else. The savings are then redistributed to ensure the Social Security promise to everyone else remains fully funded.
Government employees must directly invest in the economic health of America, like everyone else if they want their own retirement planning protected. Right now there is a reckless detachment between government actions and the looming insolvencyof government promises.
Someone can run the numbers to see if this one change alone can revive the solvency for the original promise Social Security; but not the expanded candy store payout Social Security has become to be one more political slush fund.
Of course, there must be a million current laws and regulations that would need to be overturned to carry this out. But the exercise alone underscores how convoluted and distorted our under-funded government retirement liabilities have become. Americans can no longer tolerate lavish and automatically funded government employee pensions, while facing government underfunding for their own. (See Transparent California to learn how this government public pension shell game plays out just in California.)
Simplify, simplify, simplify, and be honest about the basics instead of leaving this now critical government function open to partisan gamesmanship and political extortion.
Every election includes Democrats falsily accusing Republicans of wanting to reduce or eliminate S.S. I would like to see a break down of the payouts. For example, is Aide for Dependent Children ione of S.S. programs?
Aid to Dependent Children (ADC), also known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was a grant program established by the Social Security Act of 1935.
Social Security was originally intended to be a trust. Gradually this "trust" fund has been robbed. We as legally "forced" contributors to this trust fund (what an oxymoron of a term), have every reason to have lost all trust in the fund. The SSA has woefully abrogated its fiduciary duty. IMO, it is OK for the Fed. Gov't to still mandate payment into a retirement system, but the contributor should have control over which fund their moneys are deposited; meaning optional payment into a PRIVATE investment account, which is safe from the robber-barons in the Federal Gov't.. Meaning your SSI tax withholdings, as reported on your W-2, should be directed into the qualified investment account of your choosing (e.g. local bank savings; Chas. Schwab, etc.). Even the safest private investment into a mere savings acct, would yield far greater return to the taxpayer than the NEGATIVE interest rate we are getting from the SSA. Who ever thought it was a safe to place the wolfs in charge of the hen house???
Social Security was set up as Ponzi Scheme FDR knew it and did it on purpose.
Nice article! We'll written. Although it did touch in some of the proposals, which it would had listed the top 3 or 4 running around congress like the obvious removal of cap for taxes or the reduction in COLA over time. Some favored by one side and another one by the other. The author clearly wanted this article to remain neutral and it certainly did so.
Excellent Tim. The founders knew that the government should be limited. Look what it as produced - poverty and leanness to many struggling families. Handouts remove a man's self worth and steals from the next generation . Vote for Prop 13 to protect generational wealth. VOTE 2024
What was not mentioned was the ever-increasing illegal alien situation. The borders have been open for some time, and the current Administration is encouraging foreigners to flood our borders. Their elderly automatically qualify, their many disabled children qualify, etc. Foreigners pay less than 10% into our system (many work for cash, get auto benefits, etc.) yet take most of our resources. The other issue is the politicians who keep taking out of the Social Security piggy bank for their pet projects that don't benefit most taxpayers or Americans. But their donors benefit.
Here is a solution, direct the endless “aid” to so many foreign countries, reduce military spending and direct it towards our country’s needs. Further, the US is really not a working successful model if huge quantities of borrowed money are necessary to make it work.
Our city officials or staff don’t contribute to SS. CalPers. Employees and elected officials contribute 7% and the city gives 21%. This was in 2011, may be different now. Fire and PD have more generous plans. These unions support, through campaign contributions, the people who vote for their wages. 🤔
The last two sentences were the gist of the article. High schoolers must be taught the realities of work and saving. NOT, to think the U.S. govt. is the "Mommy" when they get older.
Of course the frail or those never able to have worked should be helped.
Excellent commentary!
Thank you,
Bob