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Confirming Progressive Warnings, Social Security Actuary Says Trump Payroll Tax Cut Would Effectively Destroy Program by 2023

News & Views
#22

You know Recon - I’m reading

Galileo and the Science Deniers

by astrophysicist Mario Livio (2020)

" A fresh interpretation of the life of Galileo Galilei, one of history’s greatest and most fascinating scientists, that sheds new light on his discoveries and how he was challenged by science deniers."
~https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52768066-galileo-and-the-science-deniers

In reading this detailed book - one is transported back into a dark age just lightening. A fascinating journey in itself.

But Mario Livio goes to great length to compare that age to ours. Unfortunately we seem to be at a stage where light is being rapidly replaced by darkness.

The manic scenes at the GOP Convention are truly incomprehensible - I must have missed something growing up ?

1 Like
#23

“I must have missed something growing up.”
Nah, I think the current times are part of “History repeating it’s self” or “the circle of life” on a grand scale. There are periods of history where the experts claim civilization’s knowledge has gone backwards, or technology was not passed forward for whatever reason. It’s said the Atlanteans were a very advanced culture compared to what followed that period. The great Pyramids also come to mind, so precise, with supposedly primitive tools, yet can’t be replicated with the same measuring tools in todays times. We are living through and witnessing a very strange and surreal time in history I’m afraid, from today’s perspective, it doesn’t look like it’s going to end well, at least not for this country.

2 Likes
#24

What if we fund Social Security and Medicare from the General Fund instead of a regressive tax on workers? It is only a book keeping fiction that it comes from a trust fund since all payroll tax income goes into the General Fund and all payments to the programs come out of the General Fund. Why not finance it with progressive income tax rather than workers earned income payroll tax?

Here’s an alternative take on this from a Leftist:

~https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/08/21/why-payroll-taxes-are-the-achilles-heel-of-social-security/

4 Likes
#25

Damn, once again Bernie had it right. But, no, it’s Biden (kill ss slowly) vs drumpf (kill ss quickly), enslaved forever to wall street. Trampled by elephants, kicked in the ass by donkeys.

“Insanity is repeating the same mistake[s] and expecting different results.” - NA

2 Likes
#26

Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail around the world solo Recon. Canadian by birth, he became an American citizen. The sloop he sailed, the Spray, he rebuilt quite literally from the keel up, piece by piece, and then he calked her by hand. What is surprising is that the Spray, a converted 36 foot fishing boat, is not very capsize friendly in her design. But Slocum was right at the end of the Age of Sail, a master sailor who ran away to sea as a youngster and came to captain the finest sailing ship of the time, “over the bows, and not in through the cabin windows”, as he put it in his book “Sailing Alone Around the World” (1899).

My point being that it would be a rare, or perhaps non-existent sailor who could reproduce his feat, given that Slocum was from a time that has passed - and the skills of sailing in wooden boats with it. Just like the Egyptians I would think.

1 Like
#27

Because that’s the rub.
Right-wing America can’t stand paying any kind of tax. It’s against their religion of greed.
They won’t sign off on one tax replaced by another tax.
They just don’t want to pay a tax, period.
Wall street wanting that money to play with doesn’t make sense either. The people SSI is supposed to save from retirement poverty, won’t be putting that tax money elsewhere, they will generally spend it. All money in hand for the 90% will be spent, not invested.
This about not touching a dime of a right-wingers purse. They hate “The Village” unless it helps them at no cost.

3 Likes
#28

No… not at all.

I’ve already written my reps.

I’ve made the informed reality based decision not to waste any more time trying to “believe” the democratic party will enact any positive change. They work only for their donors - i am not represented there.

When someone tells me point blank “nothing will fundamentally change” - I take them at their word.

When a candidate who’s tried to cut SS four times tells me he will “protect” SS - I do not believe him.

When a party platform offers nothing - not even healthcare in the midst of a pandemic, I can see which way the wind is blowing.

When the party’s election strategy is “for every progressive we lose, we’ll gain two upper middle class republicans” - I can smell a loser.

I’ve decided to act and think positively. Joined movement for a peoples party, the only positive 3rd party movement at the moment (sorry greens). Hopeful we’ll have a positive choice in 4 years.

5 Likes
#32

Right now your choices seem limited - so tossing one dirtbag is something - sometimes that’s enough.

Sounds like a plan - where does that party exist right now ?

#33

Ol’ Sleepyhead has tried to cut SS many times while in the Senate. If they can spend well over a $trillion a year on a military that isn’t needed they can pay my SS and Medicare.

2 Likes
#34

You already have!

#35

Attention everybody, Trakar says it’s okay to vote for trump. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain.

And beware of the 27 or more republicans that after 3.5 years of trump support all of a sudden are having a Jesus moment and are denouncing trump.

1 Like
#36

The plan is already to destroy it by trading millions of jobs to Indian, African and other low bidding service firms in the developing countries - specifically “LDCs” .

Its been in a continuous process of negottiation since the 1980s.

This is not new. maybe they have a deal with Trump to assume all the blame, though. Wonder what he did to deserve this?

By the way both parties are as crooked as they come now.

Biden’s proposal to expand Medicare actually kills it. Ive been writing about these shemes to destroy entitlements so the country gets shafted by the 2 rich parties.

#37

If Biden just does one thing right we are better off with him than trump.

2 Likes
#39

He’s a better liar.

I actually think trump is working for the Dem elite now. Don’t you?

I mean, you can see if you look around, Ive been predicting the stuff I have for years.
And so far Ive been right.

Its actually been worse than Ive predicted, I was really hoping that Bernie would turn out to be the real deal. I sure would like to have him somewhere where I could esk him about this, where he could answer me truthfully and privately. If he had just told the country about GATS we wouldnt have people falling into this trap. Look I know that you folks, may still be drinking the Kool Aid.

But the evidence is compelling and its truthful.
We’re being led into a trap to strip us of everything without any compensation. They just think they can get away with it now.

We’re being scammed. We need to make a clean sweep and evict all of all these people, from the houses of power, they have all been really evil.

They are all associated with this huge crime against all the people of this country and the world.

1 Like
#40

You and I must be looking at two separate Mr. trumps.

As far as Biden and SSI, I proposed the same basic plan he has advocated for. But Americans are easily led to feel that giving anything up, or doing the hard work is unacceptable.
Given the fact that we won’t be getting anything from the rich, Biden’s plan for a government freeze across the board seems like a good idea to me. Not in times of war or pandemic, but in fairly normal times. Time when interest on the debt is able to be paid for by less spending.
No automatic budget increases.
I believe when I was suggesting something similar it was to institute 1% decrease in spending, beyond a freeze.
This all depends on how federal dollars are gathered in the first place.

#41

@gandolf

They are the takers, and they dont want the people they are taking from to be involved with anything they need so they are stripping the jobs from Americans and giving them to everybody else who has a background like them. In the interests of decimating the US middle class.

To do that they needed GATS. Thats why its been hidden, its part of their scheme to steal the planet from its people and reduce population by depriving large groups of people of any way to make income.

They will and are, promising anything and everything to get in power. Which ever one wins, we all lose.

2 Likes
#42

You will have to convince me that the so-called dem elite are against, or even not for dealing with the climate crisis, healthcare, medicare, medicaid, environmental degradation, preserving wildlife, federal lands, and a hundred other things.

#43

That makes no sense for t

#44

Or maybe it’s you who should beware: Despite what those 27 Repubs have to say, Trump currently enjoys a 90% approval rating with GOP voters.

This is your cue. Tell us it’s all about The Supreme Court.

#45

GATS and the other WTO agreements, plus the US style “next generation” FTAs that are opt out (negative list) basically lock in all possible deregulations which meas that is what they re doing, because deregulation means the opposite of all the good things we needs to have done is required, thats the US core priciple. Lock in deregulation. That gives corporations to take it all.

Money rules. NAFTA, CAFTA, AGP/GPA, and the other FTAS both approved and merely proposed by us are doing that on an unimaginable scale, stealing everything that can be stolen as rapidly as possible. Thats why they have done and are doing all that and more. And they lock in so voting can’t reverse them, after all corporations deserve CERTAINTY.

See ~https://ciel.org

You know I’m right.