Country in the toilet and Goober Graham’s focus on NIL…

[Boston Vol]

I have a healthy 401k. Why doesn't the government let me opt out of SS if I only get to use it for 2 years? I hate to think of what I have already paid in to SS in my 17 years of working...

You should be able to opt out, but that’s a whole different discussion. The government won’t let that happen because if enough people chose to opt out, the system would collapse.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

I wish that was an option but they won’t allow it because too many people would opt out and the system would fail.

Have both sides agree on a percentage that you get back what you paid. Obviously it won't be 100% but at least 60%. Make it a lump sum. Would stop people from opting out.

 

[TheDeeble]

The House bill is a waste of time. It’s an extreme bill with no chance of passing.

I’m not aware of Schumer presenting a far left bill and declaring ‘pass this or I will crush us all’.

If there’s no chance of passing put it up for a vote and show America it can’t pass. This just looks like Shumer is scared some democrats might break ranks.

 

[BreatheUT]

I have a healthy 401k. Why doesn't the government let me opt out of SS if I only get to use it for 2 years? I hate to think of what I have already paid in to SS in my 17 years of working...

You sound like you're into payroll tax cuts or investing SS into private plans to grow it?

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

You sound like you're into payroll tax cuts or investing SS into private plans to grow it?

Yes and yes. Tax the rich.

 

[VolStrom]

All you whiney bitches that think you're going to cut my SS check better look out when papaw gets pissed off.

 

[NCFisher]

Well how about take responsibility of your own retirement and not rely on the government to subsidize it?

Apparently, it’s a binary choice for some.

 

[Orangeburst]

.

 

[ukvols]

When Biden said he won't negotiate, then why not take the same approach.

With the debt ceiling, the choices are to 1) raise it or 2) eliminate it or 3) destroy the economy. That’s why I think it is insane that this gets negotiated at all. The only negotiating leverage either party has is a willingness to destroy the economy. If no one is willing to do that, then they should permanently eliminate the debt ceiling, so we can continue to pay debts that were previously authorized. We are the only country that occasionally risks blowing itself up like this. The existence of the debt ceiling is insane. It’s not about new spending. It’s about paying existing, authorized debts.

 

[ukvols]

I don’t receive anything from Trump nor do I GAS about Cruz. I just recall being told that Biden was going to be the adult in DC and could work across the aisle to get things done.

The GOP is essentially telling Biden that the GOP is willing to destroy the US economy if Biden does not convince the Dems to give into the GOP’s demands. The more Biden is willing to compromise on this, the more the GOP will be empowered to take the country hostage again in the future. Suppose Biden gives into a bunch of the GOP’s demands this week. Will the GOP agree to eliminate the debt ceiling? I highly doubt it. They would probably just kick it down the road again so that they can come back later with a new lists of demands the next time it expires.

 

[ukvols]

If there’s no chance of passing put it up for a vote and show America it can’t pass. This just looks like Shumer is scared some democrats might break ranks.

McConnell blocks stuff all the time when he is in the majority. They both play that game.
The House bill, as is, would basically nuke Biden’s Presidency. It would undo his accomplishments and handicap him going forward and make cuts that would be deeply unpopular with the public, all while leaving past tax cuts for the rich untouched. They’re basically asking Biden to burn down his Presidency or else they’ll destroy the economy. Biden will probably, ultimately, give in on a few points despite the resulting backlash from his left flank. Then, it will be a matter of whether or not the GOP is satisfied that they’ve won enough in this round to not go through with destroying us.

 

[WBO]

I always laugh at you amateur financial analysts. You all want to take what you put into SS and invest it yourselves with the idea that you're going to get more money. That is not a dollar for dollar tradeoff.

Social security actually covers three things: retirement, disability and death. So you're going to have to divert some of that to life insurance and some of it to disability insurance.

And you would be surprised at how much you would need to spend for that? Are you going to get $500,000 of insurance to cover your spouse and kids? $1 million? (I'm guessing a level premium term policy for a 30 year old for $500,000 is going to be around $100 a month.) Trust companies would tell you that if you want to preserve principal then you need to plan on taking 4% a year. If you want to slowly "eat" the principal in exchange for higher payouts they would say 8%. But you better make sure you get that number right because when you run out, you are broke. Death or the surviving spouse's own retirement is the end date for spousal SS survivor's benefit. And don't forget the kid's survivor benefit through age 22.

Then let's look at disability. I was rejected for disability insurance at age 40 (while still in flight status) because I had twice been treated for back spasms. That was it. They are incredibly stringent on health issues because they are looking at long-term cash flow outlays. So if you can get it, you're looking at around $125 a month for that just to pay $100k a year.

There are no health exams for SS unlike the private insurance.

Oh, and your SS benefit is not affected by drops in the stock market and does get COLA. I am sure that if you let people go to exclusive private accounts they would be begging for relief if they screw it up, after all you can't let mom go hungry.

It's much better than you amateur investors will ever likely do.

 

[hog88]

The GOP is essentially telling Biden that the GOP is willing to destroy the US economy if Biden does not convince the Dems to give into the GOP’s demands. The more Biden is willing to compromise on this, the more the GOP will be empowered to take the country hostage again in the future. Suppose Biden gives into a bunch of the GOP’s demands this week. Will the GOP agree to eliminate the debt ceiling? I highly doubt it. They would probably just kick it down the road again so that they can come back later with a new lists of demands the next time it expires.

I see that it only works one way for you. Both parties are holding us hostage.

 

[TheDeeble]

McConnell blocks stuff all the time when he is in the majority. They both play that game.
The House bill, as is, would basically nuke Biden’s Presidency. It would undo his accomplishments and handicap him going forward and make cuts that would be deeply unpopular with the public, all while leaving past tax cuts for the rich untouched. They’re basically asking Biden to burn down his Presidency or else they’ll destroy the economy. Biden will probably, ultimately, give in on a few points despite the resulting backlash from his left flank. Then, it will be a matter of whether or not the GOP is satisfied that they’ve won enough in this round to not go through with destroying us.

So then what you’re saying is Shumer is scared enough Democrats would vote for it.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

[VIDEO=]

What are you talking about? China was completely shut down for months; in fact, it just recently reopened after another shutdown. Italy was shut down. Most countries had some form of a shutdown.

and they were all stupid to do so.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Calling the opposition “terrorist” is good way to get people to work with you.

Uniter in Chief

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

Yes and yes. Tax the rich.

Good plan. Should get us through another week or two.

 

[ukvols]

I see that it only works one way for you. Both parties are holding us hostage.

The GOP is the hostage takers because they are the ones with a massive list of demands.
Biden would agree to a bill that does nothing but avoid a default.
The GOP is saying ‘Agree to this or else we destroy us all.’
Biden’s refusal to meet every GOP demand does not make him a hostage taker.

 

[ukvols]

So then what you’re saying is Shumer is scared enough Democrats would vote for it.

No, I don’t think Schumer thinks a Dem would vote for the GOP’s radical wish list of demands.

 

[Orangeburst]

No, I don’t think Schumer thinks a Dem would vote for the GOP’s radical wish list of demands.

What radical demands would those be?

 

[Orangeburst]

Look at our resident POS President..Tax loopholes is "cutting spending" and MORE TAXES. And look at handouts to Pharma for 200B. Just do that already.

 

[NCFisher]

The Repubs could help with the deficit by reversing Trump’s tax cuts for the rich, but that seems to be a non-starter.

The budget should not be negotiated with the debt ceiling hanging over our heads. We’re not risking a temporary government shutdown. We’re risking the US economy.

If the MLB owners and players don’t reach a deal
by a certain date during their negotiations, some games are missed and some businesses are affected.

This arbitrary ceiling repeatedly puts the whole country at risk.

Democrats held the WH & Congress 2021-2022 and Repubs couldn't have stopped them from reversing it.

The 1% (1.58 million taxpayers) paid 42.3% of all taxes in 2020 while their AGI was just 22.2%; they paid nearly 2X their 'fair share' of taxes. Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2023 Update In 2017 they paid 38.5%, 2018 paid 40.1%, 2019 paid 38.8%.

How much do you think the "rich" should pay, and why do you think that will relieve our debt? And how will that not result in more inflation, higher prices for goods and services - and lower/stagnant wages - unless we go full-on Marxist and have government set pricing and wages? Which would tank the economy.

The U.S. economy is already risked by a fiat currency scheme and arbitrary profligate spending beyond our means. It's 11th hour because Biden has deferred with his arms crossed, hoping Repubs would break.

 

[ukvols]

Democrats held the WH & Congress 2021-2022 and Repubs couldn't have stopped them from reversing it.

The 1% (1.58 million taxpayers) paid 42.3% of all taxes in 2020 while their AGI was just 22.2%; they paid nearly 2X their 'fair share' of taxes. Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2023 Update In 2017 they paid 38.5%, 2018 paid 40.1%, 2019 paid 38.8%.

How much do you think the "rich" should pay, and why do you think that will relieve our debt? And how will that not result in more inflation, higher prices for goods and services - and lower/stagnant wages - unless we go full-on Marxist and have government set pricing and wages? Which would tank the economy.

The U.S. economy is already risked by a fiat currency scheme and arbitrary profligate spending beyond our means. It's 11th hour because Biden has deferred with his arms crossed, hoping Repubs would break.

They couldn’t have reversed the tax cuts without eliminating the filibuster.
There was a time in the 20th century when the top tax rate was above 90%. It doesn’t need to be that high, but it’s now 37%. We’re talking about people with far more money than their grandchildren could ever spend. Raising taxes on the top 1% is not going to cause inflation or lower wages. The right wing complains about the national debt whenever a Dem is in the WH. If that’s truly a concern, they should stop cutting the rich’s taxes and instead go the other way. If the goal is to pay the debt but not do it by taxing the rich, then they’re really saying they want to pay the debt by forcing the non-rich and specifically the poor to sacrifice - which would be very Republican.

 

[hog88]

They couldn’t have reversed the tax cuts without eliminating the filibuster.
There was a time in the 20th century when the top tax rate was above 90%. It doesn’t need to be that high, but it’s now 37%. We’re talking about people with far more money than their grandchildren could ever spend. Raising taxes on the top 1% is not going to cause inflation or lower wages. The right wing complains about the national debt whenever a Dem is in the WH. If that’s truly a concern, they should stop cutting the rich’s taxes and instead go the other way. If the goal is to pay the debt but not do it by taxing the rich, then they’re really saying they want to pay the debt by forcing the non-rich and specifically the poor to sacrifice - which would be very Republican.

How about cutting spending in every department/agency plus cut taxes for all? Historically revenue goes up when taxes are low and revenue declines when taxes are raised.

Plus back when the top bracket was north of 76% you could damn near wright off anything, so nobody was paying an effective rate anywhere close to 90%. I'm good with bringing back the 90% bracket as long as we bring back the allowable deductions.

 

[ukvols]

What radical demands would those be?

They want to lock in federal discretionary spending increases at below the rate of inflation. Discretionary spending includes thing like military salaries, grants for schools that serve the poor, rental assistance for the poor and disabled, and cancer research. They want to make these cuts while refusing to take another dollar from the top 1%.
They want to make a big cut to the IRS, which would further cripple its ability to target wealthy tax cheats.
They want to reverse tax breaks and federal spending that the Dems passed for clean energy. They also want to ease regulations on fossil fuels. In other words, they want to stick with their strategy of lying about the climate, blocking progress on dealing with it, and intentionally taking us backwards. We’re already the top exporter of liquefied natural gas and are expected to be a net exporter of crude oil this year for the first time since WW2. It’s not as if we stopped drilling for oil like some people seem to think.

This isn’t the time for these negotiations - not when the destruction of the economy is looming.