I don’t see “lived experience” as very different from “my truth.” Actually people on the far left treat them as one and the same and use them interchangeably. However subjectivity is not objectivity. And age is no sure-fire ticket to universal wisdom i.e. insight into the nature of life and the human condition. Hence the people I wrinkle my nose at (whom I described the last time I commented), who tell me when THEY were young, they “didn’t have a care in the world.” You’re right that the disrespect for the reality of one’s experience as opposed to ephemeral “truth” (as one’s opinion) is detestable. But as a young person I would like to shine a harsh light on the arrogance of the old and the entitlement of the infirm. The boomers for example who bankrupted my generation because they think they have a basic right to retire at like 60. In America social security and Medicare costs are going to exceed defense outlays, all so grasping people at least a fifth of whom save nothing for retirement can kick back, besides haggling over cents at the grocery store. Yeah so much to learn from the lived experiences of the aging Trump/Biden supporters blowing up the budget and making it political suicide to cut social spending while demanding to stop once for all “endless wars.”
So as far as the boomers and retirement: You can't retire on social security until you ar 62 at the earliest. You lose about 30% of what you can receive if you retire at this age. Retire at 66 If you want to receive all your benefits. 70 with an added bonus-an added incentive to get people to not take social security until later in life.
As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03. What do you do with this first? I don't know where you live, but this would not cover any part of my life other than groceries maybe. Then there is mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, never mind if you wanted to go out to get a cup of coffee or need to buy a new pair of shoes.
People paid into the system their entire lives. Remember that. Social Security is not welfare. Social security alone will not allow for a very comfortable retirement. But unfortunately for many that is all they have. For many they didnt make enough to save and live while they worked. Others may not have been frugal but again they paid into the system.
The problem with social security is that it is a pyramid scheme. Started in the 1930s when the average life expectancy was 62, 65 was chosen for retirement age. Technically more was supposed to go into the system then go out. But as life expectancy rose, no one raised retirement age. So you have people receiving social security for several decades that it was not created to do.
Back during the Obama presidency there was the Simpson-Bowles report which came up with how ro fix the broken federal budget. Part of what it recommended was how to fix social security.
Now as far as the inform/disabled are concerned. Disabled people need help to survive. So they receive money from the government to help them. There are roadblocks inplace. It is not easy to receive disability payments. Some may have been able to game the system, but i have seen those with disabilities turned away who actually needed help. But if you cant work because of a disability then you need help to live. I wouldn't want to live in a country that doesn't help the disabled. The alternative is to what for the disabled?
We have a social safety net because as a society we wish to help those less fortunate. that there are scammers that take advantage, well it doesn't mean that those who actually need help should go without. What is the alternative? Do you really want to live in such a society and country?
Lastly, boomers are not the ones who wanted to stop "endless wars." Which i think is a silly term. Most of the boomers remember 9/11 which is why we were in Afghanistan. It is the progressive left. You can't blame that stupidity on the older Americans just on Biden and how he handled it. i watch the congressional hearings on afghanistan withdrawal. It was explained why what happened happened. Not the militaries fault, it was the politicians and the bureaucrats at Foggy Bottom.
I think the same people bemoaning “forever wars” were protesting during Vietnam. These are people for whom hating authority is no less and no more than a self-aggrandizing pose. And it’s very convenient to say you oppose foreign intervention, because young people die in it, and we have “problems here at home.” Like wealth inequality or a broken border. Social security is welfare. Without your consent, it takes money out of your taxes to give to people who qualify a program whether they really need it or not. And we don’t pay into it because then we’re not paying enough. It’s funded with borrowed money. And if you read Nicolas Eberstadt’s work, people actually do game the system to get disability benefits. By the way those people are also largely Trump supporters who blame globalization for taking away their jobs. Yup because of trade with China, you had no alternative to live off transfer payments and food stamps.
Hi. So here is an article about a poll for afghan withdrawal. You will find that those who were opposed were largely republicans.I cannot find one with the age outlined, but I bet that they were older. I don't think the ones protesting the vietnam war were a factor. Most of the opposition came from the young. Honestly in a nation of over 330 million I never put much stake in a poll of about 1000 people on any subject.
No social security is not welfare because you paid into the system. As I said it is a legal pyramid scheme. It was not created that people actually end up taking it. We have never adjusted it. The government takes your money because they have the constitutional right to tax. If you want to change that then get involved in politics and try to change the law. (I say this to my sons when they complain as well)
Again read the Simpson-Bowles report on how to fix this, which no politician ever had the backbone to do.
And quite frankly there is nothing wrong with globalization except that it leaves us as a nation vulnerable, which was seen during the pandemic. Chips and other items necessary to our own defense need to be brought back to the US and we need to make it financial viable for these companies to do so. I think the CHIPS ACt actually did that in some respect.
And as for those angry about losing their jobs, they like most americans need to move to where there are jobs. Sorry, but the entire economy is changing and you do need to change with it. I am tired of the Trumpers saying that people shouldn't get entitlements but then complaining and explaining why they should get be the exception and get entitlements.
I find the use of the word 'globalization" or "globalists" a short antisemitic reference to " the International Jew" or "capitalist Jew." You will find that they do it rather subtlely, while not coming out and saying it, will list all of those they think have Jewish sounding surnames as the globalists. Be careful where you get your information about globalization.
An yes we have problems here, but we always had problems and we always will. But one of the things that globalization does teach you is that we are nto alone in the planet and barring putting a dome over the US we need to make sure that our international interests are also protected. IF you think a resurgent autocratic fascist Russia or China is not a threat to the US, or ISIS or ISlamist extremism will ignore us, you are sadly incorrect.
BTW-My husband is being forcibly retired at 65. He is bright and brilliant and doesn't want to stop working. So he is looking for jobs anywhere in the country in his field. You go where the jobs are. Same for my sons who are your age.
You pay a little for Obamacare too. To receive any welfare, you have to at least show you work a little bit. In a sense you’re always paying into in order to receive any subsidy. But all subsidies are welfare as a statement of categorical fact. The government is taking from some people to give to other people who don’t pay as much for it, who pay a token amount as tribute to extract what a misguided law says is their inheritance. Social security and Medicare are classified as entitlements by the government too, for what it’s worth. And if it wasn’t welfare then we wouldn’t have the programs in the first place, because everyone would pay for their own retirements— unless it’s a welfare program, then there would be no need for it. There’s the rub. These programs were not designed to be solvent, because people want their medical care paid for by someone else. And the only Republicans who are not opposed to withdrawing from the Middle East are biased because it was Biden who executed the withdrawal. Even though Trump actually signed the withdrawal responding to the same incentives against the war in his party as there were in the Democratic party. If Trump fucked up the withdrawal as badly as Biden then they would be as opposed to war in the Middle East as much as Democrats. But if you need more confirmation of how far the GOP has drifted to isolationism, I would check out this week’s Economist, whose poll numbers show that a majority of the party is against aid for anyone and just about any conflict anywhere
No I agree. The GOP is back to its isolationist roots. But if you look at the articles I linked to you would see that that only changed as the whims of Trump changed. But then again most real republicans have left the part and are independents.
Independents are the largest political party now in the country. The only ones really left in both the DNC and GOp are the radical fringes.
And social security and medicare are listed as entitlements for legality issues. Under the Constitution there cannot be a property taking without due process. Hence, the Supreme court said that any entitlement once provided cannot simply be taken away without due process. Hence, they are entitlements by law.
And if you had watched the congressional hearings about the withdrawal you would have heard how Biden did change the parameters and the military did tell them that it was going to be a disaster. While Trump signed the agreement, which was stupid on its face, the Biden execution was abysmal and yes everything is political and nothing makes sense what comes out of Washington DC pretty much today.
Well there’s my point. We have enshrined social security to the degree that it is an extension of our property rights under law. The whims of Trump changed because of a nihilistic electorate that didn’t care what happened to Afghanistan. He correctly calculated that he could exploit the fickleness of the people to consolidate his own authority and distinguish himself from people like Mccain. But Republicans didn’t care for intervention in the Middle East anymore than Democrats. They still don’t give a damn. They only mourn the execution of the withdrawal. No one cares about the liberated women we surrendered to slavery or that Al Qaeda is using it again as a launching pad to wage global jihad.
I don’t see “lived experience” as very different from “my truth.” Actually people on the far left treat them as one and the same and use them interchangeably. However subjectivity is not objectivity. And age is no sure-fire ticket to universal wisdom i.e. insight into the nature of life and the human condition. Hence the people I wrinkle my nose at (whom I described the last time I commented), who tell me when THEY were young, they “didn’t have a care in the world.” You’re right that the disrespect for the reality of one’s experience as opposed to ephemeral “truth” (as one’s opinion) is detestable. But as a young person I would like to shine a harsh light on the arrogance of the old and the entitlement of the infirm. The boomers for example who bankrupted my generation because they think they have a basic right to retire at like 60. In America social security and Medicare costs are going to exceed defense outlays, all so grasping people at least a fifth of whom save nothing for retirement can kick back, besides haggling over cents at the grocery store. Yeah so much to learn from the lived experiences of the aging Trump/Biden supporters blowing up the budget and making it political suicide to cut social spending while demanding to stop once for all “endless wars.”
So as far as the boomers and retirement: You can't retire on social security until you ar 62 at the earliest. You lose about 30% of what you can receive if you retire at this age. Retire at 66 If you want to receive all your benefits. 70 with an added bonus-an added incentive to get people to not take social security until later in life.
As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03. What do you do with this first? I don't know where you live, but this would not cover any part of my life other than groceries maybe. Then there is mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, never mind if you wanted to go out to get a cup of coffee or need to buy a new pair of shoes.
People paid into the system their entire lives. Remember that. Social Security is not welfare. Social security alone will not allow for a very comfortable retirement. But unfortunately for many that is all they have. For many they didnt make enough to save and live while they worked. Others may not have been frugal but again they paid into the system.
The problem with social security is that it is a pyramid scheme. Started in the 1930s when the average life expectancy was 62, 65 was chosen for retirement age. Technically more was supposed to go into the system then go out. But as life expectancy rose, no one raised retirement age. So you have people receiving social security for several decades that it was not created to do.
Back during the Obama presidency there was the Simpson-Bowles report which came up with how ro fix the broken federal budget. Part of what it recommended was how to fix social security.
Now as far as the inform/disabled are concerned. Disabled people need help to survive. So they receive money from the government to help them. There are roadblocks inplace. It is not easy to receive disability payments. Some may have been able to game the system, but i have seen those with disabilities turned away who actually needed help. But if you cant work because of a disability then you need help to live. I wouldn't want to live in a country that doesn't help the disabled. The alternative is to what for the disabled?
We have a social safety net because as a society we wish to help those less fortunate. that there are scammers that take advantage, well it doesn't mean that those who actually need help should go without. What is the alternative? Do you really want to live in such a society and country?
Lastly, boomers are not the ones who wanted to stop "endless wars." Which i think is a silly term. Most of the boomers remember 9/11 which is why we were in Afghanistan. It is the progressive left. You can't blame that stupidity on the older Americans just on Biden and how he handled it. i watch the congressional hearings on afghanistan withdrawal. It was explained why what happened happened. Not the militaries fault, it was the politicians and the bureaucrats at Foggy Bottom.
I think the same people bemoaning “forever wars” were protesting during Vietnam. These are people for whom hating authority is no less and no more than a self-aggrandizing pose. And it’s very convenient to say you oppose foreign intervention, because young people die in it, and we have “problems here at home.” Like wealth inequality or a broken border. Social security is welfare. Without your consent, it takes money out of your taxes to give to people who qualify a program whether they really need it or not. And we don’t pay into it because then we’re not paying enough. It’s funded with borrowed money. And if you read Nicolas Eberstadt’s work, people actually do game the system to get disability benefits. By the way those people are also largely Trump supporters who blame globalization for taking away their jobs. Yup because of trade with China, you had no alternative to live off transfer payments and food stamps.
Hi. So here is an article about a poll for afghan withdrawal. You will find that those who were opposed were largely republicans.I cannot find one with the age outlined, but I bet that they were older. I don't think the ones protesting the vietnam war were a factor. Most of the opposition came from the young. Honestly in a nation of over 330 million I never put much stake in a poll of about 1000 people on any subject.
No social security is not welfare because you paid into the system. As I said it is a legal pyramid scheme. It was not created that people actually end up taking it. We have never adjusted it. The government takes your money because they have the constitutional right to tax. If you want to change that then get involved in politics and try to change the law. (I say this to my sons when they complain as well)
Again read the Simpson-Bowles report on how to fix this, which no politician ever had the backbone to do.
And quite frankly there is nothing wrong with globalization except that it leaves us as a nation vulnerable, which was seen during the pandemic. Chips and other items necessary to our own defense need to be brought back to the US and we need to make it financial viable for these companies to do so. I think the CHIPS ACt actually did that in some respect.
And as for those angry about losing their jobs, they like most americans need to move to where there are jobs. Sorry, but the entire economy is changing and you do need to change with it. I am tired of the Trumpers saying that people shouldn't get entitlements but then complaining and explaining why they should get be the exception and get entitlements.
I find the use of the word 'globalization" or "globalists" a short antisemitic reference to " the International Jew" or "capitalist Jew." You will find that they do it rather subtlely, while not coming out and saying it, will list all of those they think have Jewish sounding surnames as the globalists. Be careful where you get your information about globalization.
An yes we have problems here, but we always had problems and we always will. But one of the things that globalization does teach you is that we are nto alone in the planet and barring putting a dome over the US we need to make sure that our international interests are also protected. IF you think a resurgent autocratic fascist Russia or China is not a threat to the US, or ISIS or ISlamist extremism will ignore us, you are sadly incorrect.
BTW-My husband is being forcibly retired at 65. He is bright and brilliant and doesn't want to stop working. So he is looking for jobs anywhere in the country in his field. You go where the jobs are. Same for my sons who are your age.
https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/354182/american-public-opinion-afghanistan-situation.aspx#:~:text=A%20CBS%20News%20poll%20from,and%2036%25%20opposing%20the%20decision.
https://globalaffairs.org/commentary-and-analysis/blogs/us-public-supports-withdrawal-afghanistan
You pay a little for Obamacare too. To receive any welfare, you have to at least show you work a little bit. In a sense you’re always paying into in order to receive any subsidy. But all subsidies are welfare as a statement of categorical fact. The government is taking from some people to give to other people who don’t pay as much for it, who pay a token amount as tribute to extract what a misguided law says is their inheritance. Social security and Medicare are classified as entitlements by the government too, for what it’s worth. And if it wasn’t welfare then we wouldn’t have the programs in the first place, because everyone would pay for their own retirements— unless it’s a welfare program, then there would be no need for it. There’s the rub. These programs were not designed to be solvent, because people want their medical care paid for by someone else. And the only Republicans who are not opposed to withdrawing from the Middle East are biased because it was Biden who executed the withdrawal. Even though Trump actually signed the withdrawal responding to the same incentives against the war in his party as there were in the Democratic party. If Trump fucked up the withdrawal as badly as Biden then they would be as opposed to war in the Middle East as much as Democrats. But if you need more confirmation of how far the GOP has drifted to isolationism, I would check out this week’s Economist, whose poll numbers show that a majority of the party is against aid for anyone and just about any conflict anywhere
No I agree. The GOP is back to its isolationist roots. But if you look at the articles I linked to you would see that that only changed as the whims of Trump changed. But then again most real republicans have left the part and are independents.
Independents are the largest political party now in the country. The only ones really left in both the DNC and GOp are the radical fringes.
And social security and medicare are listed as entitlements for legality issues. Under the Constitution there cannot be a property taking without due process. Hence, the Supreme court said that any entitlement once provided cannot simply be taken away without due process. Hence, they are entitlements by law.
And if you had watched the congressional hearings about the withdrawal you would have heard how Biden did change the parameters and the military did tell them that it was going to be a disaster. While Trump signed the agreement, which was stupid on its face, the Biden execution was abysmal and yes everything is political and nothing makes sense what comes out of Washington DC pretty much today.
Well there’s my point. We have enshrined social security to the degree that it is an extension of our property rights under law. The whims of Trump changed because of a nihilistic electorate that didn’t care what happened to Afghanistan. He correctly calculated that he could exploit the fickleness of the people to consolidate his own authority and distinguish himself from people like Mccain. But Republicans didn’t care for intervention in the Middle East anymore than Democrats. They still don’t give a damn. They only mourn the execution of the withdrawal. No one cares about the liberated women we surrendered to slavery or that Al Qaeda is using it again as a launching pad to wage global jihad.