Baby Boomers must die...

[Sava]

Are your dick that small ?

He's definitely compensating for something

[Dis]

oh I don't want to think about it the upcoming doom. Things like this worry. I feel like we are facing 50% tax rates for everyone in the future. I just don't think the economy will be able to sustain itself. I'm not sure how the U.S. will pull through this one.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Are your dick that small ?

He is a Centauran, with a prehensile multi shaft penis.

[Blaupanzer]

Errr...no.

While some individuals may have paid in more than they're getting back, the boomer generation as a whole has not even close to funded its projected SS benefits with its contributions.

If the money we paid in had been invested in CDs at minimum interest rates compounding over the course of our lives, the amount the Boomers put in would have kept the system viable for at least one more generation.

I'm always resistant to jump into projected crises that are over five to ten years away. A lot can change in that time. Very little related to the economy could have been predicted five years in advance from 1928 on. Nukes, wars, collapses, disease, and pestilence are negative turns; booms, discoveries, cures are positive turns. All have struck both the US and the world in the 70+ years of social security, affecting how many get paid for how long. We'll see what's next.

[Dinner]

If the money we paid in had been invested in CDs at minimum interest rates compounding over the course of our lives, the amount the Boomers put in would have kept the system viable for at least one more generation.

Very true but I guess we can all blame Congress and a great many successive administrations for that error. They seem to have preferred spending the money and issuing dodgy IOUs instead of investing it.

[Felch]

There's nothing else they could do, legally. SS is a Ponzi scheme, and anybody who pretends like it has any legitimacy is just a co-conspirator.

Ming, rah - I'm putting you on notice.

[KrazyHorse]

If the money we paid in had been invested in CDs at minimum interest rates compounding over the course of our lives, the amount the Boomers put in would have kept the system viable for at least one more generation.

If that had been done that then the boomers would have had to pay more in to make up for the increased interest rate on the federal debt (since the SS trust fund is a captive lender to the federal government).

Either way, the boomers didn't come CLOSE to funding themselves.

[Dis]

I don't understand why they don't invest the money. Is congress just plain stupid? OK they are. If you are in a union, their pension is funded partially by investments. Not all the money comes in from the employer's contribution. It boggles the mind that congress ever thought contributions alone could fund this program. Do they just not understand math?

OK I'll give them the fact that they had no idea that the birth control pill would came about. But even with the pill, immigration has caused our population growth to still be pretty good.

The problem with politicians is they aren't economists, nor mathemiticians. I hate being in this mess. I know the system will collapse and I'll get nothing. I will be able to survive for a while on savings, but what about other people? I guess they will steal from me. You'll have senior citizen gangs roaming the street doing armed robberies. That last sentence was a joke btw.

[Felch]

They don't invest the money partly because it's spent as soon as it comes in. Also we don't like our government getting involved in the market (usually).

[Japher]

Gov'ment aint suppose to invest money, that's not their business. They are a spending entity and should remain that way. If they have money to invest they have money to pay off deficit or are taxing me way too much (even though they are doing that anyway).

[Dinner]

I don't understand why they don't invest the money. Is congress just plain stupid?

They passed a law saying it could only be "invested" in T-bills which means the money got moved from one government account to another. This effectively meant the government could finance its debts more cheaply then it other wise could have.

Really it should have become a sovereign wealth fund and been invested at a profit.

[KrazyHorse]

I don't understand why they don't invest the money. Is congress just plain stupid?

a) Yes
b) They like having a captive borrower; it reduces the amount they have to borrow in the open market

[Drake Tungsten]

That's just another way the Boomers screwed us over.

[Japher]

nice bump

[Wezil]

nice bump

Actually it will make it easier for Lori to merge all the boomer hate threads together.