The usual suspects are decrying Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget solution. MSNBC, Huffington Post, and the Daily KOS all claim it won’t work.
If Ryan’s solution were ever adopted, it would get watered down by plenty of Washington horse-trading. Entitlements would get batted around, big time.
I dislike the word “entitlements”. It lumps together all kinds of welfare with worker/employer-funded health care and pensions: Medicare and Social Security.
Ryan claims “no one over 55 will be affected” by his plan. The horse-trading might well change that.
Elected elites have used federal money for years to lock in certain voter blocks. While they want Senior vote, Democrats are even more covetous of the yet-to-be tapped votes, such as Illegal Immigrants. Democrats would cut some Senior benefits to garner these other voter blocks.
Thus, the Democrats would be happy to give Grandma a financial spanking.
How will Grandma’s benefits be cut? One clever rouse is “means testing”. This turns an insurance program into Welfare. That was not the long-term promise of Social Security and Medicare. In fact, since we paid for these programs, means testing is actually theft from the beneficiaries who paid into them.
Subtle regulation changes can cut benefits, also.
It is well known that SS and Medicare have been mismanaged. But I don’t care. If the government makes changes, I want the option to withdraw my paid-in-funds and go it alone.
And my paid-in-funds are substantial. At age 65 the present value of my own and my employers’ paid-in-funds for Medicare and Social Security exceeded $600,000.00.
Then, there is the unfair consumption tax. These go by many names: national sales tax, transaction tax and ad valorem tax. Seniors must receive a waiver from any type of consumption tax.
Why should not Seniors pay these? Because Senior money has already been taxed under different schemes. Were they to be charged a consumption tax of any sort, it would be a “double jeopardy” situation. This must be understood and not allowed.
While Ryan’s plan is silent on consumption taxes, he has proposed them in the past. There is a lot to be said for consumption taxes: they force off-the-grid citizens to pay their fair share. Pimps and drug dealers are Americans, too.
If the Underground Economy paid up, we might be able to allow Grandma to live out her life in peace.
[Author’s note: This post analyzes issues and forecasts outcomes that are not on the table. Nevertheless, a sage once said that when you are older, “you pretty much know how things are going to turn out.”
Don’t believe this? Then read my previous blogs.]
Comments