Yelling "Fire" in a crowded place

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by Texas_Tiger, Jul 29, 2011.

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  1. TBTrumpet

    TBTrumpet Founding Member

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    The government may be far from being able to function, but it is far from being able to function efficiently by several orders of magnitude. For the amount of money that I pay to Uncle Sam, I demand a better quality of government.

    Unnecessary and wasteful social programs need to be eliminated, which would bring down government spending, which in turn stops adding to the national debt.

    Why is it necessary to spend 3.5 trillion dollars each year? Why can't the government function properly and only spend 3 trillion dollars? Or 2.5 trillion dollars?
     
    TBTrumpet, Aug 7, 2011
    #81
  2. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Social Security.
     
    red55, Aug 8, 2011
    #82
  3. mobius481

    mobius481 Registered Member

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    No it doesn't. CBO says $45 billion deficit in 2011. And it's pretty easy to run a surplus when you charge a tax of 12 phuking percent on every dollar most people make.
     
    mobius481, Aug 8, 2011
    #83
  4. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Social Security has produced surpluses ranging from $89 million to $190 billion per year.
    By law, these surpluses must be loaned to the federal government, which is obligated to pay the money back with interest. This is referred to as the "Social Security Trust Fund," and at the close of 2009, it had a balance of $2.5 trillion.

    Social Security Facts
     
    red55, Aug 8, 2011
    #84
  5. shane0911

    shane0911 Helping lost idiots find their village

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    Seems like all in on and inside straight draw to me.


    Here is one of the big fish. This program while doing a good thing in many cases is so infiltrated with waste and fraud it makes me sick.

    Trustees Report Summary
     
    shane0911, Aug 8, 2011
    #85
  6. mobius481

    mobius481 Registered Member

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    Are they currently running a surplus or a deficit?
     
    mobius481, Aug 8, 2011
    #86
  7. Rex_B

    Rex_B Geaux Time

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    Ponzi Scheme
     
    Rex_B, Aug 8, 2011
    #87
  8. tirk

    tirk im the lyrical jessie james

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    obviously, mr talking points.
     
    tirk, Aug 8, 2011
    #88
  9. mobius481

    mobius481 Registered Member

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    But Red is right for the most part. There should be a ton of money in SS. Either 2010 or 2011 was the first year SS ran a deficit so really we should have plenty of years of sustainability. However you can't isolate SS anymore than you can isolate medicare or medicaid. It's all part of the budget. assigning different taxes to different programs and then assessing their viability based off of assigned revenue is what a kindergartner would do. SS taxes payrolls up to $108,000 about 12% (it's down a little this year). So we're talking about a program that we tax most income 12% on that is running a deficit. If we taxed 12% for medicare, medicaid, defense, discretionary spending, foreign aid, etc. we would go broke pretty quick. While SS should have extra money and has not historically run a deficit, it's ridiculous to argue that it is viable long term. Especially now that it is running a deficit.

    12 phuking percent people! That's amazing!
     
    mobius481, Aug 8, 2011
    #89
  10. Rex_B

    Rex_B Geaux Time

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    Talking point?
     
    Rex_B, Aug 8, 2011
    #90
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