"Entitlements, my ass!"
Preamble -- My rant was brought on by receiving the rant entitled "Entitlements, my ass!" passed on by Rich Scarlata (not a flaming socialist radical but, rather, the ex-president of a major NYC firm; I don't consider myself one either -- I was a long term Wall Street management / technologist, then an entrepreneur / consultant, and now an academic)
"Entitlements" has become a pejorative term. It was not intended to be and should not be. What it simply means in this context is that if you fall into the class defined in the legislation (ex-- Medicare: 65 or over), you are entitled to the benefits described in the legislation -- you do not have to do anything extra -- join the Army, move to Mississippi, etc. -- and you can't be excluded for other reasons. You fit the criteria -- US Citizen and over 65 -- so, under the terms of the legislation passed by the Congress of the United States and signed by the President of the United States, you’re entitled to whatever the legislation prescribes.
It's become a negative term -- "What are you -- Entitled??" The correct answer are the words of the late great Peter Boyle in the movie "Joe" -- "Fucking A".
The writer of the rant is certainly correct in his rage. We are being sold out for
political expediency by a President willing to compromise for the sake of expediency with a group that for ideological and philosophical reasons has always wanted to kills these "socialistic programs" (their terms, not mine).I disagree totally with the Paul Ryan proposed budget but, at least, it shows a commitment to a set of principles (albeit ones that I disagree with). The President's statements and the rumors about the cuts he would agree to leave me feeling that he "is committed to being President" -- and that is not why he was elected, He was, as was John Kennedy, elected to bring real change to the polices of the previous Administration (although, in retrospect, most now see Eisenhower as a much better president than he was given credit for; I doubt that GWB will have a similar revisionist look) Note that the problem has never been presented as "how do we insure proper funding for Social Security and Medicare?" but always "How do we fix them?"
How about starting by taking off the cap totally on deductions. For the high-end salaries? -- as the income disparity gets greater, there will be more and more folks in that class and people making over $100,000 are not going to stop working because the Social Security withholding tax doesn't stop.
The American Catholic Bishops issued a statement earlier this year saying to the effect "it is immoral to balance the budget on the backs of the poor". It is also wrong to use the "budget crisis" as an excuse to gut social programs always hated by the far right.
It is really time to raise an apathetic public to protect its way of life -- and I don't see a public figure with the persona or the courage to do so. Our only focus cannot be on the debt / deficit. We must properly invest in education and research in a way that will turn out scientists and engineers to make competitive with the hoard of the same being educated in China and India. We must address the long range problem of "unemployables" --people phased out of work by technological improvement or off-shoring (no matter how the economy improves, these jobs aren't coming back) -- some, if not many, of these folks are too old to be hired (no matter what the law says) or too uneducated or unintelligent to deal with the demanding new jobs available -- what do we do with them folks? What is the plan? -- at the moment, it is None!
We need a leaner more-lean and efficient government -- but not one that walks away from the safety net needed for an increasingly disrupted population.
Now back to the originally scheduled program
-----------------------
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Richard M. Scarlata"
Subject: "Entitlements," my ass!
I have always despised that term. When did it become part of the lingo? It had to have been constructed by the “governing class”.
Richard M. Scarlata
-----------------------------
From: J Sedlock
Begin forwarded message:
Entitlement???"
What the hell is wrong here?
Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did too. It totaled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only 30K over your working life, that’s close to $220,500. If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer’s contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working (me) you'd have $892,919.98. If you took out only 3% per year, you receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years, and that’s with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit! If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month. The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever had.
Entitlement my ass, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout!! Congressional benefits, aka. free health care, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement entitlements!!!!!!
..... Scroll down..............
Emergency Rooms for their general health care -At just one hospital the cost to tax payers totaled over 25 million a year!!!
Someone please tell me what the HELL's wrong with all the people that run this country!!!!!!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.,
In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, and Turkey. And now Pakistan home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!
Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!
They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when its time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place?
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
AMERICA: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, elderly going without 'needed' meds, and mentally ill without treatment -etc, etc.
YET......................
They have a ‘Benefit’ for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents clothes, bedding, doctors and medical supplies.
Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.
SAD?
YEAH, OK, SO WHEN DO WE GET PISSED AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT???
"Entitlements" has become a pejorative term. It was not intended to be and should not be. What it simply means in this context is that if you fall into the class defined in the legislation (ex-- Medicare: 65 or over), you are entitled to the benefits described in the legislation -- you do not have to do anything extra -- join the Army, move to Mississippi, etc. -- and you can't be excluded for other reasons. You fit the criteria -- US Citizen and over 65 -- so, under the terms of the legislation passed by the Congress of the United States and signed by the President of the United States, you’re entitled to whatever the legislation prescribes.
It's become a negative term -- "What are you -- Entitled??" The correct answer are the words of the late great Peter Boyle in the movie "Joe" -- "Fucking A".
The writer of the rant is certainly correct in his rage. We are being sold out for
political expediency by a President willing to compromise for the sake of expediency with a group that for ideological and philosophical reasons has always wanted to kills these "socialistic programs" (their terms, not mine).I disagree totally with the Paul Ryan proposed budget but, at least, it shows a commitment to a set of principles (albeit ones that I disagree with). The President's statements and the rumors about the cuts he would agree to leave me feeling that he "is committed to being President" -- and that is not why he was elected, He was, as was John Kennedy, elected to bring real change to the polices of the previous Administration (although, in retrospect, most now see Eisenhower as a much better president than he was given credit for; I doubt that GWB will have a similar revisionist look) Note that the problem has never been presented as "how do we insure proper funding for Social Security and Medicare?" but always "How do we fix them?"
How about starting by taking off the cap totally on deductions. For the high-end salaries? -- as the income disparity gets greater, there will be more and more folks in that class and people making over $100,000 are not going to stop working because the Social Security withholding tax doesn't stop.
The American Catholic Bishops issued a statement earlier this year saying to the effect "it is immoral to balance the budget on the backs of the poor". It is also wrong to use the "budget crisis" as an excuse to gut social programs always hated by the far right.
It is really time to raise an apathetic public to protect its way of life -- and I don't see a public figure with the persona or the courage to do so. Our only focus cannot be on the debt / deficit. We must properly invest in education and research in a way that will turn out scientists and engineers to make competitive with the hoard of the same being educated in China and India. We must address the long range problem of "unemployables" --people phased out of work by technological improvement or off-shoring (no matter how the economy improves, these jobs aren't coming back) -- some, if not many, of these folks are too old to be hired (no matter what the law says) or too uneducated or unintelligent to deal with the demanding new jobs available -- what do we do with them folks? What is the plan? -- at the moment, it is None!
We need a leaner more-lean and efficient government -- but not one that walks away from the safety net needed for an increasingly disrupted population.
Now back to the originally scheduled program
-----------------------
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Richard M. Scarlata"
Subject: "Entitlements," my ass!
I have always despised that term. When did it become part of the lingo? It had to have been constructed by the “governing class”.
Richard M. Scarlata
-----------------------------
From: J Sedlock
Begin forwarded message:
Entitlement???"
What the hell is wrong here?
Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did too. It totaled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only 30K over your working life, that’s close to $220,500. If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer’s contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the govt. pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working (me) you'd have $892,919.98. If you took out only 3% per year, you receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years, and that’s with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit! If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month. The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever had.
Entitlement my ass, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout!! Congressional benefits, aka. free health care, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement entitlements!!!!!!
..... Scroll down..............
Emergency Rooms for their general health care -At just one hospital the cost to tax payers totaled over 25 million a year!!!
Someone please tell me what the HELL's wrong with all the people that run this country!!!!!!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.,
In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, and Turkey. And now Pakistan home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!
Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!
They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when its time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place?
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
AMERICA: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, elderly going without 'needed' meds, and mentally ill without treatment -etc, etc.
YET......................
They have a ‘Benefit’ for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents clothes, bedding, doctors and medical supplies.
Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.
SAD?
YEAH, OK, SO WHEN DO WE GET PISSED AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT???
posted by johnmac at
9:27 AM
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