Oops
I realized that I had made a bit of an error today. As I was driving home, I drove by my realtor's office and noticed a person coming out of the door. It struck me that I have yet to pay my rent for this month and most likely would have completely forgotten. My landlord wants all checks in on the 1st, no exception, so I usually have them in a day or so early - just so I won't forget. But, I guess the new job and school starting up fried my brain. Anyway, I'll take care of that tomorrow, so do not fear - I will still have a place of residence.
In other news, tonight was the President's State of the Union address. First, I hope that you knew/realized that the speech was tonight. Second, I hope you watched it. I'm not saying that you had to agree with what the president said, but as citizens of this country, it is important to know what issues are being bounced around Washington that might affect you. Obviously, the big issue of President Bush's 2nd term is revamping Social Security. Attentional all 20/30-somethings --> this is important to you! You really should be paying attention to the plans being offered and letting your reps and senators know how you feel about the issue. If Bush gets legislation to move on Social Security, it may be one of the most radical domestic change in quite some time. Plus - I'm sure you'll want to know where your bimonthly checks will be starting on your 65th birthday.
Ok, enough political ranting. The other major news item today - it's (well it was) Groundhog Day. Good ol' Phil saw his shadow, so the cold continues. Yippee.
In other news, tonight was the President's State of the Union address. First, I hope that you knew/realized that the speech was tonight. Second, I hope you watched it. I'm not saying that you had to agree with what the president said, but as citizens of this country, it is important to know what issues are being bounced around Washington that might affect you. Obviously, the big issue of President Bush's 2nd term is revamping Social Security. Attentional all 20/30-somethings --> this is important to you! You really should be paying attention to the plans being offered and letting your reps and senators know how you feel about the issue. If Bush gets legislation to move on Social Security, it may be one of the most radical domestic change in quite some time. Plus - I'm sure you'll want to know where your bimonthly checks will be starting on your 65th birthday.
Ok, enough political ranting. The other major news item today - it's (well it was) Groundhog Day. Good ol' Phil saw his shadow, so the cold continues. Yippee.
posted by Eric Young at
1:58 AM
4 Comments:
I'm not holding my breath for social security. I like Bush's plan to let me keep some of my money (ooo a whopping 4%) but others are complaining that's just going to generate more debt. I don't see a "conventional" way to save SS. When I look at my own personal needs I'd rather just keep that money since I'm not ever going to see it again unless Bush gets a miracle (hey he does believe in God). Not sure what the right answer is here.
By
Ryan, at 8:53 PM
If we get one more drop of frozen precipitation I am going to take care of that groundhog myself.
By
Brooke, at 9:25 PM
Ah Social Security, the classic problem. 4% is actually fairly significant. Social is 7.5% paid by the employee and 7.5% contributed by the employee - so 4% is actually over half of the employee's contribution. As for getting the money back, it would be nice, but the classic problem remains. That problem is, the VAST majority of people don't want to save - they'd spend it. They would then get old, be unable to work, and have no money. So do we let them starve to death and die as "punishment" for not saving? Surely not - the goverment will step in and save their butts - which puts us right back where we are now, to at least an extent. Then there are the people who DO save - but get hit with huge expenses, like unforseen medical costs (possibly because they have no health insurance - another ENORMOUS problem this country faces) and lose everything they saved. Once again, the state has to step in. That is why social started in the first place - it wasn't supposed to replace private saving (as it does in cradle to grave systems in more socialist countries), rather, it was to ensure everyone had a minimum baseline income to live on. And most people know it is just that - baseline. While you can live a nice lifestyle on social if you play your cards right (make sure you have your house paid for, live in a cheap area, etc), any kind of spending money is exceedingly limited.
Now, I didn't hear the speech (I was in the car going to bburg), so maybe Bush has suggested ways to deal with these issues. Even if he has though I suspect it will be an enormous undertaking - SS is a thorny issue if there ever was one.
By
Anonymous, at 11:00 PM
Actually, you guys arre incorrect. You don't get to "keep" 4% of your money and do anything you want with it. You have two choices - leave it in your social security account (opt out of the plan) or divert it to a private investment account (investing it in the stock market). The catch is that the government picks the stocks your account money goes to. Now, if you left it in the account, you would get a 3% rate of return (because SS money is invested in treasury bonds). Most economists predict that, after inflation, people with money in stock market accounts will probably break even at best. There's always the chance of another stock market crash and people will lose everything (everything being that 4% - you'd still get the other 8% that was put in to the regular social security account). But that means that at best you get what you would have gotten normally, and in the worst case scenerio you'll get 2/3 of your benefit. Also, one other correction is that payroll taxes comprise that 7.5+7.5% contributions, but 3% of that total goes to Medicare.
By
Courtney, at 8:22 AM
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