Comments on: The party of fiscal responsibility… https://www.habitablezone.com/2018/09/14/the-party-of-fiscal-responsibility/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://www.habitablezone.com/2018/09/14/the-party-of-fiscal-responsibility/#comment-42050 ER Sat, 15 Sep 2018 01:46:43 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=73142#comment-42050 Social Security and Medicare are going broke. This will be timed to occur during a Democratic administration, and with the proposed tax cuts, it will be argued that only a drastic cutting back of "entitlements" will prevent financial disaster. Responsible proposals to deal with this problem have been around for years: raising the retirement age, increasing withholding taxes, trimming benefits down, raising co-pays, tailoring benefits to the financial means of the recipient, and so on. But these have all been delayed way past when it could have been done relatively painlessly, and now it will be too late with a financial crisis looming--some say around 2030. Simply cutting benefits will not be done, old people vote and they will punish any politician who tries to take away the only thing that stands between them and bankruptcy...or a painful, premature, preventable death due to some government death panel. The GOP will tax the shit out of the young, but keep the benefits the same, or even increase them, for the old. As Boomers die off and more Gen Xers, Millenials and other youthful demographics groan under the withholding tax load, the pressure will be on for generational warfare. The Conservatives will get the working voters to demand big cutbacks on benefits for the elderly (and every other safety net recipient). THE PEOPLE will demand it. Divide and conquer. I'm 71, I'll probably miss it, but I think I'll see the beginning of the end. Fortunately, I was born early enough that I will probably be dead before the axe totally falls. I'll be grandfathered in as long as the baby boomers are still statistically significant and a threat at the polls.. If I had kids, though, they would be crushed--or their pensions privatized... There is already a rehearsal in progress for this scenario. Putin just announced draconic "pension reforms" in Russia. Even Vladimir couldn't stop the protests. Social Security and Medicare are going broke. This will be timed to occur during a Democratic administration, and with the proposed tax cuts, it will be argued that only a drastic cutting back of “entitlements” will prevent financial disaster. Responsible proposals to deal with this problem have been around for years: raising the retirement age, increasing withholding taxes, trimming benefits down, raising co-pays, tailoring benefits to the financial means of the recipient, and so on. But these have all been delayed way past when it could have been done relatively painlessly, and now it will be too late with a financial crisis looming–some say around 2030.

Simply cutting benefits will not be done, old people vote and they will punish any politician who tries to take away the only thing that stands between them and bankruptcy…or a painful, premature, preventable death due to some government death panel. The GOP will tax the shit out of the young, but keep the benefits the same, or even increase them, for the old.

As Boomers die off and more Gen Xers, Millenials
and other youthful demographics groan under the withholding tax load, the pressure will be on for generational warfare. The Conservatives will get the working voters to demand big cutbacks on benefits for the elderly (and every other safety net recipient). THE PEOPLE will demand it. Divide and conquer.

I’m 71, I’ll probably miss it, but I think I’ll see the beginning of the end. Fortunately, I was born early enough that I will probably be dead before the axe totally falls. I’ll be grandfathered in as long as the baby boomers are still statistically significant and a threat at the polls.. If I had kids, though, they would be crushed–or their pensions privatized…

There is already a rehearsal in progress for this scenario. Putin just announced draconic “pension reforms” in Russia. Even Vladimir couldn’t stop the protests.

]]> By: RL https://www.habitablezone.com/2018/09/14/the-party-of-fiscal-responsibility/#comment-42049 RL Sat, 15 Sep 2018 01:17:08 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=73142#comment-42049 The property Manafort had to forfeit today MORE than covers the bill... The property Manafort had to forfeit today MORE than covers the bill…

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