Miscellaneous news items that don't warrant their own thread

[BDKJMU]

Will they be? Were they enough in the past ? SS is basically insurance against old age poverty and savings that enables a reasonable retirement age. Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal of retiring with dignity.

Elderly poor people are a sad thing in the richest country on earth.

Yup. What happens when people do screw it up and now they have nothing left in old age? Just tell them tough luck, hope you die soon? People, a decent amount, will screw it up, no matter what. I'm certainly not saying we need to guarantee them a life of endless riches, but not being dirt poor and unable to afford the basics doesn't seem like too much of a reach for us to provide as a safety net. Deciding on what that safety net needs to be is the issue, not whether we should have one at all.

Well, the country did survive for about 150 years without SS..

[BDKJMU]

Yup. What happens when people do screw it up and now they have nothing left in old age? Just tell them tough luck, hope you die soon? People, a decent amount, will screw it up, no matter what. I'm certainly not saying we need to guarantee them a life of endless riches, but not being dirt poor and unable to afford the basics doesn't seem like too much of a reach for us to provide as a safety net. Deciding on what that safety net needs to be is the issue, not whether we should have one at all.

I don't have a problem with SS in principle but it should be self-funded with people getting back what they put in plus the actual interest earned. It should not be a Ponzi scheme where current retirees are paid with funds contributed by people who are working now.

I also wish it included the option to self manage your funds. My SS would be worth significantly more if I was able to invest what I contributed in the market rather than letting the SS administration handle it.

Agreed.

[HI54UNI]

Yup. What happens when people do screw it up and now they have nothing left in old age? Just tell them tough luck, hope you die soon? People, a decent amount, will screw it up, no matter what. I'm certainly not saying we need to guarantee them a life of endless riches, but not being dirt poor and unable to afford the basics doesn't seem like too much of a reach for us to provide as a safety net. Deciding on what that safety net needs to be is the issue, not whether we should have one at all.

I don't have a problem with SS in principle but it should be self-funded with people getting back what they put in plus the actual interest earned. It should not be a Ponzi scheme where current retirees are paid with funds contributed by people who are working now.

I also wish it included the option to self manage your funds. My SS would be worth significantly more if I was able to invest what I contributed in the market rather than letting the SS administration handle it.

I could live with this. The govt could set up a managed account so people can't screw it up. A person starting at age 22 with a salary of $35k could accumulate $877k by age 65 assuming employer and employee share plus a very modest 4% return on the investment and 3% annual wage growth. And that money could be passed on to heirs if they drop dead the day before they qualify.

[BDKJMU]

Looks exactly like a Trump supporter.

Now deceased suspect identified as Huu Can Tran.

Another rampaging elderly man of China in CA perpetuating Chinese on Chinese crime..

[BDKJMU]

Kalm- from your neck of the woods.

Wow- Obviously unqualified, but I guess she's a lib who checks off a couple of identity politics boxes..
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congre ... -rcna67703

[kalm]

Kalm- from your neck of the woods.

Wow- Obviously unqualified, but I guess she's a lib who checks off a couple of identity politics boxes..
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congre ... -rcna67703

No kidding. She’s literally presiding over a lawsuit I’ve been involved in since 2017 that’s awaiting a ruling on motion from the WA State Supreme Court.

[houndawg]

I don't have a problem with SS in principle but it should be self-funded with people getting back what they put in plus the actual interest earned. It should not be a Ponzi scheme where current retirees are paid with funds contributed by people who are working now.

I also wish it included the option to self manage your funds. My SS would be worth significantly more if I was able to invest what I contributed in the market rather than letting the SS administration handle it.

I could live with this. The govt could set up a managed account so people can't screw it up. A person starting at age 22 with a salary of $35k could accumulate $877k by age 65 assuming employer and employee share plus a very modest 4% return on the investment and 3% annual wage growth. And that money could be passed on to heirs if they drop dead the day before they qualify.

That has to be a very large number every year

[houndawg]

Yup. What happens when people do screw it up and now they have nothing left in old age? Just tell them tough luck, hope you die soon? People, a decent amount, will screw it up, no matter what. I'm certainly not saying we need to guarantee them a life of endless riches, but not being dirt poor and unable to afford the basics doesn't seem like too much of a reach for us to provide as a safety net. Deciding on what that safety net needs to be is the issue, not whether we should have one at all.

I don't have a problem with SS in principle but it should be self-funded with people getting back what they put in plus the actual interest earned. It should not be a Ponzi scheme where current retirees are paid with funds contributed by people who are working now.

I also wish it included the option to self manage your funds. My SS would be worth significantly more if I was able to invest what I contributed in the market rather than letting the SS administration handle it.

six of one half-dozen of another to me but you know you're going to wind up carrying the ones that go bust


The current system would work just fine if the cap were removed and Congress would quit stealing from it.

[BDKJMU]

I don't have a problem with SS in principle but it should be self-funded with people getting back what they put in plus the actual interest earned. It should not be a Ponzi scheme where current retirees are paid with funds contributed by people who are working now.

I also wish it included the option to self manage your funds. My SS would be worth significantly more if I was able to invest what I contributed in the market rather than letting the SS administration handle it.

six of one half-dozen of another to me but you know you're going to wind up carrying the ones that go bust


The current system would work just fine if the cap were removed and Congress would quit stealing from it.

Removing cap would solve nothing, because how much you are paid in bennies is based on how much you pay in.

[houndawg]

six of one half-dozen of another to me but you know you're going to wind up carrying the ones that go bust


The current system would work just fine if the cap were removed and Congress would quit stealing from it.

Removing cap would solve nothing, because how much you are paid in bennies is based on how much you pay in.

Congressional Research Service says the Trust Fund would be able to pay full bennies for an additional 35 years.

[BDKJMU]

Removing cap would solve nothing, because how much you are paid in bennies is based on how much you pay in.

Congressional Research Service says the Trust Fund would be able to pay full bennies for an additional 35 years.

Only if the FICA law was rewritten to remove the tax cap, but keep cap bennies in place. Then all you would have would be a socialist redistribution of wealth.

[kalm]

Congressional Research Service says the Trust Fund would be able to pay full bennies for an additional 35 years.

Only if the FICA law was rewritten to remove the tax cap, but keep cap bennies in place. Then all you would have would be a socialist redistribution of wealth.

I don’t know…it seems like the socialism has worked fairly well since I graduated from high school. I think we can afford it.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases ... 7.3,2022.3

[BDKJMU]

Only if the FICA law was rewritten to remove the tax cap, but keep cap bennies in place. Then all you would have would be a socialist redistribution of wealth.

I don’t know…it seems like the socialism has worked fairly well since I graduated from high school. I think we can afford it.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases ... 7.3,2022.3

The $$ you pay into FICA under your SS # is suppose to be your retirement fund. If you make more than the current income cap (currently 160k), and the income cap for taxes was removed, and your were paying more into it, then you should naturally receive a commensurate higher amount upon retirement. Otherwise its taking from your retirement fund to fund someone else’s.

[Baldy]

[Pwns]

If only there was some way to harness the huge amount of potential energy stored in large atomic nuclei...

[kalm]

…Same as his daddy and his daddy before…

[UNI88]

…Same as his daddy and his daddy before…

You hardly ever saw grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year

[kalm]

…Same as his daddy and his daddy before…

You hardly ever saw grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year

[BDKJMU]

[kalm]

Zeekr (subsidiary of Volvo sold in China) is soon coming to US and Euro markets. 650 range and charges to 80% in 10 minutes.

https://www.motor1.com/news/629141/zeek ... ift-debut/

[kalm]

South Dakota sucks!

Frye-Mueller, who belongs to a far-right caucus, is now suing to get her voting rights restored—even as the unnamed staffer released jaw-dropping new details about their conversation on Monday.

In a statement, the staffer, who works for the Legislative Research Council, said Frye-Mueller and her husband came into her office on Jan. 24. She said that after discussing the draft of a bill, the senator asked about her baby son and whether she had been vaccinated.

“I told her ‘yes.’ Without allowing me to elaborate further, she proceeded to point her finger at me and aggressively say that this will cause him issues,” the staffer said. She said added that Frye-Mueller told her people are being used as “guinea pigs for Big Pharma,” warned that was she was “taking away God’s gift of immunity from your son,” and falsely claimed the child could get Down syndrome or autism or “die from those vaccines.”

“I was told by Senator Frye-Mueller that my husband could ‘suck on my breasts’ to get milk to come in. ”

The staffer went on to say that the lawmaker asked if she was breast-feeding, and when she said was feeding with formula, she got more unwanted advice.

“I was told by Senator Frye-Mueller that my husband could ‘suck on my breasts’ to get milk to come in. She indicated ‘a good time for that is at night.’ She proceeded to provide hand gestures to her chest area and motion to her husband to see if he agreed. He smiled and nodded,” she wrote.

The staffer said the senator then became even more emotional and aggressive, and with tears in her eyes, told her to stop vaccinating the infant. She said she knew of twins who were harmed by a vaccine and asked if the woman wanted that to happen to her child. The staffer told her she would think it over.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/south-dak ... ce-scandal

[houndawg]

I don’t know…it seems like the socialism has worked fairly well since I graduated from high school. I think we can afford it.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases ... 7.3,2022.3

The $$ you pay into FICA under your SS # is suppose to be your retirement fund. If you make more than the current income cap (currently 160k), and the income cap for taxes was removed, and your were paying more into it, then you should naturally receive a commensurate higher amount upon retirement. Otherwise its taking from your retirement fund to fund someone else’s.

SS was never intended to be a retirement fund.

[houndawg]

Zeekr (subsidiary of Volvo sold in China) is soon coming to US and Euro markets. 650 range and charges to 80% in 10 minutes.

https://www.motor1.com/news/629141/zeek ... ift-debut/

I'd be surprised if those numbers come from their engineers. Much more likely marketing dweebs engaging in specsmanship.

[BDKJMU]

Zeekr (subsidiary of Volvo sold in China) is soon coming to US and Euro markets. 650 range and charges to 80% in 10 minutes.

https://www.motor1.com/news/629141/zeek ... ift-debut/

Don’t see that mentioned in the article.

[SeattleGriz]

In other news SeattleGriz's wife got an incorrectly filled package from Amazon. Instead of butt paste for the youngest, we got an Illusory 2piece Loungewear Outfit.

Looks like a tan crocheted sweat suit. Have no clue who in the hell would order/wear something like that. It does look as if a visor of some sort would complete the ensemble, along with leopard print tennis shoes. Stylish.