I don't get them all right.... but the Social Security/Medicare ("SSM") call was the easiest in the history of forecasting.
69 the new retirement age? The panel just couldn't bring itself to put a "7" in the front. The fact is at today's tax rate (I know some innumerate, middle-aged-teenager is going to suggest raising taxes... like I said... "innumerate" is the operative word) and longevity that number will needs be moved to at least 70.5 and perhaps as high as 73. The other fact is that I am only talking about Social Security. The Medicare portion is SO BAD that there will be some sort of brutal rationing. This would be an excellent time to get in great shape, eat your veggies, have lots of sex (for your prostate), breast feed (for your breasts) and no matter what - do not sell your health tomorrow for a couple of dollars today - the ROI (return on investment) is inexcusably bad.
If you are 55 and under YOU WOULD BE OUT OF YOUR MIND to let the government continue to confiscate your assets AND NOT CUT THE BENEFITS OF THOSE RECEIVING BENEFITS!!! OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!
Throughout history, parents left assets to their offspring... but not the "Greatest Generation". Nope. They have left their offspring, the baby boomers, in debt up to their eye balls, with no savings for retirement, and unfunded pension liabilities left to the "Gubment". Yea... they are "Great" alright.... "great" like "The Great Train Robbery" kind of "Great".
There is a very good reason why 90% of boomers do not have enough savings for retirement, and it isn't all because they bought granite counter tops. They have been systematically robbed by politicians who bought the votes of the AARP set and the public employee unions. Of course, some could argue that they deserve what they got for being stupid enough to fall for the propaganda these groups planted in the media...
---------------------------------------------------
Here's a link to an excellent article that describes how "capital flows", i.e. money creation by the various central banks, over the past decade or 2 have put us in disaster mode. Worth every minute.
---------------------------------------------------
The trashing the Dems and the RINO's received on election day (and for the RINO's in the primaries) was not enough to help them see the light. They have been rocked, but they are not out of the fight to destroy the country... Read this article. Here you have elected officials saying they can't vote for deficit reduction because it will hurt somebody???!! Cutting the deficit is going to be BEYOND painful. If done correctly and sufficiently doing so will cause the Mother of All Recessions. This is like bariatric surgery on 1,000 lbs patient. These next couple of Congress' are all we have between us and the F&*^##!! abyss. The Republicans had better pick themselves another "Great Communicator" to make this sale to the American people or all will be lost.
A sad observation of mine comes from the Facebook exchanges of my Liberal leaning friends... listening to their banter leaves me saddened for just how impossible this will be. It seems we have a massive minority of highly educated people that have NO IDEA just where the U.S. is terms of State & Federal budgets and the pension liabilities of the local, state, and federal governments nor just how bad our energy situation is... and though they have NO IDEA, they do have ROCK HARD OPINIONS that they are willing to die for. I'd like to ask them: "Does the Republic have to die, too?" But they only roll their eyes and glance at each other knowingly... that they are the enlightened ones.... and I am nothing more than a Proletariat... (which is true... but I would be better described as a highly numerate proletariat).
-----------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------