I have the solution.

[TWB]

Problem #1

Our social security system is going to collapse because the workers are not there to support it. As the baby boomers move through the retirement years, more and more strain will be put on those persons working. People are not having children at the same rate they used to, and thus the ratio of retirees to those supporting them are becoming more and more out of balance. Fewer workers per retiree mean each worker bears an increasing financial burden to pay Social Security benefits to retirees. It has been estimated that taxes will have to be increased from 12 to 18 percent of payroll in order to cover the retiree benefits.

Problem #2

Elderly persons generally consume less than other people, they are not big consumers as a group, compared to younger people. Their income goes down upon retirement and therefore, with less spending, they do not create as many jobs in their consumption as do younger people who are employed.

Problem #3

Housing prices are falling. The supply is greatly exceeding demand. Detroit is going to be tearing down whole neighborhoods in order to not only get rid of dilapidated housing, but to actually relieve the burden of taking care of large tracts of the city with police, fire and other services. Other places in the country have an excess of housing that is a drain on cities and county governments.


What is a solution?


This xenophobic response to immigration. We let in up to 700,000 people a year. What would happen if we let in 7 million a year?

New populations create new demands for services, new jobs, increased tax revenue, and new populations paying into social security.

The biggest concerns with immigrants (other than xenophobia) is the danger of terrorism, and the risk that there will be a strain on social services. These are not insurmountable problems, through current immigration procedures, and rules restricting eligibility for social services.

I say, open the gates, and give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

That was a winning strategy for Rome...

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

It's not about xenophobia, we're a polyglot nation.

It's about Balkanization by large groups unwilling to share into the common culture...

 

[kbate]

I can only assume, you will only be allowing in those who are of working age but to be a good socialist, won't discriminate against elderly immigrants, disabled immigrants or sick immigrants who will be drains on the system.

Your plan would truly suck if you don't pick the proper immigrants for your 7 million. We know that only hard working, youthful and highly productive workers are being turned away now and those people would be the saviours of the American welfare state.

 

[Lasher]

Borders are a violation of basic human rights.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Borders are a violation of basic human rights.

Common language too?

 

[redheadedtxn]

I read this on another board;

Give one million dollars to every one over 55 who shows a lifelong work history, on the condition they retire, find and train their replacement from the long term unemployed, buy a new house, and an American made car.

The boomers are one of the largest population segments in our society, and with them gone from the workforce, trading their jobs to the unemployed, buying a house, and a car, you would solve three very major problems with our economy,not to mention the residual spending done throughout the years on that million bucks. I would bet it would be cheaper to do this, than all the money they threw at the banks and the other pork in the bailout act, that has not put a tiny dent in the economical problems we are facing.

 

[Bert Notorius]

Elvis Presley Only The Strong Survive

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

T? What's your scrotum have to say about this epic failure?

 

[Colonel Hogan]

Problem #1

Our social security system is going to collapse because the workers are not there to support it. As the baby boomers move through the retirement years, more and more strain will be put on those persons working. People are not having children at the same rate they used to, and thus the ratio of retirees to those supporting them are becoming more and more out of balance. Fewer workers per retiree mean each worker bears an increasing financial burden to pay Social Security benefits to retirees. It has been estimated that taxes will have to be increased from 12 to 18 percent of payroll in order to cover the retiree benefits.

Problem #2

Elderly persons generally consume less than other people, they are not big consumers as a group, compared to younger people. Their income goes down upon retirement and therefore, with less spending, they do not create as many jobs in their consumption as do younger people who are employed.

Problem #3

Housing prices are falling. The supply is greatly exceeding demand. Detroit is going to be tearing down whole neighborhoods in order to not only get rid of dilapidated housing, but to actually relieve the burden of taking care of large tracts of the city with police, fire and other services. Other places in the country have an excess of housing that is a drain on cities and county governments.

What is a solution?

This xenophobic response to immigration. We let in up to 700,000 people a year. What would happen if we let in 7 million a year?

New populations create new demands for services, new jobs, increased tax revenue, and new populations paying into social security.

The biggest concerns with immigrants (other than xenophobia) is the danger of terrorism, and the risk that there will be a strain on social services. These are not insurmountable problems, through current immigration procedures, and rules restricting eligibility for social services.

I say, open the gates, and give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The Migration Policy Institute's 2007 data estimates that the average total annual U. S. immigration is closer to 1.8 million persons, with almost a third of that figure (500,000) accounting for "unauthorized" immigrants.

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FS16_USImmigration_051807.pdf

MPI also notes that over a third (37%) of all foreign born workers (legal AND illegal) are from Central America, primarily Mexico. According to the institute's figures, 54% of Central American workers work in the low paying Service sector and as "Operators, fabricators, laborers."

Kbate is correct. Minimum wage laborers are not the solution to the anemic purchasing power of retirees -- and most certainly not as purchasers of the excess inventory of residential real estate.

You correctly predict "the risk that there will be a strain on social services" and then dismiss it with the vaguest possible curative prescription "these are not insurmountable problems, through current immigration procedures, and rules restricting eligibility for social services." Oh, really? How well are our current rules addressing that problem? And you want to increase that strain on social services by a factor of 10 or more?

As bad as your "solution" is, it's not the worst idea I've ever heard. This one, however, may very well be. vvvvvv

I read this on another board;

Give one million dollars to every one over 55 who shows a lifelong work history, on the condition they retire, find and train their replacement from the long term unemployed, buy a new house, and an American made car.

The boomers are one of the largest population segments in our society, and with them gone from the workforce, trading their jobs to the unemployed, buying a house, and a car, you would solve three very major problems with our economy,not to mention the residual spending done throughout the years on that million bucks. I would bet it would be cheaper to do this, than all the money they threw at the banks and the other pork in the bailout act, that has not put a tiny dent in the economical problems we are facing.

Since you read this on "another board," I'll assume this is not your original thinking and therefore hopefully you won't be offended when I tell you how stupid this is.

1. Where do you get the $1 million? Is this just for the 76 million baby boomers born between 1949 and 1964 or would you shell it out to each succeeding generation as soon as one of their own turns 55? More importantly, is the $1 million a substitute for Social Security and Medicare or an addition to those benefits? I'm going to assume it is a substitution for. An addition to would make even less fiscal sense.

The average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,073.80. (See Table 2, "Average Monthly Benefit (dollars) "All Beneficiaries"). The life expectancy for a retiree age 65 is approximately 16.5 years (http://www.annuityadvantage.com/lifeexpectancy.htm). Total lifetime Social Security benefit ($1,073.80 x 12 x 16.5) equals $212,612.40.

To this, we add his Medicare benefit. According to the 2009 Medicare Trustee's Report, the average annual 2008 benefit was right at $11,000. Times a life expectancy of 16.5 years equals a lifetime Medicare benefit of $181,500. (http://blog.american.com/?p=3990).

Adding both totals together, we get an average lifetime Social Security and Medicare benefit of $394,112.40. Of course, both benefits increase each year in a futile attempt to keep up with inflation. What the hell. Let's assume your wild past caught up with you and you got sick more in your golden years. Call it an even $500,000 lifetime benefit you rang up before you died.

At the current "average lifetime combined benefit" somewhere north of $400,000, Social Security is slowly bleeding to death and Medicare is flat out hemorrhaging. If the government is going broke paying somebody between $400,000 and $500,000, where in the hell do you think they are going to get the money to pay you (and everyone who comes after you) $1 million?

2. Why would it be your responsibility to find and train your replacement? From the long-term unemployed? Your employer found and trained you, didn't he? Let him run the same classified ad that you drooled over. He'll get plenty of applicants from both the employed and unemployed. This assumes, of course, he is even hiring. Maybe you were the dead weight he was thrilled to get rid of when you retired.

As you have surely noticed over the past four years, employment rates vary with market conditions. Entire job descriptions disappear or change with the evolution of technology. Finding and training your replacement at Wendy's drive-up window is a world apart from finding and training your replacement at the Atomic Energy Commission. Or so we would hope. Either way, your willingness to assist is greatly appreciated, but hardly necessary. We'll take it from here.

3. What if you don't need a house or car? What do you think the politicians and Wall Street were trying to do with all those sub-prime mortgages? Bad things usually happen when people who should know better try to grossly manipulate supply and demand contrary to the direction the market wants to go.

 

[Liar]

What is a solution?


This xenophobic response to immigration. We let in up to 700,000 people a year. What would happen if we let in 7 million a year?

New populations create new demands for services, new jobs, increased tax revenue, and new populations paying into social security.

The current population doesn't create enough demand to employ itself.

Would a bigger population create enpough demand to employ itself, plus the currently unemployed?

In what way would an immigrated population be better at this demand creating thingy?

 

[Colonel Hogan]

The current population doesn't create enough demand to employ itself.

Would a bigger population create enpough demand to employ itself, plus the currently unemployed?

In what way would an immigrated population be better at this demand creating thingy?

That's the same thing I said, only I did it in SIX pages.

 

[redheadedtxn]

The Migration Policy Institute's 2007 data estimates that the average total annual U. S. immigration is closer to 1.8 million persons, with almost a third of that figure (500,000) accounting for "unauthorized" immigrants.

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/FS16_USImmigration_051807.pdf

MPI also notes that over a third (37%) of all foreign born workers (legal AND illegal) are from Central America, primarily Mexico. According to the institute's figures, 54% of Central American workers work in the low paying Service sector and as "Operators, fabricators, laborers."

Kbate is correct. Minimum wage laborers are not the solution to the anemic purchasing power of retirees -- and most certainly not as purchasers of the excess inventory of residential real estate.

You correctly predict "the risk that there will be a strain on social services" and then dismiss it with the vaguest possible curative prescription "these are not insurmountable problems, through current immigration procedures, and rules restricting eligibility for social services." Oh, really? How well are our current rules addressing that problem? And you want to increase that strain on social services by a factor of 10 or more?

As bad as your "solution" is, it's not the worst idea I've ever heard. This one, however, may very well be. vvvvvv



Since you read this on "another board," I'll assume this is not your original thinking and therefore hopefully you won't be offended when I tell you how stupid this is.

1. Where do you get the $1 million? Is this just for the 76 million baby boomers born between 1949 and 1964 or would you shell it out to each succeeding generation as soon as one of their own turns 55? More importantly, is the $1 million a substitute for Social Security and Medicare or an addition to those benefits? I'm going to assume it is a substitution for. An addition to would make even less fiscal sense.

The average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,073.80. (See Table 2, "Average Monthly Benefit (dollars) "All Beneficiaries"). The life expectancy for a retiree age 65 is approximately 16.5 years (http://www.annuityadvantage.com/lifeexpectancy.htm). Total lifetime Social Security benefit ($1,073.80 x 12 x 16.5) equals $212,612.40.

To this, we add his Medicare benefit. According to the 2009 Medicare Trustee's Report, the average annual 2008 benefit was right at $11,000. Times a life expectancy of 16.5 years equals a lifetime Medicare benefit of $181,500. (http://blog.american.com/?p=3990).

Adding both totals together, we get an average lifetime Social Security and Medicare benefit of $394,112.40. Of course, both benefits increase each year in a futile attempt to keep up with inflation. What the hell. Let's assume your wild past caught up with you and you got sick more in your golden years. Call it an even $500,000 lifetime benefit you rang up before you died.

At the current "average lifetime combined benefit" somewhere north of $400,000, Social Security is slowly bleeding to death and Medicare is flat out hemorrhaging. If the government is going broke paying somebody between $400,000 and $500,000, where in the hell do you think they are going to get the money to pay you (and everyone who comes after you) $1 million?

2. Why would it be your responsibility to find and train your replacement? From the long-term unemployed? Your employer found and trained you, didn't he? Let him run the same classified ad that you drooled over. He'll get plenty of applicants from both the employed and unemployed. This assumes, of course, he is even hiring. Maybe you were the dead weight he was thrilled to get rid of when you retired.

As you have surely noticed over the past four years, employment rates vary with market conditions. Entire job descriptions disappear or change with the evolution of technology. Finding and training your replacement at Wendy's drive-up window is a world apart from finding and training your replacement at the Atomic Energy Commission. Or so we would hope. Either way, your willingness to assist is greatly appreciated, but hardly necessary. We'll take it from here.

3. What if you don't need a house or car? What do you think the politicians and Wall Street were trying to do with all those sub-prime mortgages? Bad things usually happen when people who should know better try to grossly manipulate supply and demand contrary to the direction the market wants to go.

Naw, I am not offended. I just read it and thought "oh cool, wish I was 55 and could get in on somma that!
Truth is, for me, I don't believe there is an easy quick fix. We lived large, and now we're paying the piper. It's so cyclical.

 

[Colonel Hogan]

Naw, I am not offended. I just read it and thought "oh cool, wish I was 55 and could get in on somma that!

Always take the cash option over the annuity.

 

[kbate]

Always take the cash option over the annuity.

and always defer taxes as long as possible.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Get Charlie Rangel and Timmy Geithner for advice on how to defer...