Takers versus the Makers.
- Thread starter Tsing Tao
- Start date
we are unique, uncharted territory
Sweden and Canada cut taxes and cut services, they sort of grew up a little, Greece is being forced.
One experiment to watch is California, and the question of the day is how long can monetary games and can-kicking keep prolonging the inevitable reckoning.
We are politically boxed in by rabid politics. I predict the end game is a Brazil-like state of affairs with our average living standard cut in approximately two by a weak dollar, globalization, and an unproductive population. The attacks on the productive will continue until they just quit, watch the doctors.
Get some land.
I agree. We can keep paying them, or we can cut off the spigot, or best, let's cut in half the benefits they receive. Welfare should not be a continuous state of existence.
We should also put this in an historical perspective. The real unemployment rate has not been this high since the Depression, or perhaps a short while in 1982. I would gather that the demand for assistance is very high now with respect to historical norms. When the economy picks up, one hopes that with more people working, less welfare money will be paid out and fewer people will be sucking on Uncle Sam's tit (gosh what a dreadful image)
Don't blame liberal politics. Blame AARP. Or give AARP credit. Which demographic group turns out the highest percentage of voters? Retired people. And they will continue to vote for their benefits. It's the post baby boom generation that's fucked. They are going to pay for end of care life for mom and dad and get bubkes themselves.
Ryan proposed entitlement reform, but he was careful to keep the current crop of seniors off the chopping block. And it didn't matter. They didn't like or trust him anyway.
So you want to see entitlement reform, Ryan was clearly the one making the most drastic reforms to make medicare solvent but because Ryan wouldnt touch anyone for 15 years, you decided to vote for Obama, who vowed to do nothing about it, and also hung a brand new entitlement called Obamacare on us?
You are exactkly the kind of uninformed voter that Obama relied on in order to get elected.
If/when the economy picks up, it's entirely possible that the chronic joblessness will persist. If the public sector shrinks at all (cue laugh track), that will just add to the problem.
I still contend that the engineered housing bubble created alot of "temp" jobs and that structural unemployment was rearing its ugly head more than a decade ago. That short term "boom" fostered by massive misallocation of capital and resources glossed over a firmly entrenched trend. (of course, it re-appeared with vigor in 2007-08 and onwards).
Of course, there are plenty of headwinds demographically (retiring boomers, deeply indebted 25-34 yo's, etc, etc) that make climbing out of this ditch an even bigger obstacle...
I'd just argue that even with any economic recovery, the social safety net burden will grow regardless. I just don't see the type of jobs that would relieve people of that dependancy materializing.
AARP has historically been the strongest lobby. They act like a union and bully congressmen all the time. AARP will accept no discussion of cuts, zero. Old people get about 12% of the GDP in benefits, and growing fast. What can you say other than it's greed. For example what person here would want $300K worth of medical care to extend their life 1 year if the bill is given to their surviving family? I dare say none. However if they believe it is other people's kids, then hell yes...
The national political discussion doesn't accurately reflect the reality in the trenches and posturing of the 'no cuts' demagogues will block progress. Until people take a different view of life itself, the one antithetical to the liberal social welfare state, then don't expect change.
In the last few decades, AARP has grown like...well, a cancer. They profit enormously from sponsership agreements, "AARP approved", etc. I read a wonderful essay that outlined how their revenues have grown almost exponentially from sponsership agreements. If I can remember who wrote it I'll post a link.
It's greed and power, and simple institutional inertia on the part of AARP. But with the senior folks, it's hard to say its greed. They're scared and watching thier days count down to zero. How can we expect them most of them to take the long view of society at large?
I am 51. And I am 5'9" and 145. same weight I was when I was 20. But when I was 20, on the basketball court my best leap I could touch the rim. Just barely, but I got a fingertip on it. Now,
I might be able to touch the fucking net on a good day. By the time I am 80, I probably won't be able to get more than an inch of air. Your body getting old just sucks.
But your mind maturing and gaining mastery of the world is more than a reasonable trade-off.