my definition of poor is 50%, quite simple, it can be adjusted every year the 47% who pay no income taxes are poor in my world there is no middle class you are either in the top 50% which makes you rich or the bottom 50% which makes you poor and qualifies you for food stamps and medicaid. but that's it man, all this other stuff has to go especially student loans and medicare social security? it's ok as long as they manage it well and keep it solvent no matter how high your ss taxes must go worst idea is to raise the age, we got enough kids as it is looking for a job without having to wait another three years for me to retire
Very difficult if not impossible to qualify for medicaid in many States if you are single no matter how destitute. That's one of the things driving the Disability cheating. If you can somehow get a lawyer on contingency that can get you disability, you can then get access to medical care. (Getting folks approved for disability has put a lot of lawyers to work.) The U.S. is the only industrialized nation on this planet that denies health care to its citizens. (Don't bother to tell me that the poor can just go to the emergency room. That is NOT medical care!)
Achilles, that's a nice analysis of the Japan vs US debt situation. A point I have often tried to make. Did you get Soros's book yet and read it?
During FY 2011, the federal government spent $3.60 trillion on a budget or cash basis, up 4% vs. FY 2010 spending of $3.46 trillion and up 20% versus FY2008 spend of $2.97 trillion. Major categories of FY 2011 spending included: Medicare & Medicaid ($835B or 24%), Social Security ($725B or 20%), Defense Department ($700B or 19%), non-defense discretionary ($646B or 19%), other ($465B or 12%) and interest ($227B or 6%). Expenditures are classified as mandatory, with payments required by specific laws, or discretionary, with payment amounts renewed annually as part of the budget process. Expenditures averaged 20.6% GDP from 1971 to 2008, generally ranging +/-2% GDP from that level. The 2011 and 2010 spend were both 24.1% GDP, versus 2008 spend of 20.8% GDP For a prudent government, there is good $600B savings from Defense, Medicare & Mediaid and non discretionary spending. Each of these should be asked for find $200B annual savings. Budgets need to be balanced from 2013 onwards, even if it means drastic measures.
Thanks, Pie. Not yet. Busy here. Thought you were about to take me to school on my medicare rebuttal. Guess I dodged a bullet there
Clearly the fact that Japan's debt is largely held by their own citizens is a huge advantage and makes a comparison with our own deficit problem apples and oranges. But their aging population and lack of immigration to "average down" their demographic profile is a serious matter. Certainly some portion -- possibly a significant portion -- of there retiring population will need to cash out and that could make rolling over such a large debt difficult.
It is not as fun as you would suppose. For the record, my IQ is 140, better than 98% of the US general population - so yes, I am "smarter than everybody else" or nearly so. It is a lot less fun living with a bunch of (relative) retards that can still vote than you would imagine.
Not in a recession; just crawling sideways for now. Could go either way soon, depending on if the eurozone or China really cracks. Fiscal cliff? Forget it, not falling off that.
Point well taken. I've spent some time thinking about the carefree life style of ignorance and what I'm missing. From the days of my youth, if I determined I was the smartest guy in the room I left. As far as dealing with a bunch of retards.....I just deal with them using humor, sarcasm and blunt force vocabulary...then tell them I have tourettes, that always gets them....duh what's that..... uhmnnn.. that's for me to know and you to fiind out.. lmao..
I actually have tourettes, it's not that funny, it's one of the reasons I can only communicate with the outside world over the internet. Only 5% of the people have it, so there's not much incentive to find a cure. They have prescribed everything fom prozac to high blood pressure medicine, but nothing works. They told me it would get better when I got older, but somedays it only seems to be getting worse. That's why I don't like words like calling people "retards". Some parent out there is dealing with a child that wasn't born like most. If you want to make fun of people, why don't you make fun of people that get cancer? They are the poor schmucks getting screwed on Social Security and making it possible for all us smart people to benefit.