They must have found out I'm an MOA member

[knary]

http://knary.smugmug.com/photos/137678504-M.jpg

:ha

[kbasa]

Jeez. I don't even have one of those.

I'm telling you, man, it's the beard. It makes you look older. :ha

[knary]

Jeez. I don't even have one of those.

I'm telling you, man, it's the beard. It makes you look older. :ha

:laugh

I'm going to see if anyone will give me a senior discount.

[Mar]

I've been getting those cards for years. Last year I finally joined. We old folks gotta stick together. :gerg

[SIBUD]

Hmmmm, I had no idea.:dunno

[BubbaZanetti]

i'll start to worry if i get one.

[osbornk]

I was a member for 9 years but dropped mine last year. Didn't like their politics and their greed. They want everything for their members now and the he** with our children and grandchildren.

[BradfordBenn]

I am scared!

[themayer]

They want everything for their members now and the he** with our children and grandchildren.

Hadn't noticed that. What do you mean, specifically? Personally, I'm glad to have them fighting for a healthy social security system, universal health care, and affordable prescription drugs. Those are going to help us AND our children and grandchildren.

[themayer]

i'll start to worry if i get one.

If you are real lucky, you will get to the point of really wanting one. You don't want to think about the alternative!

[dancogan]

Hadn't noticed that. What do you mean, specifically? Personally, I'm glad to have them fighting for a healthy social security system, universal health care, and affordable prescription drugs. Those are going to help us AND our children and grandchildren.

:thumb and I got a great discount on my Progressive insurance because I am a member of the AARP.

[PAULBACH]

Carpe Diem

[osbornk]

Hadn't noticed that. What do you mean, specifically? Personally, I'm glad to have them fighting for a healthy social security system, universal health care, and affordable prescription drugs. Those are going to help us AND our children and grandchildren.

They are not fighting for a healthy social security system. They want to leave it alone and collect until it runs out of money and leaves our children and grandchildren with a hugh debt and no coverage for themselves. They propose universal health care and affordable prescription drugs without a source to pay for it other than increasing the national debt. To me that is living now on our relatives future earnings.

I don't think anyone should ask for anything for themselves and plan on future generations paying for it. I'm a pay as you go type person.

[OfficerImpersonator]

They are not fighting for a healthy social security system. They want to leave it alone and collect until it runs out of money and leaves our children and grandchildren with a hugh debt and no coverage for themselves. They propose universal health care and affordable prescription drugs without a source to pay for it other than increasing the national debt. To me that is living now on our relatives future earnings.

I don't think anyone should ask for anything for themselves and plan on future generations paying for it. I'm a pay as you go type person.

+1 :thumb

Any solution must pay retired workers what they were promised they would be paid - as well as find a way to bring the system back into solvency.

For the past too many years the Social Security surplus was used to cook the books to make the budget appear balanced. With more and more retirees drawing from the program, the surplus is rapidly diminishing.

We should have used the surplus to buy a viable future for Social Security instead of using it to help pay for tax cuts for the richest 1% and to pay for the stupid war.

[tourunigo]

....but now we also find that when we tell the cashier that you want the senior discount and :bliss they ask to see my ID (happens more to Mary though) and they say "gee, you don't look that old". sigh. Story: Vermont Rally and I stroll over to the pizza place in my Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia t-shirt. Young woman chats me up a bit while the pizza is baking. Sucking the stomach in a tad I continue the chat. Then ..... it happens: "I really like your shirt" she says with a misleading glint, (pause)"ya, my father has one just like it" Not wearin' that fn shirt any more! :banghead Mary thought it a sad but funny story though. -Bob

[rgvilla]

I refuse to join. I guess I just think it is an admission I don't want to make. I get pretty much all the same discounts with AAA plus free towing for up to 100 miles with the plus and RV options. I also don't agree with all of their positions on various issues.

[Visian]

We should have used the surplus to buy a viable future for Social Security instead of using it to help pay for tax cuts for the richest 1% and to pay for the stupid war.

this makes sense only when all people, of every income category, have the freedom to choose how their social security taxes are invested.

ian

(one of those 1-percenters that pays the full 15% of the social security tax themselves.) :wave

[themayer]

[QUOTE=osbornk;193030]They are not fighting for a healthy social security system. They want to leave it alone
Actually, AARP doesn't want to leave it alone. They want to raise the upper income limit for paying into SSI and raise the tax 0.5%. Those two things alone would fix the manufactured "crisis". As for the national debt, I say, "make health care not war."

[osbornk]

[QUOTE=osbornk;193030]They are not fighting for a healthy social security system. They want to leave it alone
Actually, AARP doesn't want to leave it alone. They want to raise the upper income limit for paying into SSI and raise the tax 0.5%. Those two things alone would fix the manufactured "crisis". As for the national debt, I say, "make health care not war."

Raising the taxes a little on everyone and a lot on the rich while inceasing benefits and leaving no other investment options won't fix the problem, only delay the disaster.

Interestingly, the responses seem to show a distinct contrast between left coast and right coast.

In response to another post, it was sad when I started being given the senior discount before I was old enough.

[OfficerImpersonator]

this makes sense only when all people, of every income category, have the freedom to choose how their social security taxes are invested.

ian

(one of those 1-percenters that pays the full 15% of the social security tax themselves.) :wave

I could forsee supporting a system whereby a portion of the fund was invested in publicly traded securities, as long as the securities purchased were index funds and/or the deal was structured in a way that completely eliminated any chance of fraud, graft, corruption, inside information, unethical/illegal personal gain, etc. as a result of the Social Security Trust Fund purchasing massive numbers of shares of mutual stock and bond funds.

There is a hypothetical I would approve.

But giving you a check you can take to your local Charles Schwab office or put into your Ameritrade account and bet on the ponies of stock speculation with money that includes contributions from your employers, the taxpayers - as well as yourself - is unacceptable to me. Just because you make a contribution doesn't mean you get control over the entire fund.

For me, there are egalitarian concerns. Are the obscenely rich collecting Social Security? Do they have a right to that money, or are millions in annual income from investments a reason to deny them benefits?

Just asking...:bolt

[knary]

(one of those 1-percenters that pays the full 15.3% of the social security tax themselves.) :wave

Fixed for painful accuracy. :bluduh

Me too.
I look at how much I've paid the bottomless FICA pit over the past 15 years and I want to cry. And I'm a baby of only 35.

[wezul]

Oh! I get it now. So the AARP card was a mistake! :doh

[Visian]

Oh! I get it now. So the AARP card was a mistake! :doh

yeah, that lack of hair on knary's head is a ruse to get some respect around here. :bottle

[Visian]

For me, there are egalitarian concerns. Are the obscenely rich collecting Social Security? Do they have a right to that money, or are millions in annual income from investments a reason to deny them benefits?

Just asking...:bolt

now *why* would anyone *ever* have the right to collect on an investment they made with their own money? what *is* this country coming to?

:rolleyes

[knary]

yeah, that lack of hair on knary's head is a ruse to get some respect around here. :bottle

:bluduh

This is not going well.

[Visian]

:bluduh

This is not going well.

personal attack... i say doghouse this puppy! :p

[knary]

personal attack... i say doghouse this puppy! :p

:ha

p.s. You're old. :ha

[OfficerImpersonator]

now *why* would anyone *ever* have the right to collect on an investment they made with their own money? what *is* this country coming to?

:rolleyes

Because it's not just YOUR money. The fund receives employee contributions (your money), employer contributions (not your money) and taxpayer contributions (1/300,000,000th your money).

That's why the rest of us get a say in the matter.

[osbornk]

Because it's not just YOUR money. The fund receives employee contributions (your money), employer contributions (not your money) and taxpayer contributions (1/300,000,000th your money).

That's why the rest of us get a say in the matter.

But it is your money. The employer contributions are your money because it is part of his cost of employing you and plays a part in what he can afford to pay for your employment.

[wezul]

But it is your money. The employer contributions are your money because it is part of his cost of employing you and plays a part in what he can afford to pay for your employment.

That's right. +1 :thumb

Let's not let this get ugly. We are priveleged to live in a country that has provided for those who may be less fortunate than ourselves and maybe even your Mom and Dad!

[Visian]

if everyone who works should get their gross pay and then write the checks for their taxes, it would be an eye opening experience.

self employed people... even young ones like knary, know of this pain. :D

ian

[knary]

if everyone who works should get their gross pay and then write the checks for their taxes, it would be an eye opening experience.

self employed people... even young ones like knary, know of this pain. :D

ian

To be blunt, it sucks. I recognize the necessity of taxes but only wish I had a little more say over how my tax dollars are spent...

If it were up to me, we'd be replacing Social Security with a new system that offers assistance to the elderly that need it, stops pretending to be an investment program (what a joke), and sets age limits on benefits that reflect a modern individual's work and life span. I care less about being nice than I do about ensuring that we can care for those who truly need it for the long term.

[BradfordBenn]

Having broken bread with both Knary and Visian - on more then one occassion - I can tell you that Visian acts younger then Knary :stick

Now regarding taxes.... wait until you have to write a check to the Government for inheritance tax. My father paid taxes on the money when he earned it then I had to pay taxes on it again! :sick

[knary]

I miss the good old days.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/2/27/Rolandfealty.jpg

Back when you weren't judged on your personal merits but on your family's.

:hide

[Mar]

Now regarding taxes.... wait until you have to write a check to the Government for inheritance tax. My father paid taxes on the money when he earned it then I had to pay taxes on it again!

My parents set up trusts and my brother and I paid no inheritance taxes. :)

[userw5]

if everyone who works should get their gross pay and then write the checks for their taxes, it would be an eye opening experience.

self employed people... even young ones like knary, know of this pain. :D

ian

Being a small busines owner is a chore when it comes to taxes too. Not only do you have personal, you have the business forms too. Nevermind having to pay the tax, just the myriad of forms is enough to drive one nuts.

Payroll - Federal withholding, State withholding, Federal unemployment, State Unemplyoyment.
Other - State Sales Tax, our fine city has a Gross Receipts Tax, and Business Property Tax.

These are due at various times monthly, quarterly, or annually.

[ultracyclist]

I refuse to join AARP on general principles. I find them very short sighted on certain issues.

As I tell my clients, middle age is 20 years away, old is 30 years away, therefore we are all young people!

As long as you are neither in denial nor rehab, you are OK!

[knary]

I refuse to join AARP on general principles. I find them very short sighted on certain issues.

As I tell my clients, middle age is 20 years away, old is 30 years away, therefore we are all young people!

As long as you are neither in denial nor rehab, you are OK!

Any guesses as to what their stances on what issues will be in 15 years?

[osbornk]

Everyone hates paying taxes but I just keep saying the more I pay in taxes the more I make. I agree the paperwork could be easier. As far as my voice on how the taxes are spent is my choice on how I vote.

I believe people should make their own retirement and families should take care of family members as it once was. This is how our family works. But in society it has now become impossible with all the dysfunctional families and everyone chasing the almighty dollar one doesn't seem to have the time. If you don't have the cash for all the wonders of life extension and health care then live your life expectancy. I have wonderful insurance yet have an advanced directive. I am managing my own health care cost and financial security. Unfortunately I have a social security number so by having one it doesn't matter how much you make the government sponsored socialism will take care of you or you will be supporting it.

Doesn't capitalism give rise to socialism ? Then Socialism becomes bankrupt because they want more and more which eventually leads to government collapse to a rise in dictatorship ? With the coming age of 1 worker supporting 4 that are not, how much time is left ?

And I thought I was the only one. I saved enough to retire at 55 (youngest age you can tap your 401K without penalty if you retire) but just imagine what I would have if I could have had some control of the money I paid in Social Security (not even counting my employer's share).

I read that society collapses when the people discover that they can vote themselves benefits without paying for them.

[BradfordBenn]

My parents set up trusts and my brother and I paid no inheritance taxes. :)

We are doing that for my mother... my father was a lot earlier then planned.

[themayer]

[QUOTE=osbornk;193740] just imagine what I would have if I could have had some control of the money I paid in Social Security (not even counting my employer's share).

I just returned from out of town to see what a hornets nest I had inadvertantly stirred up with my comments about AARP. Sorry, please chalk it up to inexperience on the forums. Here's the thing, though. We are part of a society. In the big picture, we all rise or fall together. Perhaps osbornk and I can do a better job than SSI in providing for our retirement (though I personally haven't done that good a job with investing the meager amount I have been able to wrench away for that purpose). But the majority of people in this country just aren't prepared to make sound decisions in the stock market. If, say, 50% fail and have no resources when they get old, what do we do? We can't just abandon them because to have that many people out on the streets would mean the end of this country, quite literally. So we all pay into a fund that GUARANTEES that we will all have some minimal resources. That benefits us all, not only as individuals, but as a society. The rest of our resources (those of us who have some) we can do with as we wish, knowing that the social structure in which we are embedded will continue to be there to provide stability. Doesn't seem like such a bad deal. We can all continue to ride until we can't get our bikes off the sidestands.

[Visian]

just imagine what I would have if I could have had some control of the money I paid in Social Security (not even counting my employer's share).


...But the majority of people in this country just aren't prepared to make sound decisions in the stock market. If, say, 50% fail and have no resources when they get old, what do we do?

the proposals that president bush offered up at the beginning of his second term envisioned giving people *some* control over *part* of their retirement investment. and while i honestly do not know every excruciating detail, i am pretty sure you couldn't take the money and invest it in just any stock... the idea was to have funds with specific risk profiles, run by private enterprises, in which you could invest.

20/20 hindsight will show that our government failed us by resisting any and all privatization and did nothing to solve the social security crisis.

So we all pay into a fund that GUARANTEES that we will all have some minimal resources. That benefits us all, not only as individuals, but as a society. The rest of our resources (those of us who have some) we can do with as we wish, knowing that the social structure in which we are embedded will continue to be there to provide stability.

I read that society collapses when the people discover that they can vote themselves benefits without paying for them.

there are two parts to social security: retirement and entitlements. it takes just 10 minutes sitting in the lobby of a social security benefits office to see that there is an entire portion of our society that is voting for a living.

ian

[osbornk]

[QUOTE=themayer;193820I We can't just abandon them because to have that many people out on the streets would mean the end of this country, quite literally. So we all pay into a fund that GUARANTEES that we will all have some minimal resources. That benefits us all, not only as individuals, but as a society. .[/QUOTE]

I guess it's just me but many of the entitlements that is draining the social security fund bothers me. It bothers me when I see an unmarried woman who is collecting SSI (supplemental security income) standing in line with two or three babies whose birth and medical needs are paid for by Medicaid buying unhealthy food with food stamps while she is talking on a cell phone with cigarettes in her hand. She has no intention of getting married or working because she is simply following her mother's footsteps and it is what is expected for her. She will live with boyfriends but she can't risk marriage because it would cut off her benefits she has "earned" by having additional babies.

This is what GUARANTEES gets us and politicians pandering to them and making sure they get to the voting booth GUARANTEES us more of the same.

I belong to two civic clubs that raise and spend thousands of dollars per year (I am the treasurer) to help feed and educate needy children so I see these abuses every day. We do all we can to help the children but it is difficult to break the cycle when it is taught to them from birth. God helps those who help themselves.

[ASPHALT]

Hey, Knary, since you love Rush so much...I dug up a favorite Rush oldie for you. Enjoy!

Think I'm Going Bald
Words and music by geddy lee, alex lifeson, and neil peart

I looked in the mirror today
My eyes just didn’t seem so bright
I’ve lost a few more hairs
I think I’m going bald
I think I’m going bald!

Seems like only yesterday
We would sit and talk of dreams all night
Dreams of youth
And simple truths
Now we’re so involved
So involved with life

Walk down vanity fair
Memory lane everywhere
Wall street shuffles there
Dressed in flowing hair

The wire!

Once we loved the flowers
Now we ask the price of the land
Once we would take water
But now it must be wine
Now we’ve been
And now we’ve seen what price, peace of mind
Take a piece of my mind

My life is slipping away
I’m aging every day
But even when I’m grey
I’ll still be grey my way