Just lift the income cap on SS taxes and that's fixed. Medicare/caid are tougher, but cuts shouldn't be necessary -- simply slowing the rate of increase in those payouts would help a bunch. I'd also explore allowing individuals and businesses to buy into Medicare coverage; get younger/healthier people paying more into the system than they're taking out.
I know your comments are about fixing/ going forward, but I have questions. I am only entering the leading edge of the envelope of really NEEDing to understand the SS stuff (as far as a future use point).
My question goes backwards and why no one seems to be correcting what I ASSUME. This is of course a very elementary understanding, yet probably what 90% of America also think.
The GOV said, here is a program so that you don't die totally penniless in the street with no one to compost your body.
Our program takes some of your money (time) that you have no way to opt out of, you are fully opted in, until death, with no control at all.
But because of our (Gov) benevolence , you will have some of YOUR OWN $ when you can't work to at least get your body off the street.
OK, we (gov) kinda used some (fvckin all of it) of your money that we forced you to contribute, but we can't pay it back. Would you mind dieing at home, or at least not on these streets that we also took $$ from you to build (But that really isn't the point right now).
So my question. How is this not communism, or some other (those who are more politically educated of the world than I) form of government that historically puts lipstick on me being their bitch.? Only to find out, when I am dieing on the streets that I helped pay for too.
Point is, I do know that the system, as it is right now, is insolvent. But isn't the fact that the very specific money that each person put into the system, that has been tracked specifically for them, to be paid out to them, was stolen?
Are any of the elected officials that (I know, "borrowed") stole our contributions still alive? The new court system could be activated within 45 seconds... Justice is supposed to always be served to the aggrieved, isn't it? I'll start, who ever the first charged is...... GUILTY ! !