Prices are dropping; inflation is going down

[Dizkneelande 859]

The posters who wouldn’t be affected by means testing SSI would rather cut of their nose to spite their face because the only other solution is to raise the age and reduce benefits. We don’t have enough people paying into the system now. Wait until the rest of the boomers retire. 

[Dizkneelande 859]

12 minutes ago, Strike said:

So what?  Maybe those "multi millionaires" want to have an extravagant lifestyle once they retire and did their financial planning based on having additional income via SS.  They worked their whole life with that goal in mind but hey, fock em.  I'll pass. 

10 million in retirement would generate half a million annually in pre-tax income. That monthly SSI check is going to be the deciding factor as to whether they buy a new Mercedes or not? 

[Strike 4,133]

4 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

10 million in retirement would generate half a million annually in pre-tax income. That monthly SSI check is going to be the deciding factor as to whether they buy a new Mercedes or not? 

Who knows?  I didn't do their financial planning.  But it's not fair to promise them a benefit for half their life and then not give them their benefit.  The fact that the SS system is one of the worst investments a person can make, and that the government has been stealing from it for decades, isn't the fault of the people who put in to that system. 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 2,810]

6 hours ago, Dizkneelande said:

SS should be means tested. If you have a massive retirement account you forfeit your payments. Also, cap should be lifted over 400k. A younger self would have liked an opt out but now I want monthly stipend after 35 years of deductions. 

While I understand this point of view, is it fair that someone who had to pay into SS all of their lives now suddenly shouldn't get any of that because they managed their money better over the course of their life?

Update:  Looks like @RLLD already brought this up. Feel free to answer or not.

[Dizkneelande 859]

4 minutes ago, Strike said:

Who knows?  I didn't do their financial planning.  But it's not fair to promise them a benefit for half their life and then not give them their benefit.  The fact that the SS system is one of the worst investments a person can make, and that the government has been stealing from it for decades, isn't the fault of the people who put in to that system. 

What’s fair about making my mother pay into the system for 50 years and then dying before she could collect on that benefit? Me and my siblings never received the money she paid into it. I already stated I would have opted out of SSI I thinks it’s another horrible bloated corrupted government program. Once they started giving out SSDI for ailments like climate depression it greatly increased the insolvency issue. I don’t think I’ve hid the fact here that I’m a small government guy. My biggest political concerns are with the working class who are hemorrhaging right now solely due to government policies. 

So what’s your solution then that doesn’t impact the working class disproportionately? 

[Dizkneelande 859]

2 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

While I understand this point of view, is it fair that someone who had to pay into SS all of their lives now suddenly shouldn't get any of that because they managed their money better over the course of their life?

Update:  Looks like @RLLD already brought this up. Feel free to answer or not.

How do you know they managed their money better? People accumulate wealth other than having a good portfolio manager and the means to invest. 

[Strike 4,133]

Just now, Dizkneelande said:

What’s fair about making my mother pay into the system for 50 years and then dying before she could collect on that benefit? Me and my siblings never received the money she paid into it. I already stated I would have opted out of SSI I thinks it’s another horrible bloated corrupted government program. Once they started giving out SSDI for ailments like climate depression it greatly increased the insolvency issue. I don’t think I’ve hid the fact here that I’m a small government guy. My biggest political concerns are with the working class who are hemorrhaging right now solely due to government policies. 

So what’s your solution then that doesn’t impact the working class disproportionately? 

At this point?  Don't rely on the government and get from them whatever the fock you can.  Call me selfish but anyone who thinks the government isn't one of the most corrupt institutions that doesn't give a sh*t about you is living in lala land.  Hi @The Real timschochet.   When the government reforms itself I will consider making sacrifices to get things back on track.  The government has so much waste that could be used to fix SS.  Let them get a handle on that and then come talk to me if that isn't enough.  Why should *I* have to forego a benefit I've worked hard for all my life when the government could fix it themselves?

[Dizkneelande 859]

1 minute ago, Strike said:

At this point?  Don't rely on the government and get from them whatever the fock you can.  Call me selfish but anyone who thinks the government isn't one of the most corrupt institutions that doesn't give a sh*t about you is living in lala land.  Hi @The Real timschochet.   When the government reforms itself I will consider making sacrifices to get things back on track.  The government has so much waste that could be used to fix SS.  Let them get a handle on that and then come talk to me if that isn't enough.  Why should *I* have to forego a benefit I've worked hard for all my life when the government could fix it themselves?

I don’t disagree with anything you said. I also don’t believe my solution would impact anyone other than the top 1%. 1 in 4 adults have zero dollars in their savings account. I don’t think telling these people that they will never be able to retire and if they are lucky enough to do so, their monthly stipend might get them a dinner a red lobster. 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 2,810]

12pk of Pepsi/Coke/7up at Pick'n'Save: $8.99.  That's right folks,  EIGHT DOLLARS AND NINETY-NINE CENTS for a 12pk of soda.  $7.39 at Meijer.  That's regular price folks.

But, hey, PRICES ARE GOING DOWN!  Don't believe you're lying eyes! Believe me!!! 

[Strike 4,133]

1 minute ago, Dizkneelande said:

I don’t disagree with anything you said. I also don’t believe my solution would impact anyone other than the top 1%. 1 in 4 adults have zero dollars in their savings account. I don’t think telling these people that they will never be able to retire and if they are lucky enough to do so, their monthly stipend might get them a dinner a red lobster. 

Who says they can't retire?  They have SS.  I have a great idea though.  If you, and everyone who thinks like you, give up your SS benefits the system won't fall over as quickly.  Then people like me who don't like being stolen from can have their hard earned benefits.  Win Win.  Thank you for your sacrifice!

[Dizkneelande 859]

5 minutes ago, Strike said:

Who says they can't retire?  They have SS.  I have a great idea though.  If you, and everyone who thinks like you, give up your SS benefits the system won't fall over as quickly.  Then people like me who don't like being stolen from can have their hard earned benefits.  Win Win.  Thank you for your sacrifice!

Nobody is taking your benefits unless you have a 10 million dollar + retirement portfolio which you don’t or you wouldn’t be posting in a fantasy football message board all day. If we don’t do anything they will have to raise the age of dispersement and reduce benefits. My solution prevents that from happening to 99% of the population. You have no solution to address the issue. 

[EternalShinyAndChrome 2,810]

2 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

Nobody is taking your benefits unless you have a 10 million dollar + retirement portfolio which you don’t or you wouldn’t be posting in a fantasy football message board all day. If we don’t do anything they will have to raise the age of dispersement and reduce benefits. My solution prevents that from happening to 99% of the population. You have no solution to address the issue. 

False.

I identify as having 10 million dollars in my retirement portfolio so if I say it - according to the crazy left (which is EVERYONE on the left) - you have to not only address me as such, you have to provide me "retirement portfolio affirming care" at taxpayer's cost.

[Strike 4,133]

Just now, Dizkneelande said:

Nobody is taking your benefits unless you have a 10 million dollar + retirement portfolio which you don’t or you wouldn’t be posting in a fantasy football message board all day. If we don’t do anything they will have to raise the age of dispersement and reduce benefits. My solution prevents that from happening to 99% of the population. You have no solution to address the issue. 

This is untrue.  They just have to be more fiscally responsible.  And once they are more fiscally responsible, we can talk.  But there's no reason for me to give up my benefits just so they can continue their out of control spending.  Biden just forgave another $72 million dollars in student loan debt.  That money could have gone to shore up SS.  Fock them. 

[Hardcore troubadour 13,034]

I pay for a lot of illegal immigrants I don’t get any benefit from. But somebody does. 

[Horseman 1,593]

20 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

How do you know they managed their money better? People accumulate wealth other than having a good portfolio manager and the means to invest. 

80% of millionaires are self-made.  

[Horseman 1,593]

6 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

Nobody is taking your benefits unless you have a 10 million dollar + retirement portfolio which you don’t or you wouldn’t be posting in a fantasy football message board all day.

Wat?

[Dizkneelande 859]

3 minutes ago, Horseman said:

80% of millionaires are self-made.  

I’m not talking about the guy with a 2 million dollar portfolio. This is ultra FU wealth territory. According to the data:

27% of the ultra wealthy are self made: It defines them as people with a "middle-class or poor upbringing and no inheritance."

46% have a head start: Almost half the super rich people surveyed either had some inherited wealth or an affluent upbringing.

28% have legacy wealth: People with both an affluent background and inherited money.

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/study-shows-only-27-of-wealthy-americans-are-self-made/

[Dizkneelande 859]

1 minute ago, Horseman said:

Wat?

Means testing SSI benefits for the ultra wealthy would not affect anyone complaining about it.

[avoiding injuries 1,238]

1 hour ago, Dizkneelande said:

We are forced to pay into a lot of programs we don’t benefit from. At what level of wealth would you feel differently about the concept; 10 million, 25 million, 100 million? 

How about allow people to opt out and forfeit the money they’ve already put in? I’d do that in a second. I’m not about this forced redistribution of wealth you seem to be proposing simply bc people chose to save instead of spend. 

[Horseman 1,593]

16 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

I’m not talking about the guy with a 2 million dollar portfolio. This is ultra FU wealth territory. According to the data:

27% of the ultra wealthy are self made: It defines them as people with a "middle-class or poor upbringing and no inheritance."

46% have a head start: Almost half the super rich people surveyed either had some inherited wealth or an affluent upbringing.

28% have legacy wealth: People with both an affluent background and inherited money.

https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/study-shows-only-27-of-wealthy-americans-are-self-made/

Per your link it's not much different:

Quote

Bank of America surveyed over 1,000 individuals who held over $3 million in investable assets. 

And it doesn't jive with many other surveys that say different.  

Quote

A study conducted by Fidelity Investments found that 88% of millionaires are self-made. This means that they did not inherit their wealth, nor did they win it in the lottery or receive it as a gift. Instead, they earned it through their own efforts and by taking advantage of opportunities that presented themselves.

Quote

Dave Ramsey, personal finance expert and founder of Ramsey Solutions, also found that the majority of millionaires – 79% – did not receive an inheritance from parents or other family members. Instead, they achieved millionaire status through hard work and smart financial choices.

Quote

Most individuals on the Forbes 400 list did not inherit the family business but rather made their own fortune. Kaplan and Rauh found that 69 percent of those on the list in 2011 started their own business, compared with only 40 percent in 1982. In other words, there are fewer people on the Forbes 400 list who came from an affluent background and eventually took over the family business, such as brothers David and Charles Koch

Quote

Wealth X Study. Of those folks, 67.7% were self-made, while 23.7% had a combination of inherited and self-created wealth. Only 8.5% of global high-net-worth individuals were categorized as having completely inherited their wealth.

Seems like you cherry picked an article from Motley, whose sole purpose is to sell you a subscription.  

[Horseman 1,593]

23 minutes ago, Strike said:

This is untrue.  They just have to be more fiscally responsible.  And once they are more fiscally responsible, we can talk.  But there's no reason for me to give up my benefits just so they can continue their out of control spending.  Biden just forgave another $72 million dollars in student loan debt.  That money could have gone to shore up SS.  Fock them. 

Have you read Rand Paul's Festivus Report?

[Dizkneelande 859]

2 minutes ago, Horseman said:

Per your link it's not much different:

And it doesn't jive with many other surveys that say different.  

Seem like you cherry picked an article from Motley, whose sole purpose is to sell you a subscription.  

 

3 minutes ago, Horseman said:

Per your link it's not much different:

And it doesn't jive with many other surveys that say different.  

Seem like you cherry picked an article from Motley, whose sole purpose is to sell you a subscription.  

Seems like you’re the one cherry picking numbers. 10 million > 3 million. The Forbes list are all billionaires. There’s a big number referenced in the BOA article between 10 million and 1 billion. The numbers I posted from fool.com are directly from the BOA report.

[Dizkneelande 859]

14 minutes ago, avoiding injuries said:

How about allow people to opt out and forfeit the money they’ve already put in? I’d do that in a second. I’m not about this forced redistribution of wealth you seem to be proposing simply bc people chose to save instead of spend. 

I would have opted out 10 years ago I already said as much. How is it any different than calling it a wealth tax? Regardless it will never happen because neither side is an advocate for the workers. 

[Cloaca du jour 2,094]

I laugh every time this thread comes back to the FP.

Such horseshit

2 for 6 big macs isnt inflation dropping

[lickin_starfish 1,538]

I paid $30 for two hamburger meals at Wendy's. That ain't inflation dropping.

[Bill E. 676]

On 8/31/2023 at 3:36 PM, Strike said:

 Biden just forgave another $72 million dollars in student loan debt.

That is insane.  My parents have trouble getting a doc apt because of shortages of doctors and nurses.  If the focking government wants to spend money on college so bad tell people going to medical and nursing school they can go for free and tell everyone else to fock off and pay for their own education.  We do not need more graduates in History, Political Science or Gender Studies. 

[DonS 3,104]

2 hours ago, Bill E. said:

That is insane.  My parents have trouble getting a doc apt because of shortages of doctors and nurses.  If the focking government wants to spend money on college so bad tell people going to medical and nursing school they can go for free and tell everyone else to fock off and pay for their own education.  We do not need more graduates in History, Political Science or Gender Studies. 

C'mon man!  The world needs more college "educated" folks to tell us how evil cis-gendered heterosexual white men are.  You think they can't do that without an expensive college "education"? 

[thegeneral 1,594]

2 hours ago, Bill E. said:

That is insane.  My parents have trouble getting a doc apt because of shortages of doctors and nurses.  If the focking government wants to spend money on college so bad tell people going to medical and nursing school they can go for free and tell everyone else to fock off and pay for their own education.  We do not need more graduates in History, Political Science or Gender Studies. 

Who wants to go to college for 12 years to get sued for malpractice or have a bunch of ingrates telling you they know better because they read about something on a Reddit thread?

[Strike 4,133]

9 minutes ago, DonS said:

C'mon man!  The world needs more college "educated" folks to tell us how evil cis-gendered heterosexual white men are.  You think they can't do that without an expensive college "education"? 

Bluto Blutarsky would never have been able to afford college today!!!!!

[The Real timschochet 3,332]

2 hours ago, Bill E. said:

That is insane.  My parents have trouble getting a doc apt because of shortages of doctors and nurses.  If the focking government wants to spend money on college so bad tell people going to medical and nursing school they can go for free and tell everyone else to fock off and pay for their own education.  We do not need more graduates in History, Political Science or Gender Studies. 

I think it’s absolutely reasonable for the government to target which college majors would most benefit society and give financial aid to help those at the expense of others. 

I was a political science major. It was completely useless to me. It did nothing to help me in my future career. I’m sorry now that my parents felt obligated to pay for it. 

[seafoam1 1,932]

19 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

Who wants to go to college for 12 years to get sued for malpractice or have a bunch of ingrates telling you they know better because they read about something on a Reddit thread?

Yeah. You liberal, sue mongering, senstive, girlie, liberal idiots are a curse to society. You should all be shipped to Canada and then you can carry on with being a bunch of pvssies and sing the praises of fauci while you send your meager earnings to the blm criminals. 

What an absolute idiot you are.

[thegeneral 1,594]

7 minutes ago, seafoam1 said:

Yeah. You liberal, sue mongering, senstive, girlie, liberal idiots are a curse to society. You should all be shipped to Canada and then you can carry on with being a bunch of pvssies and sing the praises of fauci while you send your meager earnings to the blm criminals. 

What an absolute idiot you are.

[seafoam1 1,932]

4 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

We finally agree on something it seems. Now go pack your bags peanut. 

[thegeneral 1,594]

11 minutes ago, seafoam1 said:

We finally agree on something it seems. Now go pack your bags peanut. 

I think you are stroking out in your basement. Make sure to keep your Life Alert bracelet charged and on your person.

[seafoam1 1,932]

16 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

I think you are stroking out in your basement. Make sure to keep your Life Alert bracelet charged and on your person.

I think you are stroking out in your basement. Make sure to keep your Life Alert bracelet charged and on your person. 

[thegeneral 1,594]

2 minutes ago, seafoam1 said:

I think you are stroking out in your basement. Make sure to keep your Life Alert bracelet charged and on your person. 

Oh boy. 

[seafoam1 1,932]

Just now, thegeneral said:

Oh boy. 

Oh boy. 

[Ultra Max Power 214]

Times are so good the popular thing to do is record a tiktok about how you work multiple jobs and can't afford anything and it trends...... Because EVERYONE relates. 

[Strike 4,133]

On 9/2/2023 at 5:08 PM, The Real timschochet said:

I think it’s absolutely reasonable for the government to target which college majors would most benefit society and give financial aid to help those at the expense of others. 

I was a political science major. It was completely useless to me. It did nothing to help me in my future career. I’m sorry now that my parents felt obligated to pay for it. 

Yep.  Nepotism doesn't require a college degree.

[Bill E. 676]

On 9/2/2023 at 7:08 PM, The Real timschochet said:

I think it’s absolutely reasonable for the government to target which college majors would most benefit society and give financial aid to help those at the expense of others. 

I was a political science major. It was completely useless to me. It did nothing to help me in my future career. I’m sorry now that my parents felt obligated to pay for it. 

I get that.  My cousin did the same an ended up starting over years later to become a med tec of some kind.  Wasted four years on the useless degree but is doing well now.  If the Govt did that parents might push their kids towards the degrees that society needs because they are free.  It would be a win win.

 

Sadly politics would enter into it and colleges would donate money to politicians campaigns to expand it.  Any organization that receives government money of any kind should not be allowed to donate to any political campaign.  I have no faith in politicians to ever do what is best for society.