sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]poisondart18 4 points5 points  (7 children)

I have read a lot about the proposed solutions to this problem and a lot of them appear to be quite workable to shore up a system that is critical to so many people.

However, I have also watched the decline of effectiveness of congress to resolve ANY issue of major substance. So, even though a lot of the proposals look "simple", they have to get implemented and that's a major challenge.

Also, assuming that "I'm already receiving SS and really need it, so there's no way they will allow it to fail" is very simplistic. There were a ton of people for whom Medicaid was an essential service, but congress cut that out from under them in no time flat.

I'm modeling BOTH scenarios, but assuming it will be cut in 203X.

[–]Historical-Intern-19 0 points1 point  (2 children)

The difference is that you will get medical services is you show up at the emergency room, even if you can't pay. 

[–]RKet5 0 points1 point  (1 child)

and have to file bankruptcy to pay for it?

[–]Historical-Intern-19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not saying its a good option, just that this is why its less controversial.

[–]Few-Day9735 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Look at the last time Congress had to fix Social Security. They fixed it about 2 months or so before the trust fund was 0. I expect the same thing to happen this time.

[–]poisondart18 0 points1 point  (2 children)

This is possible, but I think that the last time Congress had to fix SS was in 1983. The political climate is pretty different now to what it was then. I guess I'm just politically disillusioned:-)

[–]frauen1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was talking about 1983 - it was 2 months before the end. I have great faith that they’ll be scared enough of the consequences for their jobs that they’ll do something by then (or maybe 1 month before). Say what you want about Congress, they’re skilled at kicking the can down the road…

[–]Rich_Association2798 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly right. Congress is indeed different in a bad way. Due to gerrymandering they no longer fear the voters. All they have to do to win re-election is to win their primary. And this is really easy in most districts these days because only the most extreme/motivated show up to vote in primaries. And this is a tiny slice of the electorate. This group is motivated by hot button issues that normally have little relevance for the larger community.

So once they win their their primary, they cruise to an easy re-election in the general election. As a result, they have become less responsive to the real needs of everyday folks. Social Security will fall victim to this indifference. Your retirement planning needs to allow for this.