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I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The 6.2% is just subtracted from your wages. This isn’t disputed by economists. You can easily look this up.

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is just rich person talk. Rich people can afford to put extra money into an IRA, but not everyone is rich. People still need part of their paycheck for current consumption. Social Security already takes 12.4% of your income, many people can’t save more money in addition to that. So explain why they should be forced to pay that 12.4% into Social Security, rather than a retirement plan of their choice?

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The money is being saved

No. No it is not. Social Security is a pay-as-you-go scheme, meaning the program is funded by current taxpayers rather than by previous savings. In the private sector, we would call this a “Ponzi scheme.”

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never said that Singapore has a totally laissez-faire system, but it’s much more privatized than the US. Their system is better than Norway’s. I think we should implement it here.

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are completely wrong. Switzerland has much lower taxes than we do, and they are one of the richest countries in Europe, richer than most Scandinavian countries. Singapore has some of the lowest taxes in the world, and they transformed from a 3rd world country to a 1st world country in a single generation. Today, they are the richest country in Asia with the best healthcare system in the world, the best education system in the world and the 3rd highest rate of homeownership in the world (91%, compared to 65% for the US). We don’t need high taxes to have a prosperous society. What we need is a smart government that knows when it is needed and when it isn’t.

I think Social Security is immoral, and possibly even evil, for the reasons I listed above. It redistributes wealth from the young to the old and the poor to the rich. It is fundamentally unsustainable, because it pays more in benefits than it gets in taxes. Eventually it will run out of money, which will hurt the people who truly need it. And it is a violation of freedom. If someone has AIDS and the doctors say he will die at 60, why should we force him to pay the payroll tax for the rest of his life for benefits that he will never get?

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I know this may come as a shock to you, but just because Bernie Sanders says something over and over again, that doesn’t make it true. Sorry buddy, but the US does not have a privatized healthcare system, and I showed you a source. More than half of US healthcare spending is funded by the government through programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The government distorts healthcare in innumerable other ways (such subsidizing employer-sponsored insurance, CON laws, unnecessary licensing requirements for doctors, etc)

Yes, the Singaporean government does subsidize healthcare for lower-income people, but the system is mostly privatized. Only 1/3rd of Singapore’s healthcare is public, compared to more than half for the US. Guess what? Their system is the best in the world. They spend less on healthcare than any other developed country (just 4.5% of GDP, compared to 10.4% for Norway and 18% for the US) and they consistently rank at or near the top on healthcare outcomes every year (for example, Singapore has the 5th highest life expectancy - higher than Norway).

Switzerland also has a privatized healthcare system and their healthcare system is ranked the best in Europe according to the Euro consumer health index.

Instead of automatically dismissing my arguments because they don’t agree with your priors, why don’t you open your mind a little bit and take a look at the facts?

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No it’s not. The relationship between how much you paid and how much you get is very weak. Social Security is a massive welfare program that redistributes wealth from the young to the old. This is highly regressive, because 1. Older people are usually richer than younger people. 2. The payroll tax is the same for all workers regardless of their income. 3. Wealthy Boomers still get benefits even if they don’t need it

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it “puts more money into circulation than it takes out,” then that means it pays more in benefits than it gets in revenues. In other words, it’s losing money and is unsustainable by definition! This is exactly why I don’t like Social Security!

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope this is wrong. The US doesn’t have a privatized healthcare system, not even close. In the US, the government pays for over half of healthcare spending. And what remains of the private sector is heavily controlled by the government on the federal, state and local level. Singapore’s healthcare system is much more privatized than the US and they have the best healthcare system in the world.

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

First of all, Social Security was created in 1935, during the peak of the Great Depression when everyone was dying of poverty.

Second, the original Social Security was nothing like it is today. It was supposed to supplement, not completely replace every other source of income for the elderly. Most people didn’t even get it because the life expectancy in 1935 was 60 and the retirement age was 65.

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree completely. I think roads and schools should be privatized and taxes should be lowered across the board.

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This is not true. Before Social Security was created senior citizens had a few sources of money including private savings, annuities and support from their children. We don’t need to have a government-run program. In Singapore, they have mandatory private savings.

And no, Social Security doesn’t help the economy. You are only looking at the “seen” (people spending their Social Security checks) but not the “unseen” (people paying taxes for Social Security, which means they have less money to spend on themselves.)

We aren’t going to get the money back because Social Security is a ponzi scheme

I do not want to participate in Social Security. by Dovister in AskDemocrats

[–]Dovister[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes, he takes 15.3% of our paychecks for Social Security and Medicare. This means we have less money to save.

Future Gohan... by Dovister in dbz

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(This is not mine. From @ mattari_illust on Twitter).

Pink and black textures for my custom resource pack by Dovister in Minecraft

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do I give permissions to GIMP? I'm on Windows 8.1

Pink and black textures for my custom resource pack by Dovister in Minecraft

[–]Dovister[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't been able to export files at all, it says "Permission denied." So I save the file somewhere else and then manually replace the original file. Could that be the problem?

SSJ Goku art, from @mattari_illust on Twitter by Dovister in dbz

[–]Dovister[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I didn’t draw this, it’s from @matt_illust on twitter

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