Disturbing Poll Numbers - 44% Feel that Government Should Spend Money on Programs for Younger Adults

Wow.  I am blown away by this.  What is the most disturbing is the fact that 46% of those that describe themselves as Republican feel this way as well.  Now it didn't go into what those programs should be, but still I am sitting here shaking my head.

There are government programs that I feel are good ones.  I think the Small Business Administration backing loans for businesses is a good use of public funds.  It helps promote economic growth as well as improving employment for people around the country.  Now, I do feel that if people don't pay back the loans, the assets should be seized so the tax payers are not on the hook.  Although I do find some of the ways that grants are given out is suspect at best.  It seems that if you are a white man, you need not apply.  Shocker.  But the loan program is a good government program.  But that program isn't based on age.  While it is unlikely that seniors are going to be applying for these, it isn't based on age.

I also believe that as a country the majority of us agree that we need to make investments in educating our young.  The disagreement comes from what level of government should be doing it, but virtually all feel that we need an education system.  Now I personally believe that it is  in major disrepair and needs serious overhaul, but I certainly don't feel that it isn't a good use of public funds.

While this should come as no surprise, the majority of people who feel that young should get more public funds are between the ages of  18-29.  This of course is the group that put the least amount into the system, yet feels it should be the group that takes advantage of what is there, and to be honest the way we spend money in this country it isn't even using what is there, it is borrowed money.  I guess the reality that they are the ones going forward are going to pay the highest price for all this borrowing.  But it will hit them eventually.

I am not a huge fan of Social Security.  I would like to see a plan that is partially privatized and allow people to make a choice about how to invest their money for their futures.  Lets be honest here, it is difficult, at best, to live solely on that income and it is costing tax payers a fortune.  While that is due to mismanagement by our government officials (Thanks, LBJ), it doesn't change the fact that we all are going to pay higher and higher taxes to pay out what was promised.  We still have a generation of people who were not able to take advantage of retirement plans from day one of their adult work lives, they absolutely should be given the benefits that they have paid in to.  But today virtually any worker can take advantage of retirement savings plan.  I even had one as a part-time retail worker.

I honestly don't know what it is going to take to make people see that our government is too big, too intrusive and way too expensive.  Paying a great deal of money in taxes due to reckless spending is why people don't have money to do the things that they want to do.

Quote of the Day - LZ Granderson Edition

Call me crazy, but the idea of trusting the government to take care of me, to provide me with "security" when I'm old and frail is far more frightening than the thought of me trying to make it on my own.


I'm not yet 40, so theoretically I still have plenty of time to have my own plan in place. Yes, I've paid into Social Security. No, I don't expect to benefit from it, at least not at the level those who are currently collecting are benefiting. And I don't know anyone in any line of work my age or younger who does.

LZ Granderson on Social Security.

Mr. Granderson is hardly some "right winged nut".  It is time that we have an honest discussion about social security in this country.  The time to fix it is running out.  If the left truly cares about the poor, we must have a discussion about where to cut.  Otherwise, there will be no money to help them.

Hey Romney

How can we trust someone who doesn't want to admit that Social Security needs to be reformed or it won't be there for the younger generation?

Social Security is Stable? Russ Carnahan Seems to Think So

In the Summary of the 2009 Social Security Trustees Report

“Neither the redemption of trust fund bonds, nor interest paid on those bonds, provides any new net income to the Treasury, which must finance redemptions and interest payments through some combination of increased taxation, reductions in other government spending, or additional borrowing from the public.”

Punt, Pass and Term Limits

Currently we have people in government that are more interested in protecting their job security than they are in making the tough choices. Having people serving thirty or more years may help congressmen bring in the bacon to their own districts, but it certainly doesn’t do the country on a whole any good.

Let’s just imagine what it would be like if our elected officials actually made the hard choices. Social Security and Medicare wouldn’t be on the verge of insolvency, we would have laws in place in regards to enemy combatants, and our borders would be more strongly protected.

Social security has been in trouble for decades. Yet, the problem goes unsolved. It has been described as the third rail of politics. No one will touch it for fear of a political death. We need to make the tough choices of raising the retirement age or lowering the payments that people will receive. Neither of these is popular so they are left undone.

Medicare is just as broken. On the verge of going broke it is another third rail. We keep hearing from the administration this is one reason our country needs socialized medicine. One of the reasons that medical costs keep skyrocketing is the fraud in the Medicare systems. Another problem with Medicare is the payment systems that promote medical professionals to do more tests. They get paid by the tests they perform instead of the health and wellness of a particular patient. But the tough choices are not being made. They want to overhaul the entire system before fixing this one.

Another unpopular topic is enemy combatants. This is especially true on the left side of the spectrum. Conservatives and republicans tend to believe in a strong national defense so they are more willing to address this contentious issue. The democrats have a much harder sell with the far left of their party. Many of the fringes of the far left would be happy to read them Miranda rights and try them in open court and let the intelligence breaches be dammed. We are almost 10 years out since 9/11. It is malpractice against the American people that we do not have clear laws stating what is to be done with terrorists picked up on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. It is just easier to keep blaming the Bush administration. The mistakes made by the Bush administration are no excuse for not doing anything.

The protection of our borders is another highly contentious topic. Again, almost 10 years has passed since 9/11 and our borders are barely more protected than they were on 9/10. The leaders in our government are more worried about being called racists than they are at fixing the problem. Our borders could be protected, if we had leaders that had the political will to do so.

If we had term limits on all elected positions many of these problems would actually get solved. Making the hard choices would not be a one way ticket to the unemployment line. It may actually help keep that particular seat within the same party. Right now, we have career politicians that will say and do anything to stay in power. President Obama still sometimes sounds like he is on the campaign trail. He seems already geared up for the re-election process that is more than three years away. Once a second term for a President begins they actually start worrying about legacy issues.

The American people need to stand up and demand that we get term limits. It won’t be easy to get it done, but it will be worth it in the end. We finally will get something done rather than punting, passing and kicking the ball down the field. Wouldn’t that be a refreshing change?