A View of Tomorrow?
Social Security in the present state will not survive. Medicare cannot last beyond the decade if that long. Medicaid continues to bleed the federal coffers. And all the while, D.C. plays the populist partisanship game. Are you a republican or a democrat? Do you believe in helping the poor or are you cold and heartless? Will you sacrifice to save the planet? The list of populist stances being pushed by the power brokers never ends. And the public nods, lines up and writes the check.
“The activists are angry at government plans to overhaul pensions and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.”
And we could see the retirement age in the U.S. raised from 62 to 72 before the bloodbath ends. Social Security was a scam from the beginning. Only a few old widows were ever expected to collect the original social security checks. Then one day, people had the bright idea, life should be easy. Retirement should be a right. Retire the 65 year olds, make work for the young people. Sounded like a plan for the future. Future of what, Logan’s Run?
Somewhere along the path to civilization, humans decided they should have an easy life. While under the thumb of dictators like Castro and Khrushchev, that dream was a fantasy. But, in the U.S. and Western Europe, leaders found power in holding forth the fantasy of little work and big benefits. It was a big seller, almost everyone bought into the concept of “free.” And thus the tragedy began.
(France)
“The government says it will save 70bn euros (£58bn) by raising the retirement age to 62 by 2018, the qualification to 41.5 years, and the pension age to 67 by 2018.
President Nicolas Sarkozy says reforms are needed to cope with an ageing population and the country’s high public spending.”
Sound familiar? We have no plans in the immediate future to raise retirement and face the crisis of health care. We as a nation, want to continue down the path to self destruction.
“Not!” You shout.
I question your sincerity. You supported John McCain in the primaries of 2008. You have blindly supported candidates with no qualifications to represent you in Congress, just because someone told you they were a member of the tea party. You continue to believe in the tooth fairy, who will solve all your problems without a sacrifice. In short, you’ve been incredibly naïve, or maybe stupid would be a better classification, but, I will give you the benefit and believe you wanted for the best.
What will “we” do when, the pensions run out? How will citizens react when there’s no Medicare for the aging? What will be the reaction when the welfare, rent subsidies, and medicaid ends? Will people just buckle down and make do? Will citizens and families pull together and manage. Or will we take to the streets, burn cars, destroy property and demand the government take care of us?
