Highest Social Security Increase Coming in 2023 in the U.S.

Actually, he sent very negative signals. Since the markets are forward looking, the price of oil shot up starting on the day that Biden was elected. It's very disengenuous to suggest that the negativity that he sent, and had obvious impacts on oil prices, did not contribute substantially to gas prices.

 

Not really. It was on Abbott and his political stunt. The trucks were already going through inspection by CBP. They look at the truck's manifest, weight, cargo, use of drug-sniffing dogs, and human sniffing dogs.

the problem is most are literally walking, or swimming, across the border, go to a safe house, then get picked up by a van or other vehicles, and avoid the checkpoints, which are usually on IH 37 out of Loredo, IH 10 out of El Paso, and a few others. Rarely do they use trucks or refi units to transport them in that area,

Second, when it comes to illegal aliens, neither the Democratic Party or the GOP are truly invested in solving the root problems, which mainly occur in the home country of the illegals. Some are fleeing oppression like Venezuelans or Cubans, some are fleeing gangs and a corrupt government like El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc. Putting a wall does not solve the root causes, just hides them to make politicians appear tough, but not in reality.

 

How would you "bump" Medicare? It isn't income.

I did hear that they are lowering the Part B premiums that they deduct from Social Security by $5.20 a month. Will that even buy me a latte?

I'm looking forward to that raise. In the last couple of years, the prices of everything have gone up about 20% or so due to the pandemic-created supply issues. Those supply issues have been mostly resolved, but the prices of the goods are never going back down. An extra 9-10% won't cover it, but it will help.

 

This has nothing to do with Biden. As I said, it happens every year and it is pretty much automatic from both a Democrat and a Republican Congress. The problem is inflation, which is not caused by the government, but by outside factors beyond the control of Congress and the Executive branch. BTW, the elderly tend to be a little bit more conservative, generally, but they are not ideologues either. They know they are vulnerable and they know that if you screw with their paycheck, they will vote your arse out. Most are already upset with Sen Johnson who has stated he wants to privatize social security and make it a discretionary fund instead of mandatory. It is also why he is struggling with the elderly population right now to vote for him.

As far as future generations, they will be fine. Want to really screw future generations, privatize Social Security the way Rick Scott and the GOP want to. They will be more screwed by the time they retire and they will have no one else but themselves to blame because they spent all their money when they were younger.

 

When it comes to prescription drugs, and most statin drugs are in the US, I would consult with a qualified physician to determine why they have high cholesterol. Diet may help, but statin drugs do have some side effects and are not for everyone. And second, always get a second opinion from a physician who will "push" certain drugs on you.

Lipitor is the most common Statin drug, but there are others out there depending on the reason why you have high cholesterol.

 

How would they bump Medicare? They allot a portion or all of your SS raise to Medicare. We are all looking forward to that raise but some of us will believe it when we see it.

 

Wrong. You don't think that the government putting trillions of dollars into the hands of the public doesn't increase spending (think increased demand)? The government has direct control over that. I would have loved the opportunity to put a portion of my SS tax into private control. Had I been allowed to put all of it into private control at only a 5% return, I would be looking at retiring with over $4 million from SS alone. As it stands, I'm stuck with $3k per month (and only if I wait until I'm 67).

 

Cool got ANYTHING to support your posit?

The U.S. might be “energy independent,” but it still can’t control production.

This means that although America may be “energy independent” on paper, American consumers have won no benefits from this independence, and American officials cannot assert this independence in any meaningful way. Market dynamics, not overzealous regulations, have imprisoned the industry.

That hasn’t stopped lobbyists from pretending otherwise.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science...l-gas-price-surge-energy-independence/626979/

The top reason domestic energy production hasn’t ramped up isn’t Joe Biden’s green energy agenda, according to oil company executives. Instead, it’s a lack of enthusiasm from investors.
https://news.yahoo.com/oil-gas-executives-not-joe-204337317.html

But when asked at a congressional hearing this month about the impact of Biden’s leasing pause, Colette Hirstius, senior vice president of oil giant Shell, said, “I do not think that not having lease sales has raised the costs to consumers.”


“Investors dumped huge funds into shale drilling only to discover that when oil prices dropped, very little value existed at the end of the day,” one executive said. “Investors have demanded restraint and capital discipline of their client companies.”

Wall Street investors are pressuring U.S. drillers to limit production amid record prices.


More than half — 59% — of the 139 executives surveyed by the Dallas Fed listed investor pressure as the primary reason producers are keeping production down.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gas-prices-domestic-production_n_623b7ad7e4b0f1e82c529c6a


'Since 2018, the United States has been the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas. On paper, “we are energy independent,” John Hess, the CEO of Hess, said yesterday at CERAWeek, the energy industry’s annual conference. But what a funny kind of independence it is. As he spoke, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed U.S. gas prices to more than $4.10 a gallon, setting a new all-time high. Energy independence has neither insulated the economy from geopolitics nor provided the U.S. with more industrial capacity in an emergency. It certainly hasn’t helped slow down climate change.''

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

https://www.theatlantic.com/science...l-gas-price-surge-energy-independence/626979/

4-12-2020
Oil Nations, Prodded by Trump, Reach Deal to Slash Production
The deal will reduce output by 9.7 million barrels a day. While significant, the cut falls far short of what is needed to bring oil production in line with demand.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/...opec-russia-saudi-arabia-oil-coronavirus.html

“Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!“ Trump tweeted. ".....Could be as high as 15 Million Barrels. Good (GREAT) news for everyone!” he tweeted minutes later.

Special Report: Trump told Saudi: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support - sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...se-u-s-military-support-sources-idUSKBN22C1V4

 

Yeah because the US has the history before SS right? LOL

 

Are you saying that it isn't possible to design a different system that yields better results than a negative rate of return?
Maybe you are saying that giving people some control over their retirement (within certain bounds) is equivalent to no system at all?
Maybe you can't think outside of the current "lock box" that is full of worthless IOUs.

 

We have done it before in the Reagan Presidency, Bush Jr Presidency, Obama Presidency, and the Trump Presidency, and yet, inflation was in check. Wonder why? Give you a hint, it has nothing to do wth federal spending.

 

Why was SS started again? Whgy does SS lift 1/2 of seniors out of poverty? People are able to ALSO save for their retirement

How did that "free market" BS work with Friedma'ns Chi Boys in Chile?

Social Security Privatization is a disaster in Chile; Anti-union politicians and Wall St. still want it here
https://www.ilwu.org/social-securit...n-politicians-and-wall-st-still-want-it-here/

Chile’s Failed Pensions Are Neoliberalism’s Badge of Shame
A successful reform of the system is essential not only to reducing poverty, but also to restoring public faith in the country’s democracy.


Chile embraced neoliberalism more than almost any other nation, with its 1980 privatization of pensions a hallmark of its paradigm shift. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund were quick to laud General Augusto Pinochet’s government for the move, which more than two dozen nations copied, at least in part. Yet now the need for pension reform is one of the few issues on which Chile’s politicians and policymakers, whether right or left, agree. The system simply hasn’t delivered on its promises for retirees and taxpayers. And both as a symbol and a reality, this failure by a former economic star has fueled the widening rejection of neoliberalism and market-driven approaches in other policy areas.


Chile’s justification for eliminating public pay-as-you go programs (like Social Security in the US) and sending workers into a privately managed system of individual accounts was twofold:

First, private funds would grow more and compound faster due to better management, meaning more money for retirement;

second, the change would keep down public costs.

Four decades later, Chile’s system hasn’t worked as promised or expected. The creators anticipated that the average worker would save enough to earn 70% of their salary in retirement; the reality has been closer to one-third. They thought the new system would expand the number of workers with retirement funds; instead nearly 40% of Chileans have nothing to fall back on. Rather than improve the lives of Chile’s elderly, most pensioners live on less than the minimum wage, with women hit harder than men.


The private system hasn’t let the government off the financial hook either. The transition period was always going to be expensive as the government footed the bill for those retiring on the public dime without receiving payroll taxes (as these contributions all headed to private accounts). But the government has also had to backstop far more of the new system’s retirees than expected. Officials thought less than 10% of wage earners would rely on public largesse for a minimum pension. Today, more than 40% need the government to step in.

The biggest beneficiary turned out to be Chile’s capital markets. Pension fund managers invested tens of billions of dollars accumulated in individual accounts into local equities and bonds, expanding and deepening these markets. This helped domestic and international investors, as well as large corporations. It did less, at least directly, for the savers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...-are-neoliberalism-s-badge-of-shame#xj4y7vzkg

NO PAYWALL LINK

https://archive.ph/uWvVO#selection-3605.0-3616.0

 

Other than this?

 

SS is the same as Germany's that's been around since the 1880's

Solving Chile’s Crisis Starts With Fixing Its Pension System
JANUARY 8, 2020
Protesters cite the Pinochet-era retirement scheme as their top grievance. Fixing it will mean a return to basic principles of social security.


As Chile’s protests continue into the new year, it is important to understand the reasons behind the public’s frustration – and for policymakers to come up with ways to address it. In that, no issue is more important than Chile’s private pension scheme, singled out in opinion polls as the most important issue for the protesters.

Set up in 1982, at the height of the Pinochet dictatorship, the system’s pension payments for retirees are now starting to kick in. Although the system was sold on the claim that people would be able to retire on 70% of their salaries, they have instead been receiving a mere 20% to 30% of their wages. The average pension paid to men in 2018 was 150,000 pesos (around $200). For women, the average was 110,00 – a third of Chile’s minimum wage.
https://www.americasquarterly.org/a...crisis-starts-with-fixing-its-pension-system/

LET'S TRUST THE RIGHT THAT THIS CHANGE IN THE US WILL WORK *SHAKING HEAD*

 

'When Trump made that statement the US production was going full tilt and we were pushing Russia hard. We had a glut which created low prices and the loss of that revenue was hurting the Russians. It was not as you are portraying it, it was good strategy overall. Even today, Russia needs the oil sales they have to stay afloat.

 

Cool, so nothing but a myth

 

So you think that any change to the current SS system will be exactly like Chile's? LOL Come on man.

 

MORE BS. Trump pushed it BECAUSE his backers pushed him, they were going bankrupt because Covid shutdown the world, AND demand for oil!

 

I know EVERYTHING the CONServatives promise will happen, ends up a huge f*kkkn lie, Everytime, especially if they can some how allow the richest to get richer!

 

As I stated, we are getting a reduction in the monthly premium they take from our SS to pay for Medicare. Your original post was moot.

 

That's not really a good argument.

 

History says it is. Tax cuts that the right says will bring in more revenues? LMAROG

Don't need regulations on Banksters (first GOP depresion, Ronnie's S&L, Dubya's great recession)

How about starting to enforce antitrust laws the US has stopped since Reagan? Or the ability to pay executives with stocks, also Ronnie


Or going back to the American School system the US used for the first 200+ years


American School (economics)


The American School, also known as the National System, represents three different yet related constructs in politics, policy and philosophy. It was the American policy from the 1790s to the 1970s, waxing and waning in actual degrees and details of implementation.

It is the macroeconomic philosophy that dominated United States national policies from the time of the American Civil War until the mid-20th century. Closely related to mercantilism, it can be seen as contrary to classical economics. It consisted of these three core policies:

1. Protecting industry through selective high tariffs (especially 1861–1932) and through subsidies (especially 1932–1970).
2. Government investments in infrastructure creating targeted internal improvements (especially in transportation).
3. A national bank with policies that promote the growth of productive enterprises rather than speculation.

During its American System period, the United States grew into the largest economy in the world with the highest standard of living, surpassing the British Empire by the 1880s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_School_(economics)


BUT NO, I HAVE NO FAITH THE RIGHTS "PLAN", ANY PLAN TO PRIVATIZE SS WOULD WORK

 

My planned retirement is in early July 2027. Hopefully Social Security will be worth something like it was pre Biden by then.

 

If you have a healthy 401K it's working for you.

 

And we on fixed incomes are not only getting hit this year because we have lost some much value in our fixed benefit but our retirement accounts are worth less and the money we take out of them is buying less.