tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161781017528873219.post1096734337780666968..comments2023-10-17T04:51:04.961-07:00Comments on Telemachus: How Do You Like Paying Twice For Social Security This Year?Frank Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13948885430465501408noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161781017528873219.post-2983139894981476602012-04-27T05:10:24.579-07:002012-04-27T05:10:24.579-07:00(Editor's note: This column was inspired by a...(Editor's note: This column was inspired by a pithy comment from Duane Longhofer during one of those seemingly infinite chains of comments on a Facebook page with someone else who acted as if they were an expert on all things relating to Social Security when in fact, they knew absolutely nothing about the truth of how the program actually works. Name withheld to protect the guilty and the ignorant)Frank Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948885430465501408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161781017528873219.post-54262384987372169062012-04-26T17:10:27.203-07:002012-04-26T17:10:27.203-07:00I'm sure I don't need to note that, histor...I'm sure I don't need to note that, historically, all countries which have relied on baseless optimism and an appeal to national history as "solutions" for economic death-spirals created by their governments collectively have an unblemished record of consistent outcomes. Being America does not excuse this country from the realities of a flawed system which allows politicians to bring it to ruin.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05587036619182019599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161781017528873219.post-64138083113141140102012-04-26T14:33:37.409-07:002012-04-26T14:33:37.409-07:00Oh, we'll make it through this and come out sm...Oh, we'll make it through this and come out smelling like a rose.<br /><br />We always have and always will.<br /><br />We are America, right?<br /><br />Right?Frank Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13948885430465501408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161781017528873219.post-22633456049033183342012-04-26T14:31:05.671-07:002012-04-26T14:31:05.671-07:00Unfortunately, the reality is that the country wil...Unfortunately, the reality is that the country will almost certainly experience an economic and currency collapse instead of reforming spending in time. It's simply the far easier path for politicians to take, and also happens to be the path which typically garners the most votes from the intentionally ignorant populace. Rarely do countries ever "fix" their self-constructed fiscal disasters, no matter how obvious and detrimental the consequences may be.<br /><br />Personally, I've written off the US, at least in this iteration. I think, for the people who understand what's going on, it might be more productive to spend mental/other effort figuring out what to change in the next iteration to try to prevent the same death spiral in the future. For example, tying some aspect of voting to either taxes paid or an education test might not be popular, but might be somewhat necessary to prevent electoral disasters. As another example, writing the federal budgeting process such that deficits are impossible (outside of times of war on our land) is really the only viable solution for instilling fiscal responsibility in the federal government. Both those changes would be very difficult to enact in the current system, regardless of how beneficial that might be.Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05587036619182019599noreply@blogger.com