As long as we cut Social Security by the same amount, sure.

😄

 

3 hours ago, goates said:

Mr. Gates is working on improving things here.

And so am I.  Not nearly as much as Mr. Gates is doing but what little I can afford to try and help.  But I would not donate to something like a Mars colony.

Noel

2 hours ago, Luke said:

As long as we cut Social Security by the same amount, sure.

Why don't you cut my military retirement annuity as well Luke?  And my Tricare health benefit?  And what are you going to give up?

Noel

oh look...a red herring...

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

Why don't you cut my military retirement annuity as well Luke?  And my Tricare health benefit?  And what are you going to give up?

I've generally found that the best way to answer calls for reduced government spending is to suggest cuts to things that people personally benefit from. For some odd reason, spending on others is usually "waste" while checks they personally cash are their "fair share" and "getting back what they paid".

What am I giving up? About 25% of my Social Security because previous generations refused to fund it properly. You're welcome.

Edited February 23, 20224 yr by Luke

1 hour ago, Luke said:

I've generally found that the best way to answer calls for reduced government spending is to suggest cuts to things that people personally benefit from.

Taking away half of my SS wouldn't impoverish me.  But I know dozens whom it would devastate and even more who I don't know.  Why don't you pick on corporate welfare or raising taxes on the 1% who own 40% of the wealth in this country?  Oh, right, one of them is going to take us to Mars.  Leave him alone.  Old people who depend on SS won't be making the trip anyway.

How about the Veterans Administration?  There are a lot of people who personally benefit.  That would save you plenty.  And military retirees.  They are a drain on the taxpayer too.  And who do they think they are?  Just because they served their country for 20 years or more.  Make them serve their country even more by cutting their retirement and healthcare benefits half.  It's something they personally benefit from.

Way to go Luke!  

Noel

9 hours ago, Fielder said:

But in my opinion, it is not wise to do both. Inflation is running wild, the U.S.

 

That doesn't make any sense I'm afraid.

SpaceX are a private company that makes and sells a product. If SpaceX used all the money they spend on their space products to "clean up the environment" then the company would obviously be not manufacturing a product, not selling that product and be bankrupt. That would obviously result in literally thousands of people losing employment. The money SpaceX spend on developing and manufacturing their product could never be allocated to "fixing the environment". Its no different to saying "Boeing should stop making planes and spend all their money on fixing the environment" or "Sony should stop making electronic goods and spend all their money on fixing the environment" or "AMD should stop spending all that money developing and selling CPU's and spend the money on fixing the environment. You are talking about funds that are not in the same domain. 

Again, we can obviously do both. And the irony is that Elon Musk's companies are even doing both themselves in addition to other parties. Tesla have taken a multitude of gas cars off the road, are manufacturing solar tiles, solar panels, power wall batteries for the home, grid scale batteries. Tesla's goal  is fundamentally changing the way the world uses energy.

As for NASA, their budget is a mere 0.3% of government spending and has historically varied between 0.1% and 0.5%.  But what that budget has done is give Americans a vast number of benefits. Like cat scanners, artificial limbs, insulin pumps, solar panels and in fact there's a huge list of items we benefit from and use everyday.  And again... NASA, like SpaceX are even doing both themselves. NASA does a huge amount of work in terms of monitoring and researching climate change and other environmental issues. NASA's Earth Science Program has spent decades building spacecraft and collecting data that is now used to model climate across the planet. Green aviation, sustainable systems, NASA pretty much does it all and provides excellent value for money.  NASA's activities literally save countless lives. 

So we need to abandon this illogical notion that companies like SpaceX can somehow use all their money to fix the environment, It makes zero sense. A company can't use its funds to fix the environment if doing so causes it to cease to exist and no longer generate income.  

 

Edited February 23, 20224 yr by martin-w

I think we need to stop wasting any government money on nebulous issues like Mars travel and climate change. And refocus on more pressing issues: the economy, jobs, inflation, opening schools, cheaper energy. Letting the truckers make their own health decisions so that goods can flow more cheaply so that we can afford our food. A reaction is coming, a demand to focus on real problems.

You know so that people can actually afford a more decent standard of living, wake up each morning with a smile on their face, knowing deep in their soul that life is good, the future bright. Right now its just the opposite as stories flood the news sites headlines of surveys showing people feeling miserable, depressed, unmotivated, suicidal.

And they aren't miserable from worrying over climate change or lack of space travel. As gasoline prices rise hideously, people will demand action. They aren't going to stand for a world where we stand knee deep in inflation shooting public rockets at Mars. Dear government: Let Elon do it! His money, not ours!

On 2/22/2022 at 12:52 PM, martin-w said:

 

Please accept a GOLD cat point.

Only my second ever allocated.

ONE GOLD CAT POINT 😸

Wow, what an honor. Will it help with my cats, er, my lords and masters ?

I am late on this one but sign me up, because this planet doesn't make any sense anymore 😩

 

US Government Has Borrowed Trillions From Social Security Trust Fund

For Social Security, the OASI (Old-Age and Survivors Insurance) and Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds currently list trillions of dollars of assets. Here is the breakdown:

End of 2011 Assets:

OASI - $2.5241 trillion
DI - $153.9 billion

However, instead of cash, these two trust funds have IOUs from the US government. All of those assets are held in "special non-marketable securities of the US Government". So, the US government borrows from the OASI, DI and many others to finance its deficit spending.

As a matter of fact, as of this second, the US government currently has "intragovernmental holdings" of $4.776 trillion. "Intragovernmental holdings" is money that the government owes to programs such as OASI, DI and many others. This is money that will have to be repaid down the line.

--

So - how much does the US government owe the Social Security Trust Fund? Let's look to the most recent "Monthly Statement of the Public Debt of the United States" (courtesy of TreasuryDirect.gov, *.pdf) to get the answer.

On Page 9, we see that the outstanding amount of Treasury Securities to OASI and DI are currently:

OASI - $2,596,371,000,000
DI - $139,145,000,000

So, that's almost $2.6 trillion for the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, plus an additional $140 billion or so for the Disability Insurance trust fund.

Ouch.

 

It was well funded until Gov robbed it.

Trust fund!

Edited February 24, 20224 yr by TuFun

10 hours ago, Penzoil3 said:

Wow, what an honor. Will it help with my cats, er, my lords and masters ?

 

Oh yes, absolutely. I am the only human being on this planet that has been granted the honour, by the Feline Association for Requisite Terran Slavery (FARTS) to grant cat points.

Once I register your gold cat point with "FARTS" your feline masters will be informed and they will purr even more than they do now and perhaps, if you are lucky, cuddle up a bit more.

 

6 hours ago, TuFun said:

 

However, instead of cash, these two trust funds have IOUs from the US government. All of those assets are held in "special non-marketable securities of the US Government". So, the US government borrows from the OASI, DI and many others to finance its deficit spending.

What do you think treasury bonds are, beyond IOUs from the US government. What should they hold instead, dollar bills?

OK, I think we have skidded off the track and now discussing and arguing Govt. issues!  Done now!