5 ms·

How can you be so sure? You must have read something I haven't. Why can't the US tax more to fund its liabilities? Or, why can't they have the Fed print more m

by NTDF9 8y ago

How can you be so sure? You must have read something I haven't. Why can't the US tax more to fund its liabilities? Or, why can't they have the Fed print more money and devalue the dollar?

kd5bjo 8y ago
If Social security´s COLA actually works, devaluing the dollar won’t help much —- the liabilities will stay the same in real terms. If it doesn’t, inflation is really just a blunt tool to cut benefits without politicians needing to make a recorded vote on the issue.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > If Social security´s COLA actually works Social security only has a post-retirement COLA, benefits calculation from point of qualified earnings to retirement is wage indexed. While in normal conditions this is more favorable, in a runaway inflation scenario where wages lag, the wage index will be less than a COLA would be, so rapid devaluation actually works write well to reduce SS real obligations, though it had other adverse consequences.
acct1771 8y ago
Tax who? The Elite class, who have captured the regulatory bodies? Or, well, everyone else, are, frankly, fuckin' broke, and in student debt on top of that?
- mooreds 8y ago
  Well, we have an overall tax rate of about 26%, which is much less than most comparable countries, so I think we have some room to maneuver: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxes-compare-internationally https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxe...
- snowwrestler 8y ago
  What is your theory, that huge portions of the population will go destitute and starving but do nothing about it? No, at some point people won't take it anymore. At that point you get political change. It has happened many times before in the U.S. Where do you think Social Security came from in the first place?
  - ianmcgowan 8y ago
    It's a reassuring thought "at some point people won't take it anymore". But the front page of hacker news today is filled with articles about cheap food, the financial crisis, student loans and absurd housing costs. It feels like an arms race between two groups - one trying to sound alarms about the direction we're headed (Bernie) and another that thinks Brave New World is a pretty good model to shoot for. I don't think the latter is an organized conspiracy, just that there are structural tendencies that make producing and marketing soma (literally with food and drugs, figuratively with social media) more lucrative than, say, teaching high school or nursing. It might be better if there were an Illuminati in charge of things - they presumably would be trying to steer between the extremes of another French revolution and a descent into a 1984 world (which seems depressing even for those in charge).

by NTDF9 8y ago

How can you be so sure? You must have read something I haven't. Why can't the US tax more to fund its liabilities? Or, why can't they have the Fed print more money and devalue the dollar?

kd5bjo 8y ago

If Social security´s COLA actually works, devaluing the dollar won’t help much —- the liabilities will stay the same in real terms. If it doesn’t, inflation is really just a blunt tool to cut benefits without politicians needing to make a recorded vote on the issue.

dragonwriter 8y ago
> If Social security´s COLA actually works Social security only has a post-retirement COLA, benefits calculation from point of qualified earnings to retirement is wage indexed. While in normal conditions this is more favorable, in a runaway inflation scenario where wages lag, the wage index will be less than a COLA would be, so rapid devaluation actually works write well to reduce SS real obligations, though it had other adverse consequences.

acct1771 8y ago

Tax who? The Elite class, who have captured the regulatory bodies? Or, well, everyone else, are, frankly, fuckin' broke, and in student debt on top of that?

mooreds 8y ago
Well, we have an overall tax rate of about 26%, which is much less than most comparable countries, so I think we have some room to maneuver: https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxes-compare-internationally https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxe...
snowwrestler 8y ago
What is your theory, that huge portions of the population will go destitute and starving but do nothing about it? No, at some point people won't take it anymore. At that point you get political change. It has happened many times before in the U.S. Where do you think Social Security came from in the first place?
- ianmcgowan 8y ago
  It's a reassuring thought "at some point people won't take it anymore". But the front page of hacker news today is filled with articles about cheap food, the financial crisis, student loans and absurd housing costs. It feels like an arms race between two groups - one trying to sound alarms about the direction we're headed (Bernie) and another that thinks Brave New World is a pretty good model to shoot for. I don't think the latter is an organized conspiracy, just that there are structural tendencies that make producing and marketing soma (literally with food and drugs, figuratively with social media) more lucrative than, say, teaching high school or nursing. It might be better if there were an Illuminati in charge of things - they presumably would be trying to steer between the extremes of another French revolution and a descent into a 1984 world (which seems depressing even for those in charge).