Know the FACTS: Simpson-Bowles only calls for tiny cuts to Social Security

[jtuck004]

125. Your example works great if the country's economy is growing enough, but it no longer is.

Something that is on every legitimate stock prospectus in some form - "Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.". They even think that is so important it's on the stockbroker tests, because it's against the rules to sell people stock indicating that the future performance will be good based on that past performance.

Like anybody cares about that rule

But we are operating in a far different way than they did 70 or so years ago. Back then we had HUGE government investments in people and machines from the 30's through WWII. That created an economic boom that went on for decades, aided by our having to rebuild the world we and others had reduced to rubble. But the past 20-30 years we have been selling the hard assets and dis-investing in people, while debt and leverage are used to create a semblance of what used to be, but it's really just a shadow of what was. Some think it is just a cycle, that it's not gonna be a permanent change. Some people think that about global warming too.

Look at the financial sector, growing from 12% back in the 30's to over 40% of our economy today. They replaced manufacturing, yet they make nothing we can use or eat. The market has gone hugely international, no longer reflective of our American economy. Look at not just the job loss, but at the millions and millions of mid-wage jobs that paid $40-60/hr that have been replaced with nothing, or with jobs that only pay $7-$13/hr. How are people gonna pay for a home and send the kids to college on that? Does anyone really think there will be a retirement plan for the newly minted millions of home health aides and tourist industry folks we are employing? We seem to have some "surely it will get better even though we have no plan" belief that the future is bright.

In effect prolonging this, (which keeps scavenging of the greater portion of all available income going to a very few people), our economy is being propped up by accounting rules that allow banks to hold assets at inflated values, 0% interest loans that banks can use to make profits by charging everyone else more, $40 billion buying the mortgage-backed assets of really wealthy people every month to support their value (we are told this is good for the rest of us). You've read, likely, about how total student loan debt is as great as our revolving debt for the first time in history - they reflect part of the millions of people in school, trying to avoid being out in an economy where only half will find jobs and more are moving back home to live than ever before. Even college students can't buy cheap stock if they have no money.

We are at a net loss of about 4 1/2 million jobs since 2008. We only have about the same number of jobs today as we had in 2005, yet the population grew by about 23 million - how can they thrive?

This isn't sustainable. It's like being laid off a $45/hr plus great benefits and vacation factory job and trying to live the same lifestyle on one's credit cards and serving fries at McDonalds. The economy of the government is different in some respects, because we operate by fiat, can always pay our bills, and can affect the value of money. But not producing enough and spending money not to INVEST in the American people, but to support the wealthy, must lead to less value.

And unless the Republicans get into office and enact their plan, which will very likely drive us into a second Great Depression, we have at least a couple decades of this slow conversion of our assets to debt to look forward to. In support of the wealthy.

Prices may not go in one direction forever, but it may feel like that 20 years from now.