Tag: money

RANT! What do we do with Social Security – 3 of 3

RANT! What do we do with Social Security – 3 of 3

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For the last 2 posts, I have explained that social security is in real trouble and should be euthanized. Now I will explain how to do it in the most fair and compassionate way possible.

Our current generation of retirees (and soon-to-be retirees) needs to be protected in this whole process. Therefore my plan doesn’t require them to make any sacrifices. They had a contract with the US government and we need to keep that contract. So the first step of the process is that anyone 58 and over receives all of the benefits that they are currently supposed to receive.

The second step of the process is that since everyone that is 57 today has ten years to prepare for the change, they will receive 10% less than what they were supposed to receive as of today. They need to start saving to prepare for that day and stop looking to the government for a complete handout that is not going to happen. Besides, 10% is not that big of a sacrifice.

The third step is to reduce the gift each year by 2% times each additional year under 57. So, as I said above, 57 year old people are eligible in 2017 and they receive 10% less. Then everyone that will be 67 in 2018 will receive 12% less than today’s standard. 2019 retirees will receive 14%, 2020 retirees will receive 16% less, and so on.

This means that by 2062, Social Security will be gone. Good riddance. RIP! FDR should be proud, he created a system that took almost a century and a half to kill. Think about that – how many institutions today were started at the time of the US Civil War?

The fourth step is probably the most important. For every dollar that American’s pay into the Social Security system until it it has enough money to survive until 2062 (by my estimate that will be until about 2025, maybe 2030), we will be able to set aside another dollar into a specially declared savings account that can’t be touched until we are 67 and the principle and the interest will never be taxed. That savings program will continue and hopefully become the new 3rd rail that politicians can’t touch.

MY PLAN WILL HAVE SOCIAL SECURITY COMPLETELY FIXED BY 2062! NO OTHER PLAN CAN SAY THAT!

BTW, I will be 100 years old when SS is dead! I hope that I can live that long and I will do a jig if I am still able. If I do live that long, you can be confident that I will adequately prepare my finances so that I am not a burden on my children or society.

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

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RANT! What do we do with Social Security? – 1 of 3

RANT! What do we do with Social Security? – 1 of 3

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Social Security is often called the 3rd rail of politics – touch it and you die. While that is probably true, we still need some politicians to step up and commit suicide because it definitely needs fixed.

First, lets discuss why it needs fixed. I am days away from my 45th birthday as I write this and I have no confidence that I will see a dime of Social Security money when I turn 67 in 22 short years. If I do see any money, then it will be a huge burden on the backs of my children and their peers!

Nearly everyone that I talk to on this subject are under the same impression – no money for us or at least not in relationship to the huge amount of money we will have put into the system.

You see, that is the real problem with the system – the money that I put in doesn’t get saved for me, it is almost immediately turned around and given back out to some current retiree (actually due to the way we spend money in the government, it may be going to pay for research on iguanas in Massachusetts). The Social Security system is not a savings account that is setting aside money for my use, but rather it is spent and the money that is supposed to go to me will come from some poor worker in 2029 and beyond.

So now that we know how it is broken, we need to discuss how to fix it. For that you will have to read my next RANT! But first, my infamous all caps yelling RANT!

HEY POLITICIANS – STAND UP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND MAKE THIS A TOP PRIORITY!

More on this topic later!

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RANT! Immigration is broken

RANT! Immigration is broken

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Our entire immigration system in the US is broken! We are addicted to low cost labor available from poorer countries. This has been the case since the birth of the country – why should we expect otherwise now?

I am Irish. When my forefathers came to this country they were likely trying to escape poverty and famine in the old country. When they came here, they had virtually no money and they had to work – in fact they expected to work. That is why they came to the land of opportunity!

Many of the canals of the Midwest and the railroads going west were built with the sweat of Irish labor (along with many other ethnic groups). This is a good thing and was the price of success for entering the land of the free and the brave. This condition is what we need to preserve in this country – hard work and moderately fair pay for those that are willing to do it. Lord, knows that we have enough people in this country that DON’T want to work hard but I will rant on welfare at some other time.

LET THE IMMIGRANTS COME AND WE CAN SEND THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO WORK TO ANOTHER COUNTRY!

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

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RANT! Music formats should get along – 2 of 2

RANT! Music formats should get along – 2 of 2

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So why don’t iPods support WMA and similarly, why don’t other devices support AAC (Apple’s format)?

The why is simple. WMA is the format that many companies (e.g. Yahoo) use in their stores to sell music. WMA is developed by Microsoft and it is a competitor. Is it a better sounding format? For the most part, no it is not – the formats are essentially tied in audio capability for the average listener and the average audio speakers.

So it is a competitive issue. Apple makes the best device on the market with something like 90% market share. They don’t like Microsoft, so they don’t play nice to Microsoft. It definitely is not a revenue issue for selling songs on iTunes since at 99 cents per song, Apple isn’t making a lot of money on the songs. They do make a bunch of money for every iPod that is sold though.

They can still have iTunes be the pre-eminent way of managing your audio and video collection by supporting WMA. I even bet there is code within Cupertino somewhere that has iTunes playing WMA.

Hey Apple: Allow WMA on your iPods!! This doesn’t make any business sense! And while you are at it, allow other companies to license AAC to play on their devices – once again this will promote your iTunes product and store.

I am done with this topic for now but I reserve the right to rant more on it someday.

RANT! Music formats should get along – 1 of 2

RANT! Music formats should get along – 1 of 2

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I will dedicate my first rant to one of my least favorite things to deal with and try to circumvent: music formats.

I spend a lot of time listening to audio. I drive a great deal in my car so I regularly hook up my iPod to my car stereo to listen to music, audible books, and podcasts. I have owned a lot of different portable music devices over the years and the iPod is by far the best designed. At its basic level, it supports AAC, MP3 and WAV format. It doesn’t, however, support WMA. Why?

Why can’t all portable audio devices play all formats? Why can’t my iPod play WMA? Why can’t my daughter’s Creative Zen play AAC?

This makes no sense.

More on this topic later…

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