My father makes more than 4 times he did with his military retirement

[Ichingcarpenter]

than when he had to do the work and then retired....... he does get Cola's and he's 94 now, gets free medical, check ups etc.

MY social security ...... not so good.

[itsrobert]

1. And he served

Put his life in harm's way. Gone from home and missed key moments in the life of a father. First steps, first words, graduations, birthdays, etc. 94? So when he was in the military that was over 50 years ago? I would hope he makes at least 4 times as much as he was making in 1961.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. His pension helps keep me alive in small measures

I served too being a teacher and he agrees I served in my way to my nation, my 401 pension got sniffed, now my social security and medicare are in peril.

He does believe we need socialize healthcare.

I'm glad he gets what he gets out of the federal pie, just saying entitlements are such a obtuse word.


As a full bird he does well and yes he helped write the original nuclear test band treaty.
His COLAs are what all need in SS... and he does collect that too.

[Philippine expat]

11. Your Dad only gets COLA on his military pay if SS gets COLA

that year. We have gotten neither SS or Military Retirement Cola the past couple of years

[Aerows]

17. I understand the dismay

with Obama. I certainly feel it.

That's all I can say, my friend.

[Aerows]

14. I will never begrudge those of our society who put themselves in harms way

for my safety. That includes firefighters, military members and policemen.

I wanted to add that because so many people are so quick to criticize. These folk do a hard job and I respect then for doing it.

[Aerows]

15. Agreed

I wish our men and women weren't in combat in such situations, but they are the finest among us, and I don't begrudge them a penny.

[hedgehog]

2. Don't forget the wild inflation we went through in the 70's.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. He makes much more than a full bird colonel serving now

which I'm fine with, the point of my post is not my father's deal but entitlements, social security, the military and health care. I only wish we treated all citizens with the socialism that the military provides.

I wouldn't be able to survive without his economic help and I'm thankful.

[dkf]

4. Our parents were the lucky ones.

Us...not so much. We don't have the advantages they did. Those wars destroyed the manufacturing capacity of our major rivals and that was the basis for the great benefits they got. We on the other hand have the rest of the world to compete with.

[akvo]

8. Not quite

I'm guessing you are young and don't know any better.

Europe and Japan were destroyed in WW2, but then we rebuilt them. Remember the Marshall Plan? In the 1970's, Japan ruled the manufacturing world. "Made in Japan" was on everything, just like "Made in China" is on everything today. Japanese steel was outselling US steel. Japan was the land of consumer electronics. Businesses sent people to Japan to learn their manufacturing techniques so they could emulate Japan's success.

Everything people say today about China, was said about Japan in the 1960's and 1970's.

I agree with you that we don't have the advantages that our parents did. They worked hard and depended upon themselves. They were self-reliant and self-sufficient. They were also polite. Today, too many people are lazy, greedy, self-centered, know-it-alls who want everything handed to them on a silver platter.

[akvo]

5. SS sucks as a retirement plan

If you want a real eye opener about social security, use a financial calculator to compute your true rate of return.

I got on a detailed actuarial site to find my expected life span (84), got my past SS contributions from my SS statement and assumed max contributions for the rest of my working life (I pay max SS tax now), selected the retirement year and the SS payments (again from my SS statement), assumed 3% annual inflation, put it all in Excel and computed my return. It was -0.1%.

I would be better off just putting that money into US treasuries. The govt gets to use my money until I retire, I get the safest investment in the world, and I get a better return than SS.

But SS isn't a retirement plan, its a ponzi scheme run by the govt.

[mysuzuki2]

7. people who make these kinds of statements are ignorant

of what SS does. SS is not solely a retirement program. It also provides disability and life insurance benefits for surviving children and spouses.To truly compare if you are going to truly compare SS with private investing for retirement, you would have to replace those benefits. If you did so, you would have much less to invest in a retirement plan. SS actually compares pretty well when you consider the program as a whole. SS has been an enormously successful and beneficial program. The US would be much the poorer without it. And no, it is not a Ponzi scheme.

[Frustratedlady]

9. I remember several wives who lost their husband/father and had to

struggle to raise their kids because they didn't have SS benefits at the time. That has been a big help for women whose husband was killed or died at an early age.

On the other hand, I've seen abuse of the SSI program. Some of those recipients shouldn't have been approved for benefits.

[mysuzuki2]

16. I will tell you 2 stories about families whose father/husband died young.

one was in the 1920s before SS. The mother could not afford to raise all the children so the youngest was placed in an orphanage. He was placed with a foster family where he was abused. He was my father. He grew up without a family and was totally lost when confronted with one of his own making. The emotional pain of being abandoned affected us all as well as him and in some ways continues to this day. He was a good man but was emotionally crippled all his life. Fast forward 30 years. A friend of mine lost her father at an early age too. Fortunately SS survivor benefits were by that time available. She and her sisters received them for years. Her mother worked as a grocery store cashier. It was a struggle for them and not easy but they made it as a family. They were able to stay together.The difference was the SS payments. My friend was able to grow up in a family unlike my dad. This is ONE of the things SS does - it saves families! Perfect program? Of course not! What is. But our country would be far the worse without it.

[akvo]

10. Let me reiterate for the slower people among us

Let me reiterate for the slower people among us. SS as a RETIREMENT PROGRAM sucks. SS is advertised and sold as a retirement program. Its a lie.

SS life insurance is a joke. A one time payment of $255. wow. What a deal. Let me run out and cancel my private life insurance policy.

SS survivors benefits are a rip-off. Go look up the payments.

SS disability is a joke. Many people who truly deserve them cannot get them. I have 2 friends, one has MS, one was born retarded, both lived on their own and were productive until their mid 40's and became too disabled to work or live alone. Neither could get SS benefits despite appeals and pleas. Both had to hire lawyers and voila! only 2 years of legal work and they had their SS benefits. The benefits aren't that great.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TBF]

13. Capitalism itself is a Ponzi scheme - so why would you expect it to be any different?

And don't even get me started on the casino that is Wall St.