Draft report of the US fiscal commission

[GGT]

SS should never replace a complete retirement. Such a society would be disgusting as everyone would become utterly dependent on government.

Is your main complaint teh gummint being used for safety nets, or people relying on those safety nets? Maybe you should stop and think about why millions more are surviving with UI or SS benefits than originally intended. Those librul sssocialist programs are what's keeping our society slightly civil, during The Great Recession.

Still waiting for your suggestions of alternatives.....

There used to be pensions, there are 401k, private savings, real estate assets, part time work and when times are difficult family, friends, charity and the church.

Those pensions are underfunded or broke, call in PBGT to salvage the pieces? 401-Ks and private savings lost billions in the market, too bad for those retiring during the bust, apply for Medicaid? Part time work for millions means minimum wage with no benefits, apply for food stamps? Pile 2 families in one home, is it handicapped accessible, who stays home to care for granny? Will your church pay for her hip replacement costs and nursing care, how about Medicare?

When all else fails, line up at the church pantry for some canned beans and a bag of rice, thank the gummint for subsidizing Food Banks.

SS has a role, sure since everyone pays into it they should get something out of it. But to say that SS = retirement is just plain wrong.

You should be glad SS wasn't privatized.

Hate on teh gummint programs all you want, but saying family/friends/charity/church can adequately fill the gaps for MILLIONS of unemployed (or poor, ill or elderly) is delusional. Balancing our budget shouldn't mean dismantling federal safety nets, but rumor has it Texas is considering opting out of Medicaid and other federal funding. Guess that's one way to get rid of poor people, huh.

[Being]

And the breaking news story of the day is, Fed predicts weak recovery for several years




For anybody interested in what the projection for actual unemployment is, just multiply the numbers in the chart by 2.

[GGT]

But at least they predict low inflation.

Maybe the Fed has it backward --- with super low interest rates, they're killing workers and savers, just to help out the credit/debt/banking industries? People will work longer, retire later, and spend less, meaning less job openings and fewer new jobs.

[wiggin]

That doesn't make any sense.

[GGT]

That doesn't make any sense.

What doesn't make sense? That I say the Fed's dual mandate is quite possibly pitting one goal against the other?

[Loki]

Nearly everything in that post was the opposite of the truth...

[GGT]

Nearly everything in that post was the opposite of the truth...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-middle-class/

Also, labor participation is something economists track. That includes near-retirees, and the whole youth demographic. Where are the NEW jobs? Are the open positions from growth or attrition, being filled with new workers? Or are businesses merging and being more productive with fewer employees?

[Loki]

So because we're not getting new jobs now, the low interest rates both A) kill jobs, and B) are intended to kill jobs? Taking notes from kathaksung? Would this be a good time to tell you that correlation isn't causation and that we can't judge motivations from outcomes?

[GGT]

So because we're not getting new jobs now, the low interest rates both A) kill jobs, and B) are intended to kill jobs?

Low interest rates are only helping bankers and investment firms, when they borrow cheap from the Fed and buy Treasurys. But that won't make the banks suddenly solvent. They've had trillions "injected" and/or "toxic assets" taken from their balance sheets, but they're still basically broke. Not broke enough to forego golden parachutes or million dollar bonii, though.

Low interest rate loans for the consumer sounds good, but banks aren't lending and people aren't borrowing. Why would they loan money to average people who don't have job security? Who buys a house when they're worried about their job or retirement?

Plenty of news outlines the near-retiree's choice to stay at work; companies not hiring new workers, letting positions absorb internally to attrition. Same news shows retirees looking for part-time work to patch their busted retirement savings. Low interest rates hurts savers and retirees who live on fixed income. How can you dispute that?

Taking notes from kathaksung? Would this be a good time to tell you that correlation isn't causation and that we can't judge motivations from outcomes?

Don't start that tactic, Loki. It doesn't work.

[Lewkowski]

GGT low interests rates = gas for the economy (and bubbles/inflation) while high interest rates put the breaks on the economy (and also fights inflation). Sure there a bazillion other variables but all things being equal that is what occurs with the Fed setting interest rates. If it costs less to borrow money more people will borrow money and more goods are purchased, more capital investments are made ect ect.

Now weather or not the Fed *should* set rates and create market distortions is another matter...

[GGT]

GGT low interests rates = gas for the economy (and bubbles/inflation) while high interest rates put the breaks on the economy (and also fights inflation). Sure there a bazillion other variables but all things being equal that is what occurs with the Fed setting interest rates. If it costs less to borrow money more people will borrow money and more goods are purchased, more capital investments are made ect ect.

An economy based on credit debt, and bubbles? All things are not equal. Neither are manipulations.

The Fed wants to encourage borrowing money, so consumers will buy goods on credit, because we've got a consumer-based and debt-based economy. But that's exactly why we're in our current quagmire. In essence, they're working from the top down, favoring trickle down profits from lenders to borrowers. But they've conflated small business operators (who need temporary borrowing to make pay roll or pay workers with commercial paper) with all the millions of small consumer buyers. That's just stupid. They're punishing both the small business and the small buyer, and in the end, it's only the huge conglomerates that benefit from these low interest rates.

Now weather or not the Fed *should* set rates and create market distortions is another matter...

Whether is not weather. Than is not then. Just a couple of things that do matter, when words matter.

[Loki]

Low interest rates means small businesses get loans with lower interest rates...I have no idea how you come to the conclusion that small businesses want high interest rates.

[GGT]

Low interest rates means small businesses get loans with lower interest rates...I have no idea how you come to the conclusion that small businesses want high interest rates.

Reading comprehension isn't your specialty, is it?