That was awesome :-)
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That was awesome :-)
OMG - I googled Nehemiah Scudder and found out it was Robert A. Heinlein - If this goes on. The story is set in a future theocratic American society, ruled by the latest in a series of “Prophets.” The First Prophet was Nehemiah Scudder, a backwoods preacher turned President (elected in 2012), then dictator (no elections were held in 2016 or later).
How appropriate and something to ponder - Heinlein has been a visionary in his writings and although I doubt that most Amercians would accept a theocrarcy with the present tone and right-wing nuts out there I don't discount anything. Let's all just hope that the Confederate States (Bible Belt) do not control our destiny.
I hadn't heard that name (Heinlien) in decades but I immediately remembered his novel "Stranger in a Strange Land" from the my hippie days.
Peace
Rick Perry stood by his criticism of Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme." He said the entitlement program amounts to a "monstrous lie" for young Americans, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Come on, Please! Who votes for someone that thinks SS is a ponzi scheme, really? Are you sure? Are you sure, sure?
When I hear some of this stuff I feel like a "Stranger in a Strange Land". Let's all raise our hands and say we just hate SS and the wonderful things it does for all Americans.
Are we seriously thinking about electing this person as the leader of the free world?
PEace
Our government would prefer us to believe that SS is a "Pay as you go" system, only superficially related to a classic "pyramid" or "Ponzi scheme". But I gotta admit, I have a hard time telling the difference, even after reading the SSA's web page devoted to the subject. http://www.ssa.gov/history/ponzi.htm
Describing SS as a ponzi scheme by someone running for POTUS is ridiculous. And exactly who is that kind of rhetoric supposed to impress? or even try to defend?
What exactly is the point? To even include SS in the debt discussion is so lame. SS is a social contract with the citizens of this country. It is funded by payroll deductions and only holds non-negotiable government bonds backed by the full faith of this nation. Last time I looked it had about a $2.6 trillion dollar surplus. I might need tweaking but is certainly not a "ponzi scheme". That statement actually sounds like a HS debate subject.
I guess I am just amazed that this kind of statement by anyone with political ambition in this country. Pretty Sad.
Peace
Really? I find the difference rather obvious.Quote:
Originally Posted by alan
{emphasis mine}
I don't know what differences you may see, but it seems fairly straight-forward to me.
The Social Security system is under intense pressure as its method of taking current workers' contributions to pay for current retirees is under strain. And it's that method, which resembles a Ponzi scheme.
I suppose it could be argued that it's not technically a Ponzi scheme because it's not constructed to intentionally de-fraud it's participants, but the likelihood that it will go belly-up at some point, leaving millions of people in the lurch, blurs that simple distinction.