tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post5959360841753265848..comments2024-03-28T07:05:50.332-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Sam Bennett's Fiscal PoliciesBernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-40402459356899304272008-05-09T14:00:00.000-04:002008-05-09T14:00:00.000-04:00On Social Security, easy answers - 1. Lower the FI...On Social Security, easy answers - <BR/><BR/>1. Lower the FICA withholding percentage and increase the ceiling on which it applies. Do the math so that sufficient funds are raised to keep Social Security solvent.<BR/><BR/>2. Set an income limit above which you cannot collect. Let's get the people who don't need the $$ out of there.<BR/><BR/>As it is currently structured, it's a regressive tax - not fair to the lower income people that Social Security is designed to protect.<BR/><BR/>Also, the plain fact is there is no way to fund Social Security to cover all the boomers as they retire. We have to preserve a system that allows us to help those who need help.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-19285964255991327572008-05-09T13:01:00.000-04:002008-05-09T13:01:00.000-04:00"Question: How can you feel qualified to work on o...<I>"Question: How can you feel qualified to work on our nation's debt problem when you amassed huge debt in previous failed campaigns?<BR/><BR/>"I don't have debt. I view it as an investment. When we buy a home and take out a mortgage, that's not a debt. That's an investment. When we borrow money to pay for education, that is an investment.""</I><BR/><BR/>But you don't have property, a marketable degree, or in-office experience to show for it. Does that make it a failed investment?<BR/><BR/>Does accumulating additional debt from the second campaign to pile on top of the debt from the first go along with being "fiscally conservative"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-57724760177171277752008-05-09T10:35:00.000-04:002008-05-09T10:35:00.000-04:00Pardon the broken link above. Here is the link for...Pardon the broken link above. Here is the link for the <A HREF="http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/004704.html" REL="nofollow">Census data. </A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-8967190480397956972008-05-09T10:29:00.000-04:002008-05-09T10:29:00.000-04:00"This is an example of the kind of false choices R...<I>"This is an example of the kind of false choices Republicans give us so they can privatize social security. In truth, our social security transfers money from those in earning years to those that aren't. It's a very elegant system. If administrations would stop looting it, it would look a lot better. Even with the looting, it works just fine, thank you very much."--Sam Bennett</I><BR/><BR/>There was no "example of a false choice" in Mr. O'Hare's question. The question was:<BR/><BR/><I>"On Social Security, what exactly is your better plan? How do you plan to make a finite amount of tax dollars stretch to cover the huge number of baby boomers in the way you are suggesting you can, and still have money left for the next generations?"</I><BR/><BR/>Ms. Bennett tells of her ideal situation for Social Security <A HREF="http://www.bennett2008.com/go/on-the-issues/social-security-and-medicare%3a-the-core-of-the-american-dream/" REL="nofollow">here,</A> which states:<BR/><BR/><I>"We must protect and reaffirm the historic commitments of Social Security and Medicare. There is no place for the false promise of privatization. Social Security and Medicare should continue to be a promise of dignity from one generation to another, not a Wall Street windfall." </I><BR/><BR/>But what exactly is her way of protecting Social Security for all Americans? A look at <A HREF="" REL="nofollow"> Census data</A> clearly shows that <B>as the oldest baby boomers become senior citizens in 2011, the population 65 and older is projected to grow faster than the total population in every state.</B> Furthermore, <B>Pennsylvania is one of 26 states projected to double their 65- and-older population between 2000 and 2030, and is also projected to have more people 65 and older than under 18 by the year 2030.</B> <BR/><BR/>This is not a partisan ploy, this is population and mathematics issue, and her answer to Mr. O'Hare's question does not jib with her own assertions within this posting (section on inheritance tax) that she is a "fiscal conservative."<BR/><BR/>Since Ms. Bennett says she is not a "tax and spend Democrat," how does she plan to cover or elderly over the long haul without overburdening their children with taxes? I would appreciate a specific, fiscal answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-87082672710436911562008-05-09T00:27:00.000-04:002008-05-09T00:27:00.000-04:00I didn't like her last response; she didn't answer...I didn't like her last response; she didn't answer the question. <BR/><BR/>She can call it whatever she wants, but it's still a debt.Blah Societyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13140454713775283491noreply@blogger.com