The REAL "Entitlement" Programs Benefit the Rich

[Eddie Haskell]

I love this letter.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/What-are-entitlement-pro-by-Mike-Kirchubel-120924-567.html

I grew up in a working-class town, Fairfield, California, and got my first real job at 13, working after school at Evans & Pyle Hardware, downtown on Texas Street. I have worked ever since, paying into Unemployment Insurance and Social Security since 1961 and into Medicare since it began in 1966. As of 2011, my employers and I have paid $83,971 into Medicare and $253,224 into Social Security so yes, you and your rich friends are correct, I DO feel "entitled" to collect a few Social Security checks before I die. This February, I intend to be on Medicare and part of the 47% of America that you will "not worry about." So here's the deal: You don't worry about me; I don't vote for you.

Mitt, you act like Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Insurance are gifts from you and your wealthy friends to American workers. You're wrong; they are insurance policies that we have paid for with lifetimes of hard work. I am offended by your continual bad-mouthing of American workers and am disgusted by your party's repeated attempts to destroy our nation's vital safety nets.

[dkf]

1. Average Medicare outlay alone is $300,000-$400,000.

That covers everything he put in for social security and Medicare.

[DURHAM D]

2. Could you explain -

are you saying that every Medicare recipient costs the system $300-$400K?

[dkf]

4. The estimated numbers I've seen are $100,000 paid and $350,000-$400,000 received.

This is just the net benefit below.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(United_States)#section_10

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fig._169_-_Net_lifetime_Medicare_benefits.JPG

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fig._170_-_Comparison_of_Medicare_benefits.JPG

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fig._171_-_Medicare_benefits_of_men_at_different_wages_levels_and_retirement_dates.JPG

In 2004, Urban Institute economists C. Eugene Steuerle and Adam Carasso created a Web-based Medicare benefits calculator.[92] Using this calculator it is possible to estimate net Medicare benefits (i.e., estimated lifetime Medicare benefits received minus estimated lifetime Medicare taxes paid, expressed in today's dollars) for different types of recipients. In the book, Democrats and Republicans - Rhetoric and Reality, Joseph Fried used the calculator to create graphical depictions of the estimated net benefits of men and women who were at different wage levels, single and married (with stay-at-home spouses), and retiring in different years. Three of these graphs are shown below, and they clearly show why Medicare (as currently formulated) is on the path to fiscal insolvency: No matter what the wage level, marital status, or retirement date, a man or woman can expect to receive benefits that will cost the system far more than the taxes he or she paid into the system.

In the first graph (Figure 169) we see that estimated net benefits range from $108,000 to $240,000 for single men and from $142,000 to $277,000 for single women. Generally, the benefits are progressive. Note that women usually get higher benefits due to their greater longevity.[93]

In the next graph (Figure 170) we see a comparison of net Medicare benefits for a single woman versus a married woman (or man) with a stay-at-home spouse. The single woman can expect substantial net benefits, ranging from $142,000 to $277,000, However, these benefits are dwarfed by the estimated net benefits of her married counterpart. Due to a "spousal benefit" built into the Medicare formula, the married person will get net benefits ranging from $393,000 to $525,000. The impact of the spousal benefit can disrupt the intended progressiveness of Medicare benefits. For example, we see in Figure 170 that the married worker earning $95,000 is estimated to get net benefits of $393,000, while the single worker earning $5,000 is estimated to get $277,000. In either case, the benefits paid to the worker greatly exceed the taxes paid by the worker (and pose a financial burden on the system); however, the high-earning married worker gets a better "return," so to speak, on each tax dollar paid into the system.[93]

The last graph shown (Figure 171) compares the net benefits of a single man retiring in 2005 with the net benefits of a man retiring in 2045. It is clear that the future retiree is likely to get a far greater net benefit than the current retiree (and is likely to be a greater burden to the system).[93] Interestingly, in the Social Security system we see the opposite pattern. In that case, the future retiree can expect a much smaller net retirement benefit than the current retiree can expect.

About 27.4 percent of Medicare expenditures for the elderly are spent in the last year of a person's life.[94]

[DURHAM D]

11. So it looks like your $300-400K comment

may only apply to one group, non-working spouses. Do you think that benefit should be canceled?

[Eddie Haskell]

3. Don't forget the magic of compound interest,

Adjusted for inflation, $1,000 in 1966 is worth $6,643 today.

[dkf]

6. My post above adjusts contributions and payments for constant dollars.

[Eddie Haskell]

7. That's not a ROI.

That's just even money.

[DURHAM D]

9. If I understand that charts correctly -

The first $1 I paid in in 1967 is still worth just $1 in 2012.

[porphyrian]

5. ! n/t

[HiPointDem]

8. kr: particularly their input on the legislation that shapes the economic box which allows capital

to operate freely and labor to operate only within a narrow little box.

[Eddie Haskell]

10. And the defense budget

Which has become an offensive budget designed to support our imperialist ventures. The 1% get access to the spoils, the 47% get to die.

[HiPointDem]

12. +1