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Thread: Is anyone here receiving a govt. pension, social security or support payments from govt?

  1. #1

    Is anyone here receiving a govt. pension, social security or support payments from govt?

    If so... would you mind telling us what it is (pension, benefits, SS, Medicaid/care, or whatever) - and how do you feel about receiving these benefits in light of the current economic situation (govt. is broke).

    A honest discourse on this from both sides needs to happen and it would be beneficial to see different viewpoints on the receiving end vs. the paying end. I know alot of younger folks will say "it's not my problem" - but it is whether they like it or not - and they getting saddled with a future that doesn't look so rosy.



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  3. #2
    Does VA comp count? Hubby served 20+ years - gets disability but not concurrent receipt.. still being screwed out of his earned retirement and he gets SSDI. Long story there involving 4 separate DD214's and some sealed records.. but I digress.
    100% permanent and total disability - 23 documented service connected disabling conditions with the VA.
    how do we feel about it? It was part of his contract for joining the service.. and they're really not living up to their part of the deal. He's got his masters in EEE from MIT and would like to work but cannot.
    He'd like to be able to say he's medically taken care of but he's not. He had a temp filling put in in July.. still has not been able to get an appointment for the permanent filling.
    ok.. I'll stop or this could turn into a full on morning rant
    Disclaimer: any post made after midnight and before 8AM is made before the coffee dip stick has come up to optomim level - expect some level of silliness,

    The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are out numbered by those who vote for a living !!!!!!!

  4. #3
    Never even used the GI bill.

    I disliked "Our-Government" so much when I got out of the service I swore then and there I would do everything in my power to not cooperate, support or even acknowledge them in any way.

  5. #4
    Opal,

    VA comp counts and while I sympathize with your husbands situation - I wonder what your thoughts are from a RP perspective on govt. spending vs. the debt situation we are in. I don't know what type of contract is signed upon enlistment but the fact is that the US is broke and borrowing money to pay Vet's benefits and other govt. programs.

    Trying to look at this problem from all sides and yours is on the extreme end where a disabled vet should be supported but only in terms of a reasonable ability to pay. I can't see how payouts can possibly go up from here in terms of the value of today's dollars as we are broke (more than broke - in debt up to our grandkids eyeballs).

    My mother-in-law receives SS surviving spouse benefits in addition to her own and honestly she doesn't need it. She uses it to go out to eat, buy clothes and travel. She feels entitled to it and I think she shouldn't get it. Another person I know retired from the military at the age of 49 - gets a nice pension but works at a full time job. If we are broke - why should these people get anything? Know this is not a popular side to take... but we're fu#&ing broke folks.

  6. #5
    I work for local government so I get a paycheck on the taxpayers and may one day get a pension (I have been paying for one but have doubts about it ever materializing). Local government has some debt, but here generally operates in the black.

    I don't get any Federal or State benefits. But my general opinion about Federal benefits is that you should take what you can get while you can because the ship is going down and you can't stop it. Time to grab what you can and make a life raft.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton

  7. #6
    isn't that in direct contradiction to the RP methodology?

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Acala View Post
    I work for local government so I get a paycheck on the taxpayers and may one day get a pension (I have been paying for one but have doubts about it ever materializing). Local government has some debt, but here generally operates in the black.

    I don't get any Federal or State benefits. But my general opinion about Federal benefits is that you should take what you can get while you can because the ship is going down and you can't stop it. Time to grab what you can and make a life raft.
    Agreed.

    My wife and I have combined received at least 50 k via college and other things, however within the first 2 years of work, all of that money and then some was taken back from us.

  9. #8
    you paid 50k+ back plus regular taxes?



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  11. #9
    the more money you get from the government... the quicker the government will go bankrupt. the sooner the bankruptcy happens, the better IMO. hopefully that'll stop the wars, stop the police state, etc.... and get the country back on the right track

  12. #10
    These threads always make me laugh.
    War; everything in the world wrong, evil and immoral combined into one and multiplied by millions.

  13. #11
    Ron Paul was asked if he receives social security. Here is the video clip.


  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Adrock View Post
    Ron Paul was asked if he receives social security. Here is the video clip.

    RP also received 30 years of congressional pay he didn't really need....
    Last edited by klamath; 01-02-2013 at 10:24 AM.
    War; everything in the world wrong, evil and immoral combined into one and multiplied by millions.

  15. #13
    i was in the military 8 yrs ( started at $85/mo , $200/mo when got out ) , then active reserves/national guard 5 yrs. went to jr college at nights under gi bill while working .

    worked goverment defence plant 30 yrs very high tech electronics , between my employer and my money put about 250k into social sec , compound the interest on the contrib's and would be about $300k at time of retirement .



    retired with no retirement from employer , just profit sharing plan . at 62 started getting ss ( and spouse ) , about $1800/mo , it's been 10 yrs , so if the ss account had 300k when i started drawing ss , after the 1st year 300k-21k , then about 280k add interest ,
    after drawing for 13 yrs i figger i now have got back all i put into ss plus what my employer put in ( i figger it to be part of my salary while working there ) .

    from now on i guess you could say i am using money the people working now are putting into ss, for sure not as good as congressman get.

    legacy costs are going to break all goverments --city-county-state-federal

    my solution , military --stay 25yrs for 50% retirement , for every year in a haz zone get 2 yrs credit
    goverments --firemen/policemen change to 25 yrs to retire

    above is just some numbers to chew on , i have no regrets .

    one think about getting older other than getting more ss $ is its more easy to shoot your age playing gold , i have done it 5 times .

    been lucky , never used medicare/cad
    Last edited by ILUVRP; 01-02-2013 at 10:26 AM.

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by cbc58 View Post
    you paid 50k+ back plus regular taxes?
    No. The amount me and my wife have paid in taxes from just 2 years of work has exceeded those benefits (most of which derived from college grants).

  17. #15
    I am a retired Marine. I do collect a pension for my 20 years of service. I do not feel guilty in receiving the money I get. This was an informed choice I made. I took 20 years of being shipped away from my family and earning less than I could have in the private sector in part because of the total package I was offered which included medical care and a pension.

    I would like to see the military move more towards a 401k type program so members who serve less than 20 years could get something towards their retirement.

    in the past several years I have been using a portion of my retirement to support the liberty movement so it is all good.
    Insanity should be defined as trusting the government to solve a problem they caused in the first place. Please do not go insane!

  18. #16
    I have no problem with people collecting on contracts they have made with the government. That doesn't mean you can't work to eliminate programs or change how the government contracts in the future.



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  20. #17
    direct question - the US govt. is running a $1.6 trillion yearly deficit. should not all payouts be reduced across the board for everyone receiving govt. $$ to bring this to $0 ? and we haven't even started to get into the 50-70 trillion in unfunded liabilities promised...

    to other posters who say "take what you can now" - how is the system crashing faster going to change things for the better? it's just more debt being pushed off that has to be paid eventually - either through inflation, a lower standard of living or higher taxes. you think govt. is going to get smaller? is there ANY time in history where a currency collapsed and the govt. didn't get bigger and make life worse for it's citizens? this is like eating sugar for years and the dentist telling you to stop or your teeth will rot and you'll need dentures - then they do -- and you find out dentures suck. it's not sunshine and roses coming.. it's misery.

  21. #18
    "I have no problem with people collecting on contracts they have made with the government."

    We are the govt. We are broke. Are you advocating we put our kids and grandkids on the hook to pay for things when they have no say in the matter?

  22. #19
    I thought that a major reason the Roman Empire collapsed was because of overspending and inflating it's currency.

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by cbc58 View Post
    "I have no problem with people collecting on contracts they have made with the government."

    We are the govt. We are broke. Are you advocating we put our kids and grandkids on the hook to pay for things when they have no say in the matter?
    So what exactly are you sugesting people that are now too old to return to the workforce do? You seem to be passing a lot of judgement?
    War; everything in the world wrong, evil and immoral combined into one and multiplied by millions.

  24. #21
    My husband gets unemployment, and when that runs out we'll probably go on welfare. I am going to get back what I paid in, and then some hopefully, and are teaching our kids the ropes too. I don't really care about your kids.

    I didn't have the option not to participate in these programs, and I'm certainly not going to be guilted into funding them, either.

  25. #22
    Here's how I feel about the veterans benefits. When people enlist in the armed services, the contract says.. paraphrased, give us a career and we'll take care of your medical for life and they pay into retirement each paycheck... at least they did while hubby was in service. 1975 - 1998. They were contracted for those benefits, and earned them. This is a contractual issue and the govt should live up to it.

    Illegal immigrants did not pay in.. have any contracts with the govt and ALL programs that benefit these people should not exist.

    Welfare recipients that just live off the government.. same thing.. the programs should not exist.

    The government being broke cannot and should not be blamed on spending for vets.

    Veterans are not welfare recipients. Disabled due to service to this country (misguided as it is these days) should be on the top of the list for spending, however, they are not. The appropriations for veterans has to be passed each year. The system over spends on the bureaucracy and the benefits don't trickle down properly.

    Hubby was in 5 major military *accidents/incidents* got shot 3x, had a hand severed and reattached - RPG injury, and his last one was the one that removed him from recruiting poster picture status - resulted in a leg amputation. Some of his service was national guard duty so that he could attend graduate school at the same time early in his career. He earned his retirement, and has never gotten a dime of it. One of his periods of service has not been actually counted towards retirement/concurrent receipt) because *we* were in a place in the world that remains undocumented (shhh)
    He does get VA comp - barely enough to live on and he would LOVE to work but is unable (would get fired for attendance issues mostly) He might get 4 good hours a day before health issues creep into every day life.

    I am sure there are vets that are abusing the system as there are for every govt program but those that actually served and had the rest of their lives sidetracked due to that service, deserve every cent.
    Disclaimer: any post made after midnight and before 8AM is made before the coffee dip stick has come up to optomim level - expect some level of silliness,

    The problems we face today exist because the people who work for a living are out numbered by those who vote for a living !!!!!!!

  26. #23

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Adrock View Post
    I have no problem with people collecting on contracts they have made with the government. That doesn't mean you can't work to eliminate programs or change how the government contracts in the future.
    Folks, it's done. There isn't going to be any intentional, orderly, planned elimination of government programs or spending. They just had a knock-down fight to the finish about whether or not they would just reduce the rate of increase of spending! And they agreed not to! They are not EVER going to cut spending by any significant amount. They are going to run the bus off the cliff. Ron Paul tried. We tried. Other people tried. We didn't make it and now it is too late.

    It still makes sense to support liberty as a political movement, but not because there is any hope of turning this around. Rather, the hope is in laying a foundation for what gets built up out of the ashes. And that includes supporting political leaders that will be around to fight for freedom during reconstruction.

    Once the bus hits the bottom of the ravine, then we can start picking up the pieces.

    But for now, you should do exactly what the elite insiders are doing - grabbing every remaining shred of wealth you can get your hands on and trying to position yourself to survive what is coming.

    That's my advice, for whatever it is worth.
    The proper concern of society is the preservation of individual freedom; the proper concern of the individual is the harmony of society.

    "Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow." - Byron

    "Who overcomes by force, hath overcome but half his foe." - Milton



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by cbc58 View Post
    We are the govt. We are broke. Are you advocating we put our kids and grandkids on the hook to pay for things when they have no say in the matter?
    I agree. Let's change it for the future. Past contracts need to be honored though. The only legal way to get out of past contracts is to go though bankrupcy. I would recommend focusing on cutting welfare for individuals and corporations (no contracts) and bringing home the troops. That would get you most of the way where you want to go budget-wise.

  30. #26
    Veterans aren't welfare recipients, Social Security isn't welfare, yada yada yada.

  31. #27
    In the past I've collected unemployment. People kept asking me how I can collect something like that and believe in what I do. I tell them that's the system, I don't agree with it but I will take what I can with what's available to me. Remember Ron's earmark talk? It's the system we operate in & he's just trying to return as much money as he can to the people. He's talked about taking all your deductions & tax breaks you can, even if you don't believe in them. Also, I don't blame the banks for taking bailout money. I'd do the same thing. It's our pussy-ass government that doesn't respect the rule of law & citizenry who won't replace it with something more accountable.
    “...& they did it to make us safe?!? The media just pounds it in that without this type of operation we as Americans won’t be safe. And yet the exact opposite is happening.” Ron Paul on the killing of Soleimani

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by klamath View Post
    RP also received 30 years of congressional pay he didn't really need....
    ....and that of which he partially returns back. Something many other congressman can't say they've done.

  33. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by klamath View Post
    So what exactly are you sugesting people that are now too old to return to the workforce do? You seem to be passing a lot of judgement?
    How about live with less. How about have their family support them rather than the govt. (I am only talking in terms of receiving more out than paid in - i think every penny paid in should be available).

    What do you suggest we do given the fact that we are beyond broke ?

  34. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by cbc58 View Post
    What do you suggest we do given the fact that we are beyond broke ?
    Fire every federal employee whose job is not authorized in the constitution and provide them with zero unemployment benefits.

    Stop all undeclared wars and eliminate all foreign aid.

    See where we are in a year...

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