It was YOUR money to begin with!!!
Hidey Ho Stemicans!!! I posted a blog Yesterday about how MILLIONS of people are "Checking out" of the ""Normal"" society that we're told... And expected to live in (https://steemit.com/steemit/@goathollow/people-are-checking-out-by-the-thousands)
Anyhow a Good friend of mine here on Steemit remarked that they felt they were on "The Government Teat" because they were on Social Security.
I replied that it was their money to begin with, and they were just getting some of it back.
I thought I would expand on that remark, explain myself a little bit, and give you some background.
Society expects us to "Work for the man" all of our lives. We're told that the way we must live is to take what we can get, make sacrifices, and scrimp so that we can save a little for our "Retirement years".
Here's the long and short of it.
I'm going to use the word "Productivity" here to describe the fruits of our labors. Our Blood, Sweat, and Tears if you like.
It's the added value that our labor provides to whatever product we work on. We work 40 hours a week (If we're lucky to get more than part time.) Our employer (The Man) takes a large portion, or even the vast majority of our "Productivity" from us. Some of us are able to start our own businesses and side step this larceny, but then we may... Fall into the trap of taking from those who work for US. I work part time right now, for a small town "Mom and Pop" Restaurant. My employers pay me just marginally above minimum wage. Even if I worked full time for them, it wouldn't be a living wage. (My Wife and I get by - by not having any debts.) My employer remarked once that they couldn't afford to give me a raise.... They leave next week for an extended Caribbean cruise, and I'll be scrounging up all of the loose change in the house to buy a gallon of milk. Essentially my "Productivity" is being taken from me to fund this.
So our employers take from our Productivity. It's a form of larceny, that we've been convinced that we have to accept.
(Let me ask you a question.... The Gubernment is telling us there is "Full Employment". They're propagating the idea that there are more jobs out there than you can shake a stick at. If that is the case... Why hasn't your employer been clamoring to keep you as a good Employee, offering you raises, or treating you like a human being??? It's because employment is NOT full!
If they calculated the "Unemployment rate" like they used to do it, it would be the same as it was at the height of the Great Depression!!!
Sure you see businesses with a "Now Hiring" sign in the window, but they still want to pay you slave wages!!!
Meanwhile those at the top of the employment pile get filthy rich.
They can get away with this because there are more than enough people wanting a job at the door!!! The Gubernment is ignoring over a HUNDRED MILLION people that they say have "Given up looking" It's called the "Labor participation rate".... Google it up!!!
Next in line is the Gubernment itself!!!
#1 Air Transportation Taxes (just look at how much you were charged the last time you flew)
#2 Biodiesel Fuel Taxes
#3 Building Permit Taxes
#4 Business Registration Fees
#5 Capital Gains Taxes
#6 Cigarette Taxes
#7 Court Fines (indirect taxes)
#8 Disposal Fees
#9 Dog License Taxes
#10 Drivers License Fees (another form of taxation)
#11 Employer Health Insurance Mandate Tax
#12 Employer Medicare Taxes
#13 Employer Social Security Taxes
#14 Environmental Fees
#15 Estate Taxes
#16 Excise Taxes On Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans
#17 Federal Corporate Taxes
#18 Federal Income Taxes
#19 Federal Unemployment Taxes
#20 Fishing License Taxes
#21 Flush Taxes (yes, this actually exists in some areas)
#22 Food And Beverage License Fees
#23 Franchise Business Taxes
#24 Garbage Taxes
#25 Gasoline Taxes
#26 Gift Taxes
#27 Gun Ownership Permits
#28 Hazardous Material Disposal Fees
#29 Highway Access Fees
#30 Hotel Taxes (these are becoming quite large in some areas)
#31 Hunting License Taxes
#32 Import Taxes
#33 Individual Health Insurance Mandate Taxes
#34 Inheritance Taxes
#35 Insect Control Hazardous Materials Licenses
#36 Inspection Fees
#37 Insurance Premium Taxes
#38 Interstate User Diesel Fuel Taxes
#39 Inventory Taxes
#40 IRA Early Withdrawal Taxes
#41 IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
#42 IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
#43 Library Taxes
#44 License Plate Fees
#45 Liquor Taxes
#46 Local Corporate Taxes
#47 Local Income Taxes
#48 Local School Taxes
#49 Local Unemployment Taxes
#50 Luxury Taxes
#51 Marriage License Taxes
#52 Medicare Taxes
#53 Medicare Tax Surcharge On High Earning Americans Under Obamacare
#54 Obamacare Individual Mandate Excise Tax (if you don't buy "qualifying" health insurance under Obamacare you will have to pay an additional tax)
#55 Obamacare Surtax On Investment Income (a new 3.8% surtax on investment income)
#56 Parking Meters
#57 Passport Fees
#58 Professional Licenses And Fees (another form of taxation)
#59 Property Taxes
#60 Real Estate Taxes
#61 Recreational Vehicle Taxes
#62 Registration Fees For New Businesses
#63 Toll Booth Taxes
#64 Sales Taxes
#65 Self-Employment Taxes
#66 Sewer & Water Taxes
#67 School Taxes
#68 Septic Permit Taxes
#69 Service Charge Taxes
#70 Social Security Taxes
#71 Special Assessments For Road Repairs Or Construction
#72 Sports Stadium Taxes
#73 State Corporate Taxes
#74 State Income Taxes
#75 State Park Entrance Fees
#76 State Unemployment Taxes (SUTA)
#77 Tanning Taxes (a new Obamacare tax on tanning services)
#78 Telephone 911 Service Taxes
#79 Telephone Federal Excise Taxes
#80 Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Taxes
#81 Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Taxes
#82 Telephone State And Local Taxes
#83 Telephone Universal Access Taxes
#84 The Alternative Minimum Tax
#85 Tire Recycling Fees
#86 Tire Taxes
#87 Tolls (another form of taxation)
#88 Traffic Fines (indirect taxation)
#89 Use Taxes (Out of state purchases, etc.)
#90 Utility Taxes
#91 Vehicle Registration Taxes
#92 Waste Management Taxes
#93 Water Rights Fees
#94 Watercraft Registration & Licensing Fees
#95 Well Permit Fees
#96 Workers Compensation Taxes
#97 Zoning Permit Fees
From what your Employer leaves you..... You will be taxed at least 50% of what's left!!!
So let's concentrate, and turn our attention back to Social Security.
My Wife and I have been paying into the Social Security System (Ponzi Scheme) for a total of 75 years!!! You pay 6.2% of your income into this scheme, and another 6.2% is taken from your employer. Despite all of the Conspiracy Theorist crap you can find on the Internet.... This is NOT voluntary, and you can't "Opt out"!!! If your Employer doesn't pay up, eventually men with guns will come and take it!
The Politicians in Washington DC have stolen this money over the years, in order to buy military boondoggle gadgets, $5,000 hammers, and "Bridges to nowhere." Now they're telling us that the whole thing is going broke. If my Family's Social Security taxes had been put into even a low yielding investment over the years We'd be worth over a $Million!!!
If my Employers hadn't had to pay their share, I'd been able to demand a raise from them over the years. (Imagine how much 6.2% of every Dollar you've ever made in your life is.) I've been reading that they are considering a raise in the "Retirement age" now to perhaps 70 years. They say it's necessary to maintain Social Security's "Solvency". If the Politicians were forced to pay back what they've "Borrowed" from OUR money, there wouldn't be any problem!!!
So think of it this way..... It's YOUR money. It was taken or stolen from you at gun point. It's been stolen to pay for $5,000 hammers..... You'll never live long enough to get it back!!!!
OK, I know this is a long posting, so I'll make one more quick point. Out of the little you have left once your Employer, and the Politicians get done ripping you off.... You've been duped into believing that you must contribute to the economy, by living in a box made out of Sticks & Bricks. This is what you're expected to do. It's what people do. You're so brainwashed into thinking this, that to consider any other life makes you a "Nut Job"!!! Buy or rent a box to live in, and work your Ass off to fill it with crap you don't need off of Wal-Mart's shelves. You'll fill it so full you'll need to get another little box (Self Storage) just to hold more overflow crap made in China.
The Box you live in, will consume on average 42% of what you have left from your Productivity after the Gubernment, and your Employer are done thieving. Even then... Even if you don't have a Mortgage (Let's not get into this rip off for now,) You will still have to pay the Gubernment rent once a year (Property tax) on YOUR OWN HOUSE!!
From the fruits of your labors (Your Productivity) your Employer takes half. From what's left, the Gubernment takes half of that. From the little you have left over... You'll spend 42% keeping the "Box " you live in...... And you wonder why it's so damned hard to get by anymore!!!
Been a while since I visited you and this post indirectly effects me.
Your headline "It was your money to begin with"...
I have been off work for almost two years. I left my job mainly due to a disability and we decided that me being home was financially something we could do. I didn't immediately apply for SSDI, but have paid into it since I was 14, I am 49 now. Earlier this year I applied and was, of course, denied.
Yes, appeal in the process.
But I have to say. I spent about 25 years paying into the SS system. I had about 9-10 years being a stay at home mom. And I keep thinking.. I paid into the system. It was my money. Who in the judicial system has the right to tell me I am unable or able to work.
I am deaf in one ear, loss of hearing in the other is almost gone. Wear a hearing aid now, but doesn't really help. I have major bouts of vertigo that come on at the snap of a finger and will last, at times, for days
I am limited on driving, etc.
but the government has the right to say... nope. You can't have your money.
Seeing your list of taxes and fees we pay, I am surprised ANYONE has money left for survival and bills, let alone fun.
My Wife is now on SSI as well. (Multiple Sclerosis) I hope you can get approval @Goldendawne!!! One of the things we learned is that you can't make it happen without a lawyer. ( I can give you the name of the ones we used, but we're still paying them off at $25 a month.) It usually takes 2 appeals before you get approval, but you'll get a retroactive check back to the day you first applied.
Very well said, everyone should be talking about this daily. I'm Canadian but now live in Panama where none of the above exist ( almost ). Living on a lot less ( But Living :-)
Cheers My Friend, now following for more of your fine content.
We're planning to retire to full time RV life so we can move quickly if need be.... Will spend about half our time in Ajijic Mexico.
I've done plenty of RV time, but my favorite is Sailboats. Eliminates the need for much fuel. all you need to eat is a fishing rod and some snorkel or diving gear.
nasty people can be found at sea, but far more on land :-)
Life is Good
This makes me so mad! Because it is all true. We work so hard and give up so much to have so little. I am growing tired at 61 and have definately lost some of my enthusiasm for the grind. Been working since I was 14 years old. Sometimes 2 or 3 jobs just to get by.
Lucky to have this little piece of paradise. Keep bills to a minimum. Hope they haven't bankrupted the system before I am 62.
Wish I had some assurances, but think about it every day.
Thanks for a great post. 🐓🐓
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Thank you geke.... Go for it!!
I'm on social security disability because of a cumulative back injury from too much heavy lifting over a period of time. I had a pretty comprehensive medical paper trail through the V.A. medical system, so when I applied in 2014, I was approved the first time around. I understand that getting approved the first time is not all that common, but I guess the V.A. had enough of a medical history with me to prove my claim. I also think that my age at the time of application, 59, was perhaps a factor. If my back wouldn't have gotten so bad as to end up on disability, I was going to take early retirement at age 62 anyway. It would have been less money per month than I get now, but I would have taken it anyway. It would have probably been somewhere around 800 dollars a month at age 62, but I'd have taken it. A part time job would probably have been necessary to live any better than pure survival mode, but that would have been acceptable. At this point, a part time job would be difficult for me, they don't let you sit down when you need to take the pressure off your back when you're flipping burgers or greeting people at the walmart entrance.
Being a Vet does have advantages. In your case it probably gave you preferential consideration in getting approved.
I suppose that is a possibility.
Thanks to the D.C. den of thieves, we all are poor or on our way to being so. They won't rest until every ounce of juice is sucked out of the common man.
The sucking sound is loudest in Washington DC
Indeed!
Hey!
I am happy for you that @ocd found your post and hopefully that gives you something to be positive about.
And while there is a lot of what you say that is valid and that I think you are 100% right about. There is a bunch that I THINK you take a bit too far.
That restaurant may not pay as much as 'would be nice'. But them taking a once in a lifetime or even an annual vacation does not make them the bad guys. It is their neck on the line to open and keep that business solvent. Over 50% of all restaurants close and lose money to their owners/investors.
Granted, there are businesses and HUGE corps that seem to reap huge rewards from the work of those they employ and the hands of those they sell to. But usually that only amounts to $10's of dollars per year per person involved.
That means, that as much burden of responsibility is on the common, hard working, job holding folks as much as it is on the big corps. I don't know if we have gone past the point of no return...... or if things are just as changeable now as they were 50 years ago. But it is generations of Americans that have ALLOWED these burdens to be layed upon us. Social Security could have been repealed years ago. But the retired, voting AARP populace were never willing to give it up once it was in or within their reach.
As for "It's my money, I paid into it" that is sorta true. Many, many Americans HAVE and WILL take out 5X and 10X more from the SS system than they EVER paid in INCLUDING and Accounting for ....lets say... a 5% or 10% per year growth on investment.
And many Americans, had they been left with investing that money themselves, would not have handled it more responsibly. I mean to say, had they kept that extra 12% a year, would have used it to live more expensively than to have saved it for retirement. And then that begs your question.... should we have to save for retirement? lol how do you answer that? A fact of life is, you have to work to eat. Well.... that is sorta a fact. Many live on the system by working the system. They don't work 9-5, but they make every welfare appointment, and are more than happy to give their government workers an earful if things are threatened to be cut.
The fact is, we are in a broken system. Always have been. We have paid, so we want our slice of the pie too.
Me? I have paid into SS more than most. But I am not going to expect or depend on it a single dime. I count it as one more TAX. IF it is there when I retire.... okay fine. But I am working toward my own retirement plan now. Some of us will fail at that. Sometimes that failure is outside of our control. There was a time when fellow family members and charity picked up the slack. Usually they were much more efficient than any government entity because there was no incentive to give out wastefully. .......anyway, I wax long winded.... I desist.
This is all just my opinion.... nothing personal. And an atypical comment for me, since usually I am more about the work of keeping Steemit clean from abuse.
And again, though I disagree with some of your concerns and arguments, I am glad that ocd found your post. I checked just now and see that you have written many good posts in the past! Take care and I hope things get better as you work to improve your situation and life!
Please keep on Steeming on!
I came here to say the same thing. It is rarely the small businesses that are taking advantage of the system. It is the governments plus the corporations that are taxing and regulating everything so much that there isn't much left for the rest of us.
Thanks for resteeming @Amber
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Yeah taxes are pretty much infuriating. Gas taxes went up $0.10 a month ago a gallon and I almost choked. They never go back down either.