Nothing to do with COVID 19 shutdowns has created an income loss for those living on the government dole. They haven’t missed a check, despite not working. So why are we borrowing $2 trillion from future generations to line the pockets of the least needy? We means-tested the working class, which is fine and necessary, but we used income, not wealth, so naturally a bunch of deadbeat retirees with millions in retirement accounts are getting cash for nothing, while 22 million younger people are out of work and the paycheck protection fund is bankrupt.
I’m pretty sure I know the answer already. Because the Boomer generation’s thirst for raping and pillaging later generations’ futures cannot be sated. They’ll never miss an opportunity to screw the productive members of society, so they sure as hell aren’t going to turn down $1200 that they don’t need and will be dead before repaying.
Is there some other explanation that actually holds any water? Or is it really just unmitigated greed of a specific set of take-all-give-nothings?
Mods: Not sure if this is Pit or GD material, but it’s COVID/stimulus related, so I put it here.
Wow. My understanding is that stimulus payments are going to people based on income, based on their tax returns. Something like a bit under $100,000 for an individual and twice that for a couple, if you’ve got more than that coming in, no stim check. In the extremely unlikely event that SS payments exceed that amount, no check. But in order to get the maximum amount of SS, which is something a little over $3K a month, you’d have to have earned a six-figure income for a lot of years. Most SS payments are way below that and guess what, a lot of boomers never had a six-figure year or anything approximating it. They can’t live on that SS payment so they are still working. Anybody with “millions” in a retirement account is probably not getting a check; some people had six-figure retirement accounts that are now five-figure retirement accounts due to the markets and a big percentage of boomers have NO retirement accounts.
Why are boomers rapacious for taking this, and younger people aren’t? You could be 30 years old, earning $99K/year, still working, and get this. Why blame just the boomers?
I’ve been taking Social Security for several years. It’s pretty minimal since I’ve mostly been self-employed, and often haven’t had jobs that payed into Social Security.
Because of this, I have to continue working on free-lance projects and books in order to have a reasonable annual income. But most of my projects are tourism based, and that source of income has totally collapsed, and is unlikely to come back for a year or more.
I don’t know if I will get a stimulus check or how much it will be, but it won’t come close to recompensing me for the income I’ve already lost this year.
And I’m pretty sure the OP is a massive hypocrite and is also “raping and pillaging” the generations younger than he is.
Oh, fuck you, OP. I’m on SSDI. I live more than 130% below the federal poverty level. “Least needy,” my shiny metal ass. Also, the $1200 is a grant. Nobody will be required to repay it.
Hilarity N Suze has covered the calm, factual answer.
I’m on SSDI myself. Anyone who thinks that amount of income is a living wage can fuck right off. Living wage aside, SSDI doesn’t even cover the additional expenses that come with being disabled.
What about people who have retired and their only income is SS? Still not a living wage.
Right, yes, that’s what I’m saying. The rules say if you’re not making money, you’re getting stimulus, which does nothing to prevent retirees from getting paid. That’s the problem. People who were doing just fine and have lost no income at all are getting money from their kids, tripling the national deficit.
If you’re still working, you don’t need stimulus. If you’re suddenly unemployed, there’s the $600/week federal benefit. Why $1200 more? If they can’t live on SS payments…how were they surviving before!!!
They are if they’re not withdrawing those millions so they can keep their taxable income down. Normally the law says you have required minimum withdrawals, but don’t worry, rich Boomers, Boomer Congress to the rescue! The CARES Act relaxed RMD rules, so now you can sandbag withdrawals for the next 8 months and keep your kids’ cash!
As for millions becoming 5 figures, are you referring to stocks, which are 17% off their all-time highs, or Treasury bills, which are up 10% year to date? Now tell me, which people are likely to be heavily weighted toward stocks? And which demographic has a lot of bonds? Who lost a lot of money and who gained this year, demographically speaking?
Boomers aren’t rapacious for taking this. They’re just rapacious in general, as decades of malfeasance have already laid plain. This is just their latest crime.
If you’re 30 years old and single making $99k, you’re not getting anything. That’s a good thing. That’s the idea.
The other idea, which is always a good idea, is to transfer wealth from old to young, not the other way around. Boomers have done nothing but take. They destroyed social security, the environment, and the economy twice. Now we have to shut down the whole nation to save their lives, but that’s not enough. They want paid while we do it.
10-15% of the country suddenly has no income. They need money. It needs to come FROM Boomers, not going TO Boomers. It’s the least they could do to start repairing all the damage their existence has caused.
Folks getting social security tend to be in the at risk category simply because of their age and many of them have other health related risk factors. Their expenses will have gone up due to the shut down, food delivery charges add up. They aren’t able to spend the time shopping for good deals, they have to pay someone else to shop for them. Many of the community centers and meals on wheels food options have become limited or unavailable. This is causing a hardship for the many who do not have millions in investments. If those few who do have millions get checks, its OK by me. Its a very small amount of money in the big picture and not worth fussing over.
ETA: We are NOT getting a check, and my taxes will be helping to pay for this in the future.
Dear OP
You are aware, I suppose, that we did pay money into the Social Security fund? In my case, for over 40 years. Is it ok with you if I get these tiny little checks every month AND a giant 1200 “stimulous” check on top of it? Or do you want me to give it all back?
I’m all for economic justice and fairness. But I would have more sympathy for accusations like the OPs if I saw any concerted movement towards those aims by younger generations. Boomers make up only 31% of the eligible electorate, and Gen-X and Millennials are each close to that. (I believe Millennials may exceed Boomers at present.) Rants like the OPs are an attempt to scapegoat and avoid blame for the failings of society, when subsequent generations have failed to correct them as well despite making up a majority of the electorate.
The point of stimulus payments is to, y’know, stimulate the economy. It’s actually not designed to help individuals per se.
So giving a one off payment to everyone under a certain threshold encourages spending straight away, and we all know that the poorer people will rub their hands with glee and like, buy stuff, or get their car fixed, or maybe even splurge out and get a script filled that they were unable to before.
In this way do the wheels of capitalism continue to turn.
What was the OP doing if not mocking and insulting all of us who receive SS money? This is what the OP said about me: “Because the Boomer generation’s thirst for raping and pillaging later generations’ futures cannot be sated.” Right.
I’m old enough to collect Social Security, but I haven’t applied because I don’t really need the money now.
However, after reading the OP, I might go ahead and put in my application. Fuck you, Chessic Sense—I’m taking that money and there’s not a goddam thing you can do about it.
