ah the tolerance for opposing views!

Webster I'll tell you a story about someone I know personally, me. Back in 1986 the corporation I worked for was offering disability insurance. I was building my house and I decided to take out a policy in case something happened so I wouldnt lose my home. Paid premiums on it since 1986. Almost 2 years ago I woke up one morning extremely sick and to make a long story short that most of you already know I have Lupus. Had 3 different Doctors fill out my insurance disabilty forms and the disability insurance company worried the immortal hell out of me calling the house all the time and continuously sending more forms. Here's the neat little fine print I didnt know about. After I was out of work 6 mos the insurance company had their team of lawyers file for Social Security Disability Benefits for me. Three months later I was drawing Social Security Disability. There was a little fine print in my policy that said if I was drawing Social Security Disabilty the insurance company owed me nothing. I paid all those premiums for 20+ years and for what? I could have put a few thousand back for my own lawyer and the first 6 mos and come out way ahead. Webster you want privatazation, be careful what you wish for. Webster I use to be a lot like you, hell I even voted for W his first term. The last several years of my life I've been screwed royally by private health care and insurance corporations and the corporation I worked for for 37 years. Has the goverment ever screwed me, not really. I can accuse the goverment of wasting my money on wars and ideas I dont agree with but I pay my taxes and in return I recieve valuable services. I thought I was paying insurance premiums all these years so if something happened to me I wouldnt be a burden on the taxpayers. Little did I know the private insurance company was screwing me and the goverment. Thats privitazation at its finest. Webster I wouldnt wish what happened to me on anybody, I hope you never have to get sick to find out what I found out. Your private insurance and health care corporations thet you rally around will SCREW YOUR LITTLE TINY ASS INTO THE GROUND if they ever get a chance.

yep, lots of people lose a lot in a divorce, thats too bad, guess your ex was a republican, eh?
at least you got the trip of a lifetime out of the deal, course you coulda paid a lot more capital gains taxes  on the sale of your house and not had the trip.

Midnightrider; i'm sorry for the spot you're in. I know someone with Lupus and its a difficult thing to live with and I honestly wish you the best of luck and hope you get as much out of those days when you're feeling good as you can.

One point I would offer is do you honestly think a healthcare systems run by the Fed would have treated you any differently? What, the IRS doesn't sue anyone? Private companies forgive more debt than the IRS so what makes you think the Feds aren't going to screw you into the groundthe same way? In fact, worse since they have the ultimate hammer. The IRS is first in line in a Chapter 11 or 7. A government run healthcare system will be your worse nightmare. Why do most people on Medicare have Medicare supplement insurance? Because it doesn't cover as much. The same thing will happen if general health insurance is handled the same way. I'm not saying private healthcare is perfect and I'm not saying cases don't happen like yours. I'm saying disaster awaits if we turn this whole thing over to Unlce Sam. Don't do it.

This ole conservative doesn't rail on about SS, because I believe in it, and plan to use every legal maneuver I can think of to enhance my benefits.

We have to remember that SS was, when enacted in the early 1930s, intended only as a supplement to one's retirement.  But that was a different cultural time.

It was an era when families lived together, and the elderly were cared for by their children and grandchildren.  Yes, The Waltons show was more realistic than it was fiction.  Generations either lived together, or next door to each other.

But that was then, and now is now.  Generations are spread all over the continent and regardless of the morals, or the "I want to care for ole Dad" factor, for most families, it's physically impossible.

My only real beef with SS is in how is was conceived in a day of stable population replacement, when current taxes into the fund paid for those receiving benefits.

What upset the financial apple cart was my generation, the Baby Boomers.  We are such a bulge in the population curve that just wasn't even thought of in the 1930s.  And, we didn't replace ourselves.  In fact, the whole system worked nicely when all of my generation was working and contributing money to the SS fund, since there were so many of us putting $$ in for the far fewer of our parents who were retired.

But now, it's reversed - fewer workers paying in, and the huge numbers of Baby Boomers about to start receiving benefits.

That's the problem - I wish the fix were as easy as describing the cause of the coming real problem with the solvency of SS.

I read just recently that SS does in fact pay for it's self,the problem is some one keeps borrowing it,whe fever that is they need to pay it back.

I agree with most of what you say Jerry,But you must use the old noggin to find some thing rewarding to do when you retire,.At the moment I look around at all my prodjects and wonder how I found time for work.
Helping my brother in law build hot rods, Making my little Miata the best looking 93 on the planet. Painting in the winter etc;
I retired when I was 62 but kept on working,because I worked for minimum wage I could draw SS for 7 months of the year, I was a chauffeur and lived on tips,so when I quit work at 65 , because I kept on working my SS went up just like I had worked until 65,but the great thing was I knew about that ,so after I had fully retired for about a year I got a check in the mail for $6,000 from SS and my monthly
pay when up $200 a month.
Before you get much older Jerry,request an interview with a SS agent,
he or she will give you nothing but good advice,they really do care,they are well mannered and generally nice people.
But do request an interview,so much better than just walking in.
Oh Jerry you remember we talked about my private insurance ? it had gone up to $219 a month, well it just went down to $108 a month because I quit smoking,and I had lung x rays to prove it.