Say It Isn't So!

A certain investing company which I respect very much has said that in the coming time of economic collapse (the inevitability of which is something I take as essentially self-evident), the social safety net as we know it in this country will disappear.  (See excerpt below.)  What would replace it would be a "means-tested" system. This must not be allowed to happen!  For what this would invariably mean would be unimaginable political turmoil as legislators debated over merits and details, with millions of Americans left in limbo uncertain about their status.  The programs being referred to specifically include Social Security and Medicare.  These remain programs paid for by the workers of this country.  That is the only reason they are derisively called "entitlements."  People do deserve the money they have worked for!  That is, they are entitled to it.  This is elementary justice.

Elementary justice is not something economists are much concerned with.  They aren't even concerned with the nation, being consumed totally with wealth creation and preservation.  It is this mentality which must be opposed.  There is absolutely no reason to tamper with people's retirement, the funding of which they have worked so hard to secure.  

Excerpt from Aftershock Investing*

Question:

... how will we pay for the uncounted liabilities such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security?

Answer:

 ... ultimately what will happen with both the debt and most unfunded liabilities is that they will be repudiated when the government decides it can't afford to keep printing money to pay for them. Entitlements like Social Security and Medicare will be replaced by a means tested welfare and healthcare system, with lower government expenditures and funded by heavy taxation on those relatively few with assets and income to tax.

*For useful economic information and analysis see their web site at:

www.aftershockpublishing.com