[Vision2020] Entitlements as Seen from the Top

Tue Aug 26 09:47:34 PDT 2014

I would guess that there is no difference to the bottom line.  There has been no paying down of the national debt over the past 30+ years and I don't foresee any paying down on the debt anytime in the future.  US money policy is handled by the Federal Reserve.  I might care more about this if 1) I had any control whatsoever over the outcome, and 2) reducing payouts to people or increasing taxes on others would save me (or even cost me) even one red cent on my own personal tax bill.

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 09:26:22 -0700
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Entitlements as Seen from the Top
From: ngier006 at gmail.com
To: scooterd408 at hotmail.com; vision2020 at moscow.com

Hi Scott,You could have checked the full article for answers to your questions.  The raw numbers you ask for are there and are pasted below.

Of course the last two are tax breaks and not pay outs, but what is the difference in terms of the national budget and the bottom line?  The tax breaks for the rich could have gone to pay down the national debt, which hurts everyone.

The only item I don't understand is teachers' salaries.  That's really odd to have included those.

NickSome Numbers for the Entitlement’ Bashers

PAUL BUCHHEITNATIONOFCHANGE / OP-ED
Published: Monday 25 August 2014
Americans constantly hear about the threat of "entitlements," which in the case of Social Security and Medicare are more properly defined as "earned benefits." The real threat is the array of entitlements demanded by the very rich. The following annual numbers may help to put our country's expenses and benefits in perspective.
$220 Billion: Teacher SalariesAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there are just over four million preschool, primary, secondary, and special education school teachers in the U.S., earning an average of $54,740.
$246 Billion: State and Local PensionsCensus data shows a total annual (2012) payout of about $246 billion. Only about $100 billion of this came from state and local governments, with the remainder funded by employee contributions and investment earnings. A recent Pew study showed a little over $100 billion in annual state contributions to pensions, health care, and non-pension benefits.
$398 Billion: Safety NetThe 2013 safety net (non-medical) included the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), WIC (Women, Infants, Children), Child Nutrition, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Education & Training, and Housing.

$863 Billion: Social Security

Social Security is the major source of income for most of the elderly, and it is an earned benefit. As of 2010, according to the Urban Institute, the average two-earner couple making average wages throughout their lifetimes receive less in Social Security benefits than they paid in.
$2,200 Billion: Tax Avoidance
That's $2.2 trillion in tax expenditures, tax underpayments, tax havens, and corporate nonpayment. It is estimated that two-thirds of tax breaks accrue to the top quintile of taxpayers.

$5,000 Billion: Investment WealthThat's $5 trillion dollars a year, the annual amount gained in U.S. wealth from the end of 2008 to the middle of 2013. Even though the whole country continued to grow in productivity, most of the new wealth went to the very richest people. According to Oxfam, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.
Another View: Annual Per Capita NumbersThe following are averages, which are skewed in the case of tax breaks and investment income, as a result of the excessive takings of the .1% and the .01%. Details of the calculations can be foundhere.
$8,600 for each of the Safety Net recipients
$14,600 for each of the Social Security recipients$27,333 for each of the Pension recipients
$54,740 for each of the Teachers
$200,000 for each of the Tax Break recipients among the richest 1%
$500,000 for each of the Investment Income recipients among the richest 1%
The super-rich feel they deserve all the tax breaks and the accumulation of wealth from the productivity of others.This is the true threat of entitlement.

On Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 8:56 AM, Scott Dredge <scooterd408 at hotmail.com> wrote:

http://www.nationofchange.org/some-numbers-entitlement-bashers-1408977110

This is just a jumble of numbers that to me aren't even comparable to each other.

Do the top 3 line items represent money being payed by the government versus the bottom 2 being taxes not collected by the government?it would be helpful to see 'total amount of money' in the category being split by 'n' number of people.

What is the relevance with these numbers?  A large pool of consumers are each receiving less money than a vastly smaller pool of producers?

Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:49:52 -0700
From: ngier006 at gmail.com

To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Entitlements as Seen from the Top

From
nationofchange.org, August 24, 2014

The
following are percapita averages, which are skewed in the case of tax breaks
and investment income, as a result of the excessive takings of the
.1% and the .01%.  

$8,600 for
each of the Safety Net recipients
$14,600 EARNED
for each of the Social Security recipients

$27,333
EARNED  for each of the Pension recipients

 $200,000 
UNEARNED
for
each of the Tax
Break recipients among the richest 1%

$500,000
UNEARNED  for each of the Investment Income
recipients among the richest 1%

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