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<body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'>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.<br><br><div><hr id="stopSpelling">Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 09:26:22 -0700<br>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Entitlements as Seen from the Top<br>From: ngier006@gmail.com<br>To: scooterd408@hotmail.com; vision2020@moscow.com<br><br><div dir="ltr"><h1 id="ecxart_headline" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:48px;font-weight:normal;"><font face="georgia, serif">Hi Scott,</font></h1><div><font face="georgia, serif">You could have checked the full article for answers to your questions. The raw numbers you ask for are there and are pasted below.</font></div>
<div><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif">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.</font></div>
<div><font face="georgia, serif"><br></font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif">The only item I don't understand is teachers' salaries. That's really odd to have included those.</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif"><br>
</font></div><div><font face="georgia, serif">Nick</font></div><h1 id="ecxart_headline" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(51,51,51);line-height:48px;font-weight:normal;"><font face="georgia, serif">Some Numbers for the Entitlement’ Bashers</font></h1>
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<font face="georgia, serif">PAUL BUCHHEIT</font></div><div style="padding:0px;color:rgb(79,79,80);text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold;line-height:16px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><a href="http://www.nationofchange.org/some-numbers-entitlement-bashers-1408977110" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(79,79,80);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">NATIONOFCHANGE</a> / OP-ED</font></div>
<p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;"></b></font></p><div style="padding:0px;color:rgb(107,107,107);line-height:16px;"><font face="georgia, serif">Published: Monday 25 August 2014</font></div>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><span style="font-weight:normal;">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</span><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span><b style="padding:0px;"><i style="padding:0px;">annual</i></b><span style="font-weight:normal;"> </span><span style="font-weight:normal;">numbers may help to put our country's expenses and benefits in perspective.</span></font></b></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">$220 Billion: Teacher Salaries</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">According to the <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#25-2000" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a> there are just over four million preschool, primary, secondary, and special education school teachers in the U.S., earning an average of $54,740.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">$246 Billion: State and Local Pensions</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><a href="https://www.census.gov/govs/retire/" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Census data</a> 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 <a href="http://www3.sanjoseca.gov/employeeRelations/retirementbenefits/PEWTheTrillionDollarGap.pdf" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Pew study</a> showed a little over $100 billion in annual state contributions to pensions, health care, and non-pension benefits.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">$398 Billion: Safety Net</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">The 2013 <a href="http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1258" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">safety net</a> (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.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"></p><div style="padding:0px;clear:both;"></div><div style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);font-style:italic;"><div style="padding:0px;">
<div style="padding:0px;"><div style="padding:0px;"><div style="padding:0px;"><div style="padding:0px;"><div style="padding:10px;border:1px solid rgb(215,215,215);background:rgb(244,242,232);">
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-style:normal;padding:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);"><font face="georgia, serif">$863 Billion: Social Security</font></b><br></p></div>
</div></div></div></div></div></div><BR><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><a href="http://www.ssa.gov/news/press/basicfact.html" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Social Security</a> is the major source of income for most of the elderly, and it is an earned benefit. As of 2010, according to the <a href="http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412660-Social-Security-and-Medicare-Taxes-and-Benefits-Over-a-Lifetime.pdf" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Urban Institute</a>, the average two-earner couple making average wages throughout their lifetimes receive less in Social Security benefits than they paid in.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">$2,200 Billion: Tax Avoidance</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"></p><div style="padding:0px;">
<span style="font-family:georgia,serif;">That's</span><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/views/2013/01/07/tax-avoidance-rise-its-twice-amount-social-security-and-medicare" style="font-family:georgia,serif;padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">$2.2 trillion</a><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;"> </span><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;">in tax expenditures, tax underpayments, tax havens, and corporate nonpayment. It is estimated that two-thirds of tax breaks accrue to the</span><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2012/04/13/opinion/sunday/0415web-leonhardt2.html?ref=sunday-review" style="font-family:georgia,serif;padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">top quintile</a><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;"> </span><span style="font-family:georgia,serif;">of taxpayers.</span><br>
</div><BR><p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">$5,000 Billion: Investment Wealth</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">That's $5 trillion dollars a year, the annual amount <a href="https://publications.credit-suisse.com/tasks/render/file/?fileID=1949208D-E59A-F2D9-6D0361266E44A2F8" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">gained</a> 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 <a href="http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-working-for-few-political-capture-economic-inequality-200114-summ-en.pdf" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">Oxfam</a>, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><b style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">Another View: Annual Per Capita Numbers</font></b></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">The 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 found<a href="http://www.usagainstgreed.org/20140825_Analysis.txt" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(209,63,41);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">here</a>.</font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$8,600</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Safety Net recipients</b></font></p><p style="padding:0px;">
<font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$14,600</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Social Security recipients</b></font></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$27,333</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Pension recipients</b></font></p>
<p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$54,740</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Teachers</b></font></p><p style="padding:0px;">
<font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$200,000</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Tax Break recipients among the richest 1%</b></font></p><p style="padding:0px;">
<font face="georgia, serif"><b style="padding:0px;">$500,000</b> for each of the <b style="padding:0px;">Investment Income recipients among the richest 1%</b></font></p><p style="padding:0px;">
<font face="georgia, serif">The super-rich feel they deserve all the tax breaks and the accumulation of wealth from the productivity of others.</font></p><p style="padding:0px;"><font face="georgia, serif">This is the true threat of entitlement.</font></p>
</div></div></div><div class="ecxgmail_extra"><br><br><div class="ecxgmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 8:56 AM, Scott Dredge <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:scooterd408@hotmail.com" target="_blank">scooterd408@hotmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="ecxgmail_quote" style="border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.nationofchange.org/some-numbers-entitlement-bashers-1408977110" target="_blank">http://www.nationofchange.org/some-numbers-entitlement-bashers-1408977110</a><br><br>This is just a jumble of numbers that to me aren't even comparable to each other.<br>
<ul><li>Do the top 3 line items represent money being payed by the government versus the bottom 2 being taxes not collected by the government?</li><li>it would be helpful to see 'total amount of money' in the category being split by 'n' number of people.</li>
</ul><br><br>What is the relevance with these numbers? A large pool of consumers are each receiving less money than a vastly smaller pool of producers?<br><br><br><br><div><hr>Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 11:49:52 -0700<br>From: <a href="mailto:ngier006@gmail.com" target="_blank">ngier006@gmail.com</a><br>
To: <a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com" target="_blank">vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>Subject: [Vision2020] Entitlements as Seen from the Top<div><div class="h5"><br><br><div dir="ltr">
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><span style="font-weight:normal;">From
<a href="http://nationofchange.org" target="_blank">nationofchange.org</a>, August 24, 2014</span></span></font></font></font><br>
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><span style="font-weight:normal;">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%. </span></span></font></font></font><font color="#000000"> </font><br>
<p style="font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;">
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><b>$8,600</b> for
each of the <b>Safety Net recipients</b></font></font></font></p>
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><b>$14,600</b> <b>EARNED</b>
for each of the <b>Social Security recipients</b></font></font></font><br>
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><b>$27,333
EARNED </b> for each of the <b>Pension recipients</b></font></font></font><br>
<font color="#000000"> </font><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><b>$200,000</b></span></font></font><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><span style="font-weight:normal;">
</span></span></font></font><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><b>UNEARNED
</b></span></font></font><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><span style="font-weight:normal;">for
each of the </span></span></font></font><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><span style="font-style:normal;"><b>Tax
Break recipients among the richest 1%</b></span></font></font></font><br>
<font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="4"><b>$500,000
UNEARNED </b> for each of the <b>Investment Income
recipients among the richest 1%</b></font></font></font><br>
<font color="#000000"> </font><br>
<br>
<BR>
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