The SS cut-off year (age) is 55. Who will

[babylonsister]

this affect? We're now 49-53 respectively. Don't know how that will wash with us, but they've been batting around the year 2009 for starters.
I REALLY want this to be defeated for a lot of reasons. What's your reason and will you be effected should shrubbie get his way?

[n2mark]

1. I'm not affected

but do not understand the cut off age.

[goddess40]

22. do you really thing you won't be effected?

If you live in this country and will or are already receiving SS you will be effected eventually. You might not be in the first round but they will get you sooner or later. The only way to not be effected it to be independently wealthy or die before they change your benefits.

[demosincebirth]

2. Im not affected...

whats the cut off age?

[Cleita]

3. Shrubbie has been able to ram throught the worst legislation

ever and this probably won't be any different. What we need is opposition leadership on the scale of Martin Luther King to derail this asshole. Tiny Barbara Boxer can't do it by herself. Who is going to show some real leadership in our party?

[Colorado Blue]

5. I was born in 1950. DAMN. This REALLY needs to be

defeated but not just for me or for any individual. It's the totality of the system that has worked so well for so many, which MUST be defended.

AND those tax cuts need to go. There's absolutely no reason why giving rich people tax cuts when the nation is awash in ever-growing debt - and WAR I must add - needs to continue.

Frankly I think it's obscene.

And it's obscene that Bushco is trying to balance its budget on the backs of the old, the sick and the poor, while destroying the environment in the process.

[tblue37]

34. I was also born in 1950.

[whistle]

4. My reason is really quite simple, I do not trust George Bush or

...the republicans in congress. They simply do not represent the interests of working class Americans.

[mike_c]

6. I'll be fifty in a couple of months, which means, if I get this right...

...that I'd be in for near maximal shafting under Bush's "plan." Too old to invest enough for sufficient time to offset the inevitable benefit cuts, not old enough to be protected from them.

one edit: Never mind that I've paid into SS from every paycheck since I was 15!

[babylonsister]

16. We're roughly in your situation as well.

I guess someone must suffer, so that's why I'm hoping this stupid idea won't see the light of day.

[RamboLiberal]

30. I was born in 1952 (52 yrs old) - so I'm among the screwed as well

But I've figured since this idiot was selected I was screwed.

Also since this idiot in chief's been in office my IRA and 401k's have lost or flatlined.

If things were only half as good as they were under Clinton I'd be doing great.

And remember the jerk is also going to raise retirement age.

Remember how Kerry and Dean were pilloried by the "Repuke media" for even suggesting a decade ago+ that retirement age might have to be raised?

I too don't trust this Pretzeldent and this congress to "reform" SS.

If this damn thing gets through - my only fun might be to see my Bush voting colleagues bitch!

[Robbien]

7. There was a documentary of Russian old women who were

having huge problems living on the pensions. Because of inflation their pensions were almost worthless and these women were standing on street corners selling their possessions to get a little money to get through the week. Every time I hear Bush say privatization of Social Security, the picture of the old Russian women comes to my mind.

[Cleita]

9. Why would Bush care about old women, or old men?

He doesn't even care about the young people he sends to war.

[Liberal In Texas]

8. I've heard born in 1949 or before, not effected. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. That sucks

I was born in 53. But the hubby was born in 49 so I had better hang on to him so he can take care of me in 10 years. LOL

[Robbien]

11. That is right, they want to reduce benefits to most of the baby boomers

Anyone not 55 or older will get their benefits cut by at least 40%. So everything they have already put into FICA for two, three and four decades is cut in value by 40%.

[kcass1954]

12. I'm screwed!

I'm 50 now. We've planned our retirement based on the SS statements that I've received telling me what my monthly benefit will be. Hubby is covered under CSRS and has been putting the max into his thrift plan since that was started. I've got a 401k, but came out with nothing after a divorce 13 years ago, so that's not nearly as large as I'd like it to be.

I don't make enough money to put much more in the 401k and don't have
enough time left to do too much anyway. We don't live extravagently, but with 2 kids (one starts college this fall), we're stretched.

But, we figured we'd be okay. Until * dropped the bomb.

[yorkdane]

13. I don't like this "plan" either

and not just because I was born in 1950. The link below will take you to an article on DU's home page that provides a good explanation:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1216799

There are two methods that would eliminate the problem:
1. Rolling back the Buschco tax cuts due to expire
2. Raising or eliminating the current $90,000 ceiling on
SS contributions
I think Senator Kennedy and a few other Democrats have explained this but I could not find a link...

[Colorado Blue]

14. We Boomers have one thing going for us - and that's the

sheer size and relative political importance of our generation.

If we hang together on this I really don't think the politicians can risk passing this awful "plan".

This may be a chance for Democrats and (sane) Republicans to start moving back together. The politics of "divide and conquer" have worked for the neocons up to a point but this might - hopefully - be the point at which they meet their doom.

I hope.

Perhaps contacting old schoolmates, etc., to get a grassroots generational movement might be a start?

[Cleita]

15. You guys better do it or find yourselves screwed out of your

pensions that you deserve.

[babylonsister]

17. Not only boomers, but older people are

alarmed, too. My dad is 78. He's enjoying his SS, and wonders what effect SS reform will have on Medicaid/Medicare, which he relies on for a major part of his healthcare.

[RebelOne]

18. Luckily, I am not affected.

But if this overhaul goes through, I really feel sorry for all you are will fall in the under 55 age bracket and for my children and grandchildren.

[goddess40]

31. Don't count on it - they just aren't starting with your group

once they hack at the under 55's they will move on to the over 55's, divide and conquer

[Walt Starr]

19. You, like me, will get screwed royally in his plan

You are in the demographic that will be most screwed by the Bush plan. We lose more than 40% of what we've put in over our lives.

[DistantWind88]

25. How do you figure that?

Unless you know exactly how long you are going to live, you don't know how much, if any, you are going to "lose."

[Walt Starr]

26. Based upon the averages

40% is what the 40-54 crowd will lose out on the average.

[DistantWind88]

27. Lose?

WRT to what? To the amount they WOULD have received based on today's numbers?

[Walt Starr]

28. Yes n/t

[DistantWind88]

29. Can you show something

that gives me those numbers? Thanks!

[Liberal In Texas]

20. This is breaking a promise that we have had since we were 16...

...or so when we started working.

I'm 55, so presumably not effected, but my wife is 3 yrs. younger. How can you plan on anything right now with this potential black hole looming?

All of the boomers need to start a campaign of writing to legislators (even if they're repugs) and let them know we're not happy. And that we're not going to vote for them if they support this idiocy.

(You don't have to tell them you wouldn't vote for them anyway, how do they know?)

[PennyK]

21. Well, I'm 54

..but I don't think anything is gonna come of this. Nobody in Congress is willing to give up being reelected to support this idiotic non-plan.

[Greybnk48]

23. My husband and I are not affected

But I'm against it because SS is there to help everyone not just ME and MINE. I want everyone to be ok. * thinks that the bulk of the babyboomers will say, whew! we're ok, fuck the rest of you. But the bulk of the babyboomers (I hope) do not have that mindset. At least the ones I know. Divide and conquer will not work here.

[Liberal In Texas]

24. Agreed.

I can just hear repukes I know saying something to the effect, "Why should you care? You're 55."

That's the difference between them and us.

[Tactical Progressive]

32. This is very good news

I was hoping they wouldn't be able to spin this as a pain-free exercise in market privatization. If they were able to do that, you could easily expect a large number of Americans to support it based on political principle. That principle being they don't give a shit about anything but their own pocketbook.

Now, maybe not. Though there are still plenty of kool-aide wingers who would fuck themselves over just to be the dominant ideology, you've got to believe that this would give pause to alot of the greedheads on the margins.

[420inTN]

33. Which changes? Privitization or Payout Schedule?

I'm 35, so the payout schedule changes will affect me.

however, the privitization changes won't, as long as it is voluntary.