so, we are officially over the “cliff” now.

doesn’t anybody else wonder… if the politicians are so keen on cutting benefits, why don’t they start with their own? for instance, they could voluntarily give up their cushy pensions and health plans and just collect social security and medicare like the rest of us working schlubs.  i wonder how much money that would save?

That’s a good idea, why don’t we hear more citizens protesting that type of economic waste?

skuld - 01 January 2013 01:03 PM

so, we are officially over the “cliff” now.

doesn’t anybody else wonder… if the politicians are so keen on cutting benefits, why don’t they start with their own? for instance, they could voluntarily give up their cushy pensions and health plans and just collect social security and medicare like the rest of us working schlubs.  i wonder how much money that would save?

I think there is obviously a certain benefit if those who make the decisions are in the soup with the rest of us. I agree with the medicare part but most people with good jobs have some sort of retirement plan and SS is just supplemental. Asking these men and women to rely entirely on SS for their retirement could result in two undesirable outcomes.  First you may get an even smaller pool of people willing to do this job which can only result in poorer results down in washington. Secondly you may have our representative making decisions about medicare that make it far too generous which could put us all deep in the hole.

doesn’t anybody else wonder… if the politicians are so keen on cutting benefits, why don’t they start with their own? for instance, they could voluntarily give up their cushy pensions and health plans and just collect social security and medicare like the rest of us working schlubs.  i wonder how much money that would save?

That’s just the tip of the iceburg Skuld, and not just the franking priviledge and the ability to arbitaraily raise their own salaries (it’s a pretty sweet gig) there are others:

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/11/23/7495/congressional-perks-lawmakers-most-surprising-benefits

Cap’t Jack

mid atlantic - 01 January 2013 10:15 PM

That’s a good idea, why don’t we hear more citizens protesting that type of economic waste?

Planned Obsolescence is not economic waste?

Economists ignoring the depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods is not condoning that economic waste?

On a global level isn’t that more important than financial mismanagement by any government?

How many hundreds of millions of cars are there in the world.  They are added to GDP of some country when they are purchased.  But all machines wear out and therefore depreciate.  Shouldn’t that be subtracted from somewhere?  Who does that anywhere in the world?  But making and selling more cars is economic growth.  How does that affect CO2 production?  What is they actually know how to make cars that last 30 or 40 years?

And then they cannot even suggest that 700 year old double-entry accounting be mandatory in our schools.  But if people understood accounting they would better know when the government was talking bullsh!t about the money.

Education is maintaining the approved level of ignorance.

http://www.spectacle.org/1199/wargame.html

Soon to be 14 years old.

psik

psikeyhackr - 02 January 2013 09:52 AM

mid atlantic - 01 January 2013 10:15 PM

That’s a good idea, why don’t we hear more citizens protesting that type of economic waste?

Planned Obsolescence is not economic waste?

Economists ignoring the depreciation of Durable Consumer Goods is not condoning that economic waste?

On a global level isn’t that more important than financial mismanagement by any government?

How many hundreds of millions of cars are there in the world.  They are added to GDP of some country when they are purchased.  But all machines wear out and therefore depreciate.  Shouldn’t that be subtracted from somewhere?  Who does that anywhere in the world?  But making and selling more cars is economic growth.  How does that affect CO2 production?  What is they actually know how to make cars that last 30 or 40 years?

And then they cannot even suggest that 700 year old double-entry accounting be mandatory in our schools.  But if people understood accounting they would better know when the government was talking bullsh!t about the money.

Education is maintaining the approved level of ignorance.

http://www.spectacle.org/1199/wargame.html

Soon to be 14 years old.

psik

I dunno about your particular theory but I do have an open mind on this one. I’m cooking my dinner tonight and my neighbours are cooking theirs. I have a feeling that if we all bought each others dinners rather than eating our own that the GDP would go up. That’s how it seems to me in a mainly service economy. It seems that lots and lots of unnecessary activity is seen as good for the economy, whilst most of it is really getting us nowhere and wearing us out.

Stephen

so, we are officially over the “cliff” now.

Better read the fine print. All the government did was push it back by two months.