Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   economy--again & again !!! Date:   4/15/2015 5:40:36 PM

I guess my preference for grants to states is that at least if you live in a corrupt, incompetent state you can move to another one.  Not so with the federal government. The only escape is to another country and renouncing your citizenship, something that is happening in record numbers these days. 

I just cannot see how we can avoid some dramatic and not so dramatic changes to SS.  It is not sustainable as it is currently structured and if it were run by a private entity they would all be in prison.  For sure the retirement age needs to be gradually increased to reflect the greater longevity of Americans.  Nothing we can do about those retired and approaching retirement but for younger people the best thing we could do is move them out of the system altogether by allowing them to invest a portion of their FICA in other plans and forfeit the other portion.  f I were 25 I would do so in a heartbeat.  We will also have to means test SS payments which sucks for those of us that have contributed over our lifetimes and also were disciplined in saving for retirement but that's better than SS going away altogether or the taxes being raised significantly to cover the payouts.

As for federal agencies and their elimination, looking at why they were created is a good first step but the problem is that most of them, with some notable exceptions, have failed miserably and in many cases have made things worse.  The Dept of Education may be the poster child for this although they are not the only one.  But the chances of any politician of any stripe having the fortitude to make these hard choices is somewhere close to nil.  We are already approaching the status of Europe where a govt job is like winning the lottery.  It is much different than when you entered that arena where the trade off was lower wages in exchange for good benefits and a decent retirement.  Its now upside down and I blame the cabal between the govt unions and politicians and their money laundering scheme.

I do believe that if all these changes were actually made our economy would come roaring back.  I also believe the chances of them happening are somwhere between slim and none.