A real buzzkill (seriously; the environment dudes)

[wufwugy]

Now... the Exxon thing, I don't know about the not paying any taxes thing, do you have any information to back that up?

ThinkProgress » ExxonMobil paid no federal income tax in 2009. (Updated)

It's not just Exxon. It's most megacorps getting away with very little taxation. I recall Google pays <3%

So this prompts the question... is social security something that should be eliminated, as it continues to cause those who pose less productive value to society to 'hang around'?

I like that you said "prompts the question". Most will say "begs the question", which actually has nothing to do with prompting a question, but is a circular logic idiom.

Anyways, on to the question. No, social security should not be eliminated. For starters, it's not a subsidy, it's something everybody who receives has paid into. It's our money. The only difference is that it's structured in a way that benefits a populace and economy much more than if it didn't exist.

On top of that, SS is one of the things about government that works extremely well. It has an enormous 2+ trillion surplus, and it's geared up to pay out full benefits without any changes till near the end of the century. But that hasn't stopped the sociopaths in charge of the politicians from doing everything they can to convince the people that it needs to be gut

From an economic perspective, cutting SS would be disastrous. It would help about 1% of the richest richies, but would figuratively chop off the arm of the rest of the people. One of the most important aspects of a healthy economy is the flow of finances and purchasing power of the poor and median people. This isn't theory, but actual data. Return on investment of things like food stamps is infinitely higher than things like cuts in estate tax. Infinite is the correct number too because many things, particularly tax cuts for the wealthy, are fully understood to have a negative economic multiplier effect. But that doesn't stop regular people from listening to Prophet Beck tell them the world would explode if megacorps aren't allowed to molest whomever they please


As to old people "hanging around", we're not even remotely close to answering that question. As sarbox would say, that's one of our civilization's golden calves that needs to be burned, yet we ain't doing it. Human rights are not a perfect thing. Give some in one place and it will detract in other places. Engendering an older and older population will cause unimaginable problems down the road, but not doing it will as well


BTW, I would like to point out that subsidies and welfare are not inherently bad. The words have been vilified. Not only does the data show that welfare for the unfortunate is extremely beneficial for the health and happiness of an economy, but that the mega wealthy receive hidden welfare several magnitudes greater than the plebians they point their fingers at. The next time you see somebody whine about some form of welfare, remember that Wall Street is subsidized by the Federal Reserve, and they get their money straight out of the pockets of the middle class.