Over half of US counties residents rely on gov’t assistance for at least 25% of income; guess how they vote?

[05C40]

Social Security Disability by county

State Disability Maps

With these maps, Mathematica helps decision makers uncover valuable insights about the prevalence of disability and use of disability benefits in different communities.

www.mathematica.org

I grew up in Eastern NC. The whole disability thing was a lifestyle choice back then. Seems as it has gotten much worse since then. One of the saddest parts was when people would fake disability in order to avoid working. If you fake a disability for long enough, you wake-up one day to find out you actually are disabled. If you ask people to drop you off close to the door of the grocery store before parking, you are hastening the time when you are unable to walk across a parking lot. Faking disability and screwing with people to avoid a few steps is definitely setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

I believe all of them see themselves as makers.

The right is very short sighted regarding how the government helps the overall welfare and economy.

I recall, when I was conservative, an idea to get the government out of transportation and make all roads toll roads. Just imagine that actually happening and the impact on the poorest people and the economy.

People need to understand where the government money is spent and how it helps people and society in general.

Roads are a great example of a socialist policy in the US that is very popular. Roads in rural areas often cost more to build and serve fewer people. I suspect that most of the highest-cost-per-mile-traveled roads are in rural areas for the benefit of people who oppose government spending and socialism.

The postal service is another such example. It’s quite expensive to deliver mail to rural residents.

 

[05C40]

The postal service is another such example. It’s quite expensive to deliver mail to rural residents.

Link: Rural Free Delivery - Wikipedia

Interesting that RFD was opposed by shop keepers in small rural towns because they believed they profited from farmers having to come into town to pick-up their mail. And of course that evil Sears & Robuck company just abused the RFD program to make itself rich at the expense of US taxpayers. So, somewhat ironic that Amazon was pretty much the final nail in Sears' coffin.

 

[BubbaOtis]

The 2025 Presidential Transition Project that was written by more that two dozen trump administration officials proposes changes to Social Security that would reduce benefits for most people.

What Ex-Trump Officials’ Project 2025 Means for Your Social Security

Even if you're only the most casual news watcher, odds are, you've heard of Project 2025. This 922-plus page document, organized by The Heritage Foundation -- a well-known conservative think tank --...

finance.yahoo.com

The same document proposes moving Medicare away from traditional Medicare to private-sector plans and reducing the regulations that govern them. That's great news if you happen to be an insurance company, but not so great if you are a person. It also proposes changes that would increase prescription drug costs for seniors and huge cuts to Medicaid.

What Ex-Trump Officials’ Project 2025 Means for Your Social Security

Even if you're only the most casual news watcher, odds are, you've heard of Project 2025. This 922-plus page document, organized by The Heritage Foundation -- a well-known conservative think tank --...

finance.yahoo.com

It's no wonder that the party proposing these cuts doesn't want to talk about them.

From the link:

Project 2025 Won’t Cut Social Security — but It Will Raise the Retirement Age​

One of the biggest concerns about Project 2025 is that it will outright cut Social Security for future generations. However, Josh Katz, founder of Universal Tax Professionals, explained that the plan doesn’t eliminate Social Security benefits. He’s quick to add, though, that it does suggest changes that could impact current and future retirees.

One of the plan’s major proposals involves gradually raising the retirement age from 66 or 67 to 69 or 70. Katz shared that raising the retirement age means that people currently relying on Social Security might need to work longer to receive their full benefits, which could potentially impact their retirement plans and financial security.


“The gradual increase, moving the retirement age up by one or two months per year, is designed to ease the transition, but it may still pose challenges for those unable to continue working due to health issues or job market constraints,” he added."

As i've said here before, there are a bunch of levers in the funding of SS; the tax rate, retirement age, the wage base cap...
As they've done before, Congress will arrive on a bipartisan plan to spread the pain over future generations without touching current benefits. It'll happen after the election, I'm thinking..

Medicare could stand to be trimmed, imo.. The BCBSNC Advantage plan I'm on is insanely generous with benefits; a free gym membership, $120 per quarter gift card for OTC stuff, free hearing aid batteries, RX coverage that beats any commercial plan I was ever on, etc., with a zero premium. I don't think SS and Medicare will be a campaign issue based on the exaggerated importance assigned to Project 2025.

 

[gtyellowjacket]

Is this a joke?

No

 

[BillOfRights]

From the link:

Project 2025 Won’t Cut Social Security — but It Will Raise the Retirement Age​

One of the biggest concerns about Project 2025 is that it will outright cut Social Security for future generations. However, Josh Katz, founder of Universal Tax Professionals, explained that the plan doesn’t eliminate Social Security benefits. He’s quick to add, though, that it does suggest changes that could impact current and future retirees.

One of the plan’s major proposals involves gradually raising the retirement age from 66 or 67 to 69 or 70. Katz shared that raising the retirement age means that people currently relying on Social Security might need to work longer to receive their full benefits, which could potentially impact their retirement plans and financial security.


“The gradual increase, moving the retirement age up by one or two months per year, is designed to ease the transition, but it may still pose challenges for those unable to continue working due to health issues or job market constraints,” he added."

As i've said here before, there are a bunch of levers in the funding of SS; the tax rate, retirement age, the wage base cap...
As they've done before, Congress will arrive on a bipartisan plan to spread the pain over future generations without touching current benefits. It'll happen after the election, I'm thinking..

Medicare could stand to be trimmed, imo.. The BCBSNC Advantage plan I'm on is insanely generous with benefits; a free gym membership, $120 per quarter gift card for OTC stuff, free hearing aid batteries, RX coverage that beats any commercial plan I was ever on, etc., with a zero premium. I don't think SS and Medicare will be a campaign issue based on the exaggerated importance assigned to Project 2025.

Correct. If you can't retire until 70, it reduces your benefits.

 

[05C40]

No

Disagree. It is a joke and the joke is on about 95% of the population of the United States. If Project 2025 gets enacted, Medicare will have to create a special set of benefits for persons who suffer knee injuries resulting from too frequent slapping of the knee while at the Country Club.

 

[uncmba]

From the article:
For its analysis of government spending, EIG used a government definition of income that includes spending on programs that Americans pay into, such as Medicare and Social Security. Another major government health program—Medicaid—is also counted.

The analysis also includes unemployment insurance, food stamps, the earned income tax credit, veterans benefits, Pell grants, Covid-era payments and other income support. States help pay for some of these programs, such as Medicaid, but the federal government covers roughly 70% of the total cost.

The EIG analysis doesn’t include other ways government spending floods into corners of America, such as through farm subsidies or military bases.

 

[superrific]

I don't subscribe to the WSJ, so I can't see the details. Does the article clarify what is meant by "Federal and State support"? In the past, articles have included federal funding for military facilities, which clearly isn't among the items that people are, or should be, concerned about.

It counts only transfer income. It does not include money paid by the government in exchange for goods, services or labor.

 

[CarolinaFever]

Not surprised at all that it's mostly the ignorant rural whites that are the hypocrites.

 

[superrific]

Not surprised at all that it's mostly the ignorant rural whites that are the hypocrites.

Not sure what you're saying here. As others have mentioned, some of what you see on the map is SS or Medicare. Some of it is the intended effect of good programs like food stamps and Medicaid. And one reason the map looks so red is that any political map of the U.S. looks largely red, given the fact that liberals live in cities or densely populated areas.

So I don't think there is any partisan tilt to the use or abuse of government transfer programs.

But you did you the word hypocrite. If your point is that there's one party who rails against the budgetary consequences of transfer programs, even as its supporters gobble up disability, you're correct. And that party is the party of rural whites, who are convinced that it's blacks who abuse the system.

Wasn't there a guy on IC who bragged about not reporting his taxes, but didn't think it was wrong on the logic of 1) I did it; 2) I'm a good person; so 3) what i do is OK? If that's the attitude you're referring to as hypocrisy (and it is) then you are correct.

 

[Ddseddse]

Off-topic, but does the WSJ Style Guide really say to use the long form state abbreviations instead of the two letter abbreviations?

Q: How do you say your readership is old and out of touch without saying your readership is old and out of touch?

 

[Ddseddse]

Link: Rural Free Delivery - Wikipedia

Interesting that RFD was opposed by shop keepers in small rural towns because they believed they profited from farmers having to come into town to pick-up their mail. And of course that evil Sears & Robuck company just abused the RFD program to make itself rich at the expense of US taxpayers. So, somewhat ironic that Amazon was pretty much the final nail in Sears' coffin.

Our house was RFD growing up.

 

[finesse]

Ours was, as well. I always wondered how they assigned routes. We were relatively equidistant to the borders of Calypso, Faison and Mt. Olive and ended up with a Mt. Olive address.

 

[Ddseddse]

This article suffers from the "land don't vote" problem.

I'd rather the metric be "number of voters in counties...", rather than just "number of counties".

I wonder what that data would look like?

 

[UNCatTech]

My wife has a friend who is conservative, her brother is also. Her brother made over $500k for years and lived a good life. He had a stroke and can no longer work. Turns out he didn't plan well enough financially for this.

In one of there government bitch sessions my wife corrected them and advised them to get a lawyer that specialized in disability benefits.

They listened, two weeks ago he was awarded disability benefits. He is also receiving some level of money as a reconciliation back to when he was disabled.

I so want to ask how they like socialism and government safety nets now.

 

[JCTarheel82]

My wife has a friend who is conservative, her brother is also. Her brother made over $500k for years and lived a good life. He had a stroke and can no longer work. Turns out he didn't plan well enough financially for this.

In one of there government bitch sessions my wife corrected them and advised them to get a lawyer that specialized in disability benefits.

They listened, two weeks ago he was awarded disability benefits. He is also receiving some level of money as a reconciliation back to when he was disabled.

I so want to ask how they like socialism and government safety nets now.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

 

[CarolinaFever]

Not sure what you're saying here. As others have mentioned, some of what you see on the map is SS or Medicare. Some of it is the intended effect of good programs like food stamps and Medicaid. And one reason the map looks so red is that any political map of the U.S. looks largely red, given the fact that liberals live in cities or densely populated areas.

So I don't think there is any partisan tilt to the use or abuse of government transfer programs.

But you did you the word hypocrite. If your point is that there's one party who rails against the budgetary consequences of transfer programs, even as its supporters gobble up disability, you're correct. And that party is the party of rural whites, who are convinced that it's blacks who abuse the system.

Wasn't there a guy on IC who bragged about not reporting his taxes, but didn't think it was wrong on the logic of 1) I did it; 2) I'm a good person; so 3) what i do is OK? If that's the attitude you're referring to as hypocrisy (and it is) then you are correct.

Yes, this part right here is what I meant.

 

[05C40]

Ours was, as well. I always wondered how they assigned routes. We were relatively equidistant to the borders of Calypso, Faison and Mt. Olive and ended up with a Mt. Olive address.

OK, which was it, Cates or Mt. Olive?

 

[finesse]

OK, which was it, Cates or Mt. Olive?

Cates super sweet midgets for sides at holiday feasts. Mt Olive for everything else.