Benefits 'pose risk to US growth'

[acmejack]

Soaring benefit costs pose a key threat to the US economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has warned.

Huge costs related to schemes like Medicare risked limiting America's economic "flexibility" and its competitive edge, Mr Paulson said.

In his first public comments since taking the post he also signalled he would stick to the strong dollar policy of his predecessor John Snow.

He also echoed Mr Snow's criticism of China's monetary policy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5236982.stm

[Sapere aude]

1. Dead seniors are better for the economy. I think that is what the repukes

want. Get rid of the tired old poor seniors and we can give that money to the wealthy.

[aquart]

2. Yes, better to let the old, ill, and poor die.

Perhaps we could build camps to speed it up.

[CatholicEdHead]

3. Yep, all US workers are overpaid

:sarcasm:

[panader0]

4. Medicare is a "scheme"?

[musette_sf]

6. source is BBC

and "scheme" is the Britword for what we call a "plan". So what we would call a "Pension Plan" is a "Pension Scheme". no editorial opinion to be inferred here.

[Justitia]

10. OT but funny: Hubby got a biz card from a UK colleague, his title was

"Director of Schemes" - HAHAHAHA

I love that one! Don't you just picture a cloak & dagger type villain?

My hubby has the equivalent position stateside, Strategic Planning

[pinto]

5. ...'schemes' like Medicare...? That just about says it all. n/t

[musette_sf]

7. see my above post

scheme (Britspeak) = plan (USspeak)

[pinto]

8. Thanks. That crossed my mind & tried to figure out if it was

a direct quote or not. Thanks.

[panader0]

9. When will those English learn how to speak English? (joke)

[MysteryToMyself]

15. I watched Paulson's speech

He has the republican lines down pat. He says Social Security a big, big problem in 2060!:thumbsdown: and people are living longer, (they really aren't...a few are, but many are dying younger.) Not enough workers to pay it. Hey, they seem to forget we have paid in extra since 1983 to cover the fact there would be less workers and more boomers. We got another devious one to deal with. :puke:

I suggest they worry about the problem with the gigantic deficit Now and leave Social Security alone.

[Lindacooks]

46. That's exactly what I thought too. Are they trying to label Medicade

a ponzi scheme????

[sweetheart]

11. paulson got his money, so what does he care

His new concern is screwing the poor with his big green republican dick...

[ShockediSay]

18. are we in it together, or is it survival of the prickest? ... n/t

[sweetheart]

21. whoever fucks people the most wins

That's survival of the prickest, the sign of an alpha-male goldman sachs trader, one
who leaves his adversary in a painful lurch for all their money.

[ShockediSay]

30. OK for your adversaries, what about your compatriots? ... n/t

[sweetheart]

35. its a zero sum game

us against the terrorists and they are out to take everything away from
us using whatever legitimate means they can command, and certainly an
old hand from wall street will soft well the news in a way that won't
collapse global markets as they print their way out of this liars poker hand.

Clearly the next sec treas should be john merriweather, so the cynical
conclusion can not just nudge us but bonk us over the head.

[ShockediSay]

37. So why does Israel, who gets the largest amount of US aid, have universal

have universal coverage, as do a lot of the rest of this world's nations,

while the elderly in our country are having to chose b/n staying alive
and paying for air conditioning
or either eating, or getting necessary medical treatment/rxs?

could it be the lobbyists?

[sweetheart]

39. tradeoffs

In jack london's "the iron heel", the progagonist "earnest everhard" (sounds sexy!) makes
the argument that certain preferred classes of population are graded extra rights (extra pay),
and that these rights turn them in to strikebreakers and scabs who will cross the lines of
the american citizens striking in poverty for 40 millions in benefits and have scottish
highlanders wanting the drugs war because it dumps the externality on the american poeple
who are not of concern in scotland.

The tiny (in relative population standards) nations like israel, scotland, denmark, iceland,
nederland, finland and UK especially are given preferrre status to ride in the cab with
the big plantation driver, as the back with the slaves is already full of darker skinned
nations and conquored nations from world wars who must accept they are predestined lower class
along with all ameircans who are enslaved in the homeland labour camp.

[acmejack]

28. Top exacutives at Goldman, Sachs have always been well paid.

Henry M Paulson Jr has been CEO of Goldman Sachs Group (GS) for 7 years.

5-Year Compensation Total: $48,181,000 (2005)

http://www.forbes.com/static/execpay2005/LIRVY36.html?passListId=12&passYear=2005&passListType=Person&uniqueId=VY36&datatype=Person

[sweetheart]

32. its more than that

Ya see, lots of his compensation was in GS shares, well, a former chairman can't just
sell up big chunks of shares without arousing suspicion.. but this new job lets him sell
up and realize his profits before the markets tank... with a *perfect* excuse, its a
treasury law. He may have creamed 100m out of the job the day he was hired.

"Q: Why did the jewish american princess get her diaphram gold plated?
A:So her men could cum in to gold."

[acmejack]

38. Oh I understand the mysteries of the stock options.

I was screwed with them as well at Dell. They handed out a lot of them to keep people with the company. A classic manipulation scheme, where the big guys used their options, cashing in huge blocks to keep the price down below the strike price so we never could exercise ours. They managed to get rid of nearly everybody who had those options, which expired a set date after you left the Company. It wasn't that much longer after they expired that the stock price went up to where the options would have been worth exercising.

[Monkeyman]

12. How much more can they cut the veterans some are going homeless right now

[acmejack]

31. Closed the Pain Management Clinic at the Central Texas VA Hospital

Wouldn't need that at a VA Medical Center. They did allow me to wait a month for an appointment and the only way I found out was by calling and no one at the clinic I went to knew about it. Been trying to get some relief for over six months, getting used to walking around doubled over and using a cane. Plus they are on a kick where they don't want to give anyone effective pain medication, I am very disillusioned about this entire deal,but I have no choice. I would be another homeless vet except for the largess of my Sister who allows me to live in her guest house. I now look & walk like an old man.

If you aren't a service connected disabled veteran you can't even get in the door either, so more than half of the veterans are denied care at the VA, most people frail to realize this important fact.

[Pierogi_Pincher]

45. I'm sorry for your suffering.

I can't even type any more in addition to this right now for my blood is boiling.:hug:

[ShockediSay]

36. If the past is any guide, "some" will turn into most

and now we are seeing laws that prohibit feeding them

If we are not at the end of the line by now, we already missed the last stop

"Thy kingdom COME
Thy Will Be Done
on earth, as it Is In Heaven"

[VegasWolf]

13. "schemes" like social security, medicare? Complete assholes controlled

by the heartless major US Corporations.

[rodeodance]

14. and our 'flexibility" is severly strained-without health care/benefits.

[NanceGreggs]

16. Maybe Paulson ...

... and all GOPers should save the country's economy by example, and voluntarily give up all of their taxpayer-funded benefits.

[LordLovesAWorkingMan]

40. Or dip into their own funds

so the rest of us can have a little of what they have too much of.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

17. I suppose those deficit-finances tax-cuts for the wealthy

aren't posing risks to US growth :eyes:

[MysteryToMyself]

19. He has to be kidding

Paulson says Social Security and Medicare hurts our competiveness. His salary was 35 million a year at Goldman Sachs. He has 700 million dollars worth of Goldman Sachs shares and probably has millions more in other instruments.

Doesn't that hurt the competiveness for the business like Goldman Sachs to give that much in pay and options? Naa, it is just grandma's Social Security check which she paid her own money for.:woohoo:

[ikojo]

20. Benefits to employees are a problem

but excessive executive compensation and executive pensions aren't a problem.

WOW! This country sure has its priorities screwed up!

HELLO!! Don't identify with the corporate elite...regardless of how hard you work you will always be a working stiff.

[HawkerHurricane]

27. I read somewhere...

dang if I can remember where...

That executive pensions took up 40-60% of corporate pensions... the top 1% are getting half the pensions.

[ikojo]

33. The Wall Street Journal of all papers had

an article about executive pensions versus pensions for workers. That article was referenced far and wide when it came out at the end of June or beginning of July.

[NYC]

22. The defense spending is no problem.

The people who pay the taxes that pay the defense contractors do not deserve to have any of their own tax money spent on them. That would be a threat to U.S. growth.

But defense spending should continue unabated. That's really useful. Let the people who paid for it drop dead without social programs.

Our government sickens me.

[90-percent]

23. Let's make a deal

You go out right this minute and cut executive compensation to what it was in the 1960's, or what it currently is in Japan and Germany, and then we'll talk.

-85% Jimmy

[NYC]

29. Amazing, isn't it?

Only the people who actually pay the taxes need cuts in benefits and wages and services.

I'm so tired of all of this. Outright lies to justify gouging the American citizen.

[bronxiteforever]

24. THis bull crap is peddled by these rich asses who live

in mansions and then preach to the rest us that we are the problem.
Where the fuck were you Paulson when huge tax cuts for the rich bled our budget dry? You didn't pine over the disgrace of huge defense give aways and budget busters in the form of corporate welfare just a couple of years ago did you?-FUCK OFF! But you want us to give up our health care, our pensions the justice we deserve?-how about this new addition to a bumper sticker-not over our dead bodies!!!!!!!

[Sherman A1]

25. Two words for Mr. Paulson

Horse Hockey!

[acmejack]

34. Not the same two words I had in mind for him.

But I won't quibble!

[Sherman A1]

41. Try to make the point

and still be just a bit civil.

[acmejack]

42. Well i suppose you did a fine job in that case.

obviously a civilian. Some of us are entitled to cuss like a sailor.

[Pierogi_Pincher]

44. 'Horse Puckey' is fragrant compared to

the words emitted from the likes of..

We're collecting in a few years and the money had better be there. Try to jerk around the crop of boomers.

P_P:dem:

[stepnw1f]

26. Over Our Dead Bodies

This country has had enough of these fascist pansies.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

43. MEDICARE is ruining the U.S. economy?

What about high insurance premiums for those of us who ten to fifteen years too young for Medicare?

:grr: