Tim's Ten

"Tim's Ten" is a quick summary of my take on the issues of the day. When I hit 10 separate topics, I will close this blog page and start another one. Here goes!

Blog pages are boring without photos. Here's the obligatory photo. From our trip in May to Havasupai Reservation in Arizona. No, that's not me, but I did make this jump (so did Mark). Click to enlarge.

EIGHT 7/7/2014: 

Yes, Social Security IS an Entitlement!

Social Security is a tax on those who are working, to pay retirement payments to those who paid into previously. However, how much you end up taking out before you die has little to do with how much you put in.

For instance, my parents (aged in their 80's), with a middle class income for 30+ years, have received Social Security payments WAY in excess of what they have taken out. In fact, the amount they collect in 1 year equals approximately what they put in in ALL their years of contributing! On the other hand, the amount that my wife and I have paid into the system is MUCH MORE than we will ever collect, unless we live much longer than expected.

Does this mean I am against the New Deal and Social Security. It simply means that people are wrong when they say that people EARNED their Social Security payments; what they should say is that they PAID INTO the system, and are now collecting out of it. It is a "pay as you go" system, and by the time we collect, I predict that my wife and I will be "means-tested" out of Social Security and collect little or nothing from it, because our federal government is bankrupting our country through endless deficit spending.

Note also that Social Security is a massively progressive system, where those who put little in but qualify to receive it will get MASSIVELY more than they ever put into it, whereas those who have contributed well into 6 figures into it, will get dramatically less in proportion.

SEVEN 6/26/2014: 

Veteran Actor Eli Wallach Dies on 6/25/2014 at Age 98!

Eli was a great actor in so many different roles, but my favorite was always alongside Clint Eastwood in "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly". May he RIP. Read more about his amazing acting career as one of the best character actors EVER by clicking here.

SIX 6/19/2014: 

Want Some Good News? Two Subspecies of Island Fox Should Go Off the Endangered Species List!

Do you often complain (like me) that there is no good news in the news to read? Well, read THIS: Two subspecies of fox that live on 6 of the 8 Channel Islands off of Southern California have sufficiently recovered. A scientific group reported that they have recovered so quickly that they should be taken off the endangered species list. Educate yourself about the Island Fox by clicking on the Channel Island National Park Island Fox web page. Beautiful image of the Island Fox below (click to enlarge):