Where are we headed??

     It's time to get a little serious here folks. I read an article today about U.S. budget problems, retirement benefits, tax cuts and that sort of thing. It doesn't look good for my generation, and it looks even worse for the generations to come. 

     So where are we headed? Do we have enough problems yet? I guess not, so how about this scenario. We've  all had money come out of our paychecks for Social Security with the plan of collecting it later on in life when we retire. Well I have some good news and bad news. Bad news is that it might not be there when we retire, the entire Social Security program will most likely be done away with and we'll be forced to fend for ourselves. Now I'm sure like responsible adults you've been putting money away in a separate retirement plan and won't be to affected by this. The fact remains that money comes out of your check and you won't be seeing it when the time comes. The good news, I'll still be blogging so just relax! 

    For those unfamiliar with how Social Security works I'll give you a quick rundown. It's not like a retirement plan that you pay into, it gets invested and you collect that money later on. The money that comes out of our paychecks today is going to the folks that are collecting today. So in theory, when we are old enough to collect, our kids would be paying for our benefits. So if that program is done away with, all the money that we've been paying into it will have already been paid to recipients. If the program is still around for us then it all makes sense, if not we are losing out on a lot of money. 

     That's just one of the problems we are facing today. Congress is facing a Government shut down if they can't figure out the budget problems. The way Congress operates I can't see them figuring anything out that will actually help. Congress is like those old gangs that disagree with each other just for the sake of disagreeing with each other. If the Republicans come up with a great solution, the Democrats will disagree because they won't get credit for it. Or vice versa. So nothing worth while will ever get accomplished unless they can put their childish ways to bed and do something right for the Country! It bothers me more and more everyday that they all talk about wanting to do right by the people and then argue like children while nothing gets accomplished. The fact that we pay these people is disgusting. I can sit here in a suit and say that everything you come up with is a bad idea and you're a terrorist. Should I run for Congress? 

     Unemployment benefits and the welfare system are taken advantage of everyday. Does anyone have a problem with random drug tests for those on welfare? I think these programs need to be a little more personal. You can sign up online and get your benefits without ever talking to anyone. You can take the money you get and spend it on anything you want. We need to create another branch of the government that has a more in depth watch over both of these programs. There are honest people out there trying to get jobs that could use unemployment in the interim. They can't though! Because there are even more dishonest people out there abusing the system. Collecting unemployment and not looking for any kind of work. Just sitting back and letting the money come in. The same with the welfare system. There are far too many people abusing these government programs that they can't benefit the Americans that really need them. Let's have random drug tests for welfare recipients. If they are on welfare they shouldn't be using that money for drugs. If they have extra money for drugs, they shouldn't be on welfare. I'm not an advocate for Socialism where the government is involved in everything. However, these government programs need to be monitored a hell of a lot closer! 

     Don't get me started on illegal immigrants! 

     So where are we headed?? Where is this country going? We used to be the greatest super power in the world. Are we still? I'd like to think so, but for how long? Our economy is in the shitter, we have troops all over the world. I don't want to think about where we'll be if something doesn't change. There will be a small number of people that still have money and can manage to live comfortably, the rest of us will be giving Hand-jobs for Ham Sandwiches! 

Sorry if this blog is all over the place, it was just some things I had on my mind this morning. Luckily this isn't going to be graded for a school report. So tell me what you think.