Entitlements and Entitlements and

Now that the dysfunctional 113th has been sworn in (no, that's not being at all previous) the talk has all turned to the upcoming CLIFFS, OMFG!!!  Yep, the train is steaming down the tracks and the bridge is out (Casey Jones) [still out] giving folks something to talk about for the next couple months.  And what is everybody talking about, what budget busting, economy shriveling thing is it?  Entitlements. 

There, I said the bad word.  I'll say it again, just for emphasis - Entitlements.  You know, the nastiness that the grubbing Fed hands out to those others.  You know like that Medicare that hands out something to those 'olds' who'll be 'olds' enough in four years or whatever.  The primary drivers of nonsense like that have never paid SS/FICA on their entire wage for their entire working life, you might bother to note that SS/FICA sunsets at $110,000 wages/salary and no other income.  You might bother to note that the worst occupational health cost they face is a paper cut from the envelope with their dividend/capital gains check.  You can probably do that until age 67... or older.

I got to listen to ex-Gov Rendell talk about the increase in life expectancy make a mockery of (D) concerns over the last decades.  True, I (skilled labor) can expect, statistically, to make it to 72yrs up from 66 in the Sixties, but then the paper cut crowd can pretty much expect 84.  So... those who put the least in take the most out.  But - we have to give the GOP Vandals something if we expect them to give any ground, and what we'll give will affect Gov Rendell and his cohort essentially not spit.  Getting to age 65 as a capable construction worker is damned tough to expect, but it isn't a hell of a lot more likely to be exactly easy for a waitress.  Screw those folks if it keeps the GOPers from crashing the economic car.

The word you won't hear, you can't get to hear it, is Defense.  The Sacred Cow can't be mentioned.  If something happened to take some few percent out of that budget we'd all be dead or somehow unsafe.  Now if you consider that we're number one in spending on this and of the top 15 spenders we spend more than the following 14 put together; we must no be getting much bang for our bucks if we're suddenly going to be unsafe if we spent more than only the following 13.  Unsafe gets put a lot more into context if you consider who it is that gets most of that spending and just how goddam rich they are.  Some very Important people would have a little less Monopoly money to play with versus screw you old and poor.

I suppose you could point some of this stuff out to your Representatives, you could but I'll repeat, the losers in Defense spending cuts are Very Important People and YOU are not.  Messing about in the business of you betters is, well, unseemly.