Your thoughts on likelihood of rolling back SS, Medicaid, Medicare after first week

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

Why would they do that when they could pay for their own care for as long as possible? They were people of integrity who were not going to hide money in a “Medicaid trust” instead of paying for their own care.

And I and my siblings are also people of integrity who are not interested in getting “generational wealth” that only exists because of “perfectly legal” ways to hide funds.

That’s good because you probably won’t have the chance. The super wealthy have sited through the history of this country paying little to nothing while the poor and middle classes pay taxes out the wazoo. It’s about to become even more difficult for regular people to pass on even a little bit of their hard earned life savings to the next generation.

There are always ways for the less affluent. Savings in cash, gifting assets while still alive and before the look back period starts, etc etc.

Trusts are still a thing too for those who can pay for them.
Where there’s a will there is a way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

My MIL had early onset dementia. She was in a nursing home by the time she was 60. Medicaid is more for nursing home care, not just people older with mild health issues. She was in a nursing home for 10 years after she passed and this was after a few years of her living with us with me caring for her. There is no way your parents could pay for years of nursing home care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

And where do they get the money to pay for the legal fees to create it?

They’ve ostensibly saved enough for their old age. Also they have kids who are interested in preserving the inheritance?

If they’ve saved enough for their old age, then why do they need Medicaid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

Why would they do that when they could pay for their own care for as long as possible? They were people of integrity who were not going to hide money in a “Medicaid trust” instead of paying for their own care.

And I and my siblings are also people of integrity who are not interested in getting “generational wealth” that only exists because of “perfectly legal” ways to hide funds.

That’s good because you probably won’t have the chance. The super wealthy have sited through the history of this country paying little to nothing while the poor and middle classes pay taxes out the wazoo. It’s about to become even more difficult for regular people to pass on even a little bit of their hard earned life savings to the next generation.

There are always ways for the less affluent. Savings in cash, gifting assets while still alive and before the look back period starts, etc etc.

Trusts are still a thing too for those who can pay for them.
Where there’s a will there is a way.

you are really out of touch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

And where do they get the money to pay for the legal fees to create it?

They’ve ostensibly saved enough for their old age. Also they have kids who are interested in preserving the inheritance?

If they’ve saved enough for their old age, then why do they need Medicaid?

It’s literally in the passage you are quoting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

Why would they do that when they could pay for their own care for as long as possible? They were people of integrity who were not going to hide money in a “Medicaid trust” instead of paying for their own care.

And I and my siblings are also people of integrity who are not interested in getting “generational wealth” that only exists because of “perfectly legal” ways to hide funds.

That’s good because you probably won’t have the chance. The super wealthy have sited through the history of this country paying little to nothing while the poor and middle classes pay taxes out the wazoo. It’s about to become even more difficult for regular people to pass on even a little bit of their hard earned life savings to the next generation.

There are always ways for the less affluent. Savings in cash, gifting assets while still alive and before the look back period starts, etc etc.

Trusts are still a thing too for those who can pay for them.
Where there’s a will there is a way.

you are really out of touch

It’s being done by immigrants as we speak

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

Wouldn’t it be better to pass that money on and get free care from the government?

That would be cheating. My parents saved specifically so they could pay for their own care in their old age. Are you suggesting they should have hidden the money they had so that they could get free care from the government?

They should have done a Medicaid trust which is entirely legal and helps create/increase generational wealth

And where do they get the money to pay for the legal fees to create it?

They’ve ostensibly saved enough for their old age. Also they have kids who are interested in preserving the inheritance?

If they’ve saved enough for their old age, then why do they need Medicaid?

It’s a special Medicaid program called long term care Medicaid. Separate from regular Medicaid to pay for a nursing home.

[Anonymous]

More states are doing estate recovery after the person on Medicaid dies, meaning they come after the survivors for the thousands $ spent. If it’s trimmed down more states will do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More states are doing estate recovery after the person on Medicaid dies, meaning they come after the survivors for the thousands $ spent. If it’s trimmed down more states will do this.

That’s why trusts or other ways of asset transfers are the way to go

[Anonymous]

I'm kind of shocked about the silence on this thread - the Senate is preparing to start votes on Trump's budget bill. Today Trump announced he would also like some cuts in Medicare. Are folks sleep walking here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm kind of shocked about the silence on this thread - the Senate is preparing to start votes on Trump's budget bill. Today Trump announced he would also like some cuts in Medicare. Are folks sleep walking here?

Yes they are. Also ignoring things like mass termination of leases that will close SS offices forcing people without means and transportation to somehow get to a distant and more crowded office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm kind of shocked about the silence on this thread - the Senate is preparing to start votes on Trump's budget bill. Today Trump announced he would also like some cuts in Medicare. Are folks sleep walking here?

Yes. It's pretty much a 100% chance Republicans will cut most of Medicaid, and then start on Social Security and Medicare.

Everyone on them is considered a "parasite" by Musk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm kind of shocked about the silence on this thread - the Senate is preparing to start votes on Trump's budget bill. Today Trump announced he would also like some cuts in Medicare. Are folks sleep walking here?

Yes they are. Also ignoring things like mass termination of leases that will close SS offices forcing people without means and transportation to somehow get to a distant and more crowded office.

Yes. They are closing the White Plains office, so folks will have to travel to New Haven (CT) or Albany. That’s unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm kind of shocked about the silence on this thread - the Senate is preparing to start votes on Trump's budget bill. Today Trump announced he would also like some cuts in Medicare. Are folks sleep walking here?

Yes they are. Also ignoring things like mass termination of leases that will close SS offices forcing people without means and transportation to somehow get to a distant and more crowded office.

Yes. They are closing the White Plains office, so folks will have to travel to New Haven (CT) or Albany. That’s unbelievable.

Cruelty is the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a millennial I'd like to make ss optional so I can stop paying and cash out

"cash out"? It's a pay as you go system-- the most you can do is destroy the social safety net for seniors by ending social security but you are never getting your contributions back.

Don't be a tool and let the right wing propaganda tell you the money isn't there for social security-- it's only not there if they steal it for other things, like tax cuts for the wealthy.

but the money isn't actually anywhere. It's an IOU from the feds. Your payments into the system are spent by Congress immediately. Your payments aren't sitting anywhere compounding or earning interest.

All the money the government collects is then redistributed by the government. That's how taxation works.

People need to stop thinking about Social Security like some sort of savings account. It's welfare for the elderly (and a few other groups)

No. If that were the case, we'd means test it. Which we should be doing. I don't get why my mother and stepfather are driving around in a jag and collecting SS.

The only reason SS has lasted this long is that everyone gets some. The minute we start means testing, people will start thinking of SS like Medicaid. And you know how highly Republicans think of Medicaid.

Wish an enterprising local reporter would uncover how many Republican electeds have their parents/relatives in nursing homes under Medicaid LTC. Can’t imagine it is a small number as the annual salary for a senator/rep is $174K and the national median cost is $9733/month for a private room or $8669/month for a semi-private. That’s $116,796/year and $104,028/year, respectively. Can’t imagine they can swing either on that salary….

I highly doubt you will find many MoC whose parents are using Medicaid LTC. They are more likely to have parents who saved and invested, possibly have pensions. Their parents don’t need money from them, they are paying from their own savings and pensions. Medicaid LTC is for the very poor; it is very unlikely that elderly parents of MoC would be eligible for Medicaid LTC.

Wrong. Most assisted living retirement places nursing homes etc all push you to put your family on Medicaid. It is huge in MOCO. They burn down the savings before entering these places and then Medicaid kicks in.

That could be just the people you’ve come in contact with- unless you work at one of these facilities?

In my extended family’s experience, in which most of the elderly had been very working class/blue collar, the expenses were paid by the elderly individual. A lot of the over 75 crowd were very frugal and saved every extra penny, so were able to pay for their own care when it was needed.

My own parents never made very much- in fact, I and my siblings all qualified for Pell Grants. But they saved a lot, especially after the kids grew up and left home. They were able to completely pay for their own care.

In fact, it would have been difficult to use up all their savings to qualify for Medicaid. And they would have been too embarrassed to take Medicaid, anyway. Same story for the elderly parents of many of my cousins.

My parents always said that the best gift they could give their kids was to be able to pay for their own care in old age, and they were right. And this was a very common belief among their working class/blue collar peers.

You hit the nail on the head!! My parents were poor/LMC. They saved and were extremely frugal. at age 75 they still had over $800K to their name after selling their home. That was enough to get into one of the nicest CCRCs in their area (minus the $400K+ entry fee---we had to fund that). 10 years later, they are still frugal and worth over $700K and will likely never "run out of money" until mid to late 90s. And then they get to stay in the CCRC with no charges.

How they saved that much I don't know---they invested and were extremely frugal. Never made more than $50-60K/year combined.

They were very lucky and you keep bragging about it but that's not everyone. My MIL was extremely frugal but never made more than minimum wage so she was always pay check to pay check. She had very little in terms of material things and her clothing was terrible (and yes, I bought her tons of clothes which she did wear and other things). She lived in a mobile home for many years. She got early onset dementia and could no longer take care of herself and I got her on social security disability not realizing it was early onset dementia and thinking it was mental health. Eventally we move her into our very small house after she lived with a woman who stole pretty much anything of value, including her car, jewelry (nothing worth that much) and cash from selling the mobile home. She came with almost nothing and the police or social services wouldn't do anything to help. I replaced everything and took care of her for about a year but I could no longer care for her anymore as I couldn't safely leave her home alone, the adult day care was horrible and it because too much with young kids. Our only option was medicaid LTC.

$50-60K is a lot way back when. Try making $15-20K a year then brag.

The most my parents ever made in one year was $30,000- and that was one particularly good year. But they still managed to save enough to take care of themselves in old age with no need for Medicaid LTC. They had one child with special needs who was never able to move out of their home, but they were extremely frugal and careful with their money. They had always been poor so they didn’t have expectations of living what they would consider a luxurious life.

My MIL had early onset dementia. She was in a nursing home by the time she was 60. Medicaid is more for nursing home care, not just people older with mild health issues. She was in a nursing home for 10 years after she passed and this was after a few years of her living with us with me caring for her. There is no way your parents could pay for years of nursing home care.