'Get used to it': Economist says Republicans have 'bombed' the economy for years

[ThatOwlWoman]

You have no proof of that since there is no way to compare what would happen without them. For all we know, they increased poverty but stabilized it at a level where the impoverished get a minimum of what they need.

Think of what we could have done with the tens, if not hundreds, of billions in fraud that has been taken from the very programs you champion.

*sigh*

ChatGPT? Thanks, dear.

~~~
did medicare and social security lift seniors out of poverty?

Yes. Among social programs in U.S. history, Social Security is widely considered one of the most successful at reducing poverty among older Americans, and Medicare reinforced that effect by protecting seniors from catastrophic medical expenses.

Before Social Security​

When Social Security Administration was created in 1935, poverty among older Americans was extremely common. Estimates suggest that more than half of elderly Americans lacked sufficient income to support themselves during the Great Depression.

Social Security's impact​

The evidence is very strong that Social Security dramatically reduced elderly poverty:

• The poverty rate for Americans age 65+ fell from about 35% in 1960 to about 10% by the mid-1990s.
• Current estimates show that without Social Security, roughly 37% of older adults would be below the poverty line; with Social Security, the rate falls to about 10%.
• Social Security lifts roughly 16–17 million Americans age 65 and older above the poverty line each year.

Most economists and historians would therefore say that Social Security substantially reduced and, for millions of people, prevented old-age poverty. It did not eliminate poverty entirely, but it transformed retirement from a period of widespread destitution into one where most seniors have a basic income floor.

Medicare's impact​

Medicare, created in 1965, works differently. It doesn't primarily provide income; it provides health insurance.

Before Medicare:

• Many seniors had little or no health insurance.
• Serious illness could wipe out retirement savings.

Medicare reduced seniors' out-of-pocket medical costs and financial risk, making it much easier for retirees to avoid falling into poverty because of healthcare expenses. Researchers generally view Medicare as a major contributor to the improved economic security of older Americans, even though Social Security has the larger direct effect on poverty statistics.

The short answer​

• Social Security: Yes, it dramatically reduced senior poverty and remains the nation's largest anti-poverty program for older adults.
• Medicare: Yes, it greatly improved seniors' financial security by shielding them from medical costs that could otherwise push them into poverty.

However, neither program completely eliminated poverty. Today, about 1 in 10 seniors are still below the official poverty line, and a larger share struggle when medical expenses are taken into account.

 

[ThatOwlWoman]

Time till he screams about AI 4...3...2...1...

 

[Yakuda]

Economist and public policy scholar Justin Wolfers says Republicans and President Donald Trump have not only set themselves up for a brutal midterm, but voters will probably be holding them accountable for high inflation and fuel prices for years.

“There is a bomb that has hit the world economy and to any of us who watch the economy, there's no question that the economy today is different than it was in February,”

The damage Trump and the GOP have done doesn’t amount to a dip or a drop. It’s much bigger than that — and more permanent. Wolfers described it more as a “crater” resulting from Trump’s bomb

MSN

Tired old TDS bullshit

 

[Cypress]

Economist and public policy scholar Justin Wolfers says Republicans and President Donald Trump have not only set themselves up for a brutal midterm, but voters will probably be holding them accountable for high inflation and fuel prices for years.

“There is a bomb that has hit the world economy and to any of us who watch the economy, there's no question that the economy today is different than it was in February,”

The damage Trump and the GOP have done doesn’t amount to a dip or a drop. It’s much bigger than that — and more permanent. Wolfers described it more as a “crater” resulting from Trump’s bomb

MSN

11 out of the last 13 recessions since WW2 occurred during the leadership of Republican administrations, including the three disastrous mega-recessions of 1982, 2008, and 2020.

 

[T. A. Gardner]

*sigh*

ChatGPT? Thanks, dear.

~~~
did medicare and social security lift seniors out of poverty?

Yes. Among social programs in U.S. history, Social Security is widely considered one of the most successful at reducing poverty among older Americans, and Medicare reinforced that effect by protecting seniors from catastrophic medical expenses.

Before Social Security​

When Social Security Administration was created in 1935, poverty among older Americans was extremely common. Estimates suggest that more than half of elderly Americans lacked sufficient income to support themselves during the Great Depression.

Social Security's impact​

The evidence is very strong that Social Security dramatically reduced elderly poverty:

• The poverty rate for Americans age 65+ fell from about 35% in 1960 to about 10% by the mid-1990s.
• Current estimates show that without Social Security, roughly 37% of older adults would be below the poverty line; with Social Security, the rate falls to about 10%.
• Social Security lifts roughly 16–17 million Americans age 65 and older above the poverty line each year.

Most economists and historians would therefore say that Social Security substantially reduced and, for millions of people, prevented old-age poverty. It did not eliminate poverty entirely, but it transformed retirement from a period of widespread destitution into one where most seniors have a basic income floor.

Google AI is NOT your friend. It's stupid, and that in turn means you are too stupid to recognize it.

Social Security is a crutch. Piss poor planning for retirement on your part doesn't create a crisis on my part. That sums up Social Security. If you are too stupid to save and plan for the future, why should I be FORCED to help pay for your lack of foresight and stupidity?

If you are so stupid that you spent your whole life doing whatever for a job and all you have for retirement is Social Security, that's your problem, not mine, and it shouldn't be me paying for your lack of planning.

Medicare's impact​

Medicare, created in 1965, works differently. It doesn't primarily provide income; it provides health insurance.

Before Medicare:

• Many seniors had little or no health insurance.
• Serious illness could wipe out retirement savings.

Medicare reduced seniors' out-of-pocket medical costs and financial risk, making it much easier for retirees to avoid falling into poverty because of healthcare expenses. Researchers generally view Medicare as a major contributor to the improved economic security of older Americans, even though Social Security has the larger direct effect on poverty statistics.

The short answer​

• Social Security: Yes, it dramatically reduced senior poverty and remains the nation's largest anti-poverty program for older adults.
• Medicare: Yes, it greatly improved seniors' financial security by shielding them from medical costs that could otherwise push them into poverty.

However, neither program completely eliminated poverty. Today, about 1 in 10 seniors are still below the official poverty line, and a larger share struggle when medical expenses are taken into account.

Medicare is another sop to the insurance industry. Much like flood insurance, late in life healthcare gets expensive. So, insurers, who got into health insurance as part of FDR's wage and price controls in WW 2, colluded with government to take the costliest part of their coverage and convert it to a government plan where they don't (the insurance companies) care what it costs. The result was Medicare that LBJ, like Obama did with Obamacare, sold the program on a goddamned lie. LBJ claimed that in 10 years from the plan passing it would cost $1 billion and at that point it was already past $10 billion and climbing.

https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2016/07/history-of-medicare-obamacare-000153/

Neither program eliminated poverty. Instead, it gives a crutch to those in poverty to remain in poverty and those close to poverty to end up in poverty. Neither program lifted most, if any, out of poverty.