January 30, 2014
Let’s Decide Fate Of Social Security, Medicare, On The Words Of An Email Chain Letter
So here’s an inane chain email by some anonymous fool…
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November 9, 2013
Fact of the Day: The Social Security Wage Cap For 2014 Is $117,000
In a “Fact of the Day” article last November, I wrote that, “eliminating the [Social Security] wage cap while keeping the benefits cap produces a Social Security surplus.” But you don’t have to take my word for it as this is a fact backed up by the Congressional Research Service. But it’s also just common sense. If you lift the revenue limiter (the wage cap) but you pay out the same benefits, obviously Social Security will be solvent for some time to come.
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October 10, 2013
Left Call Radio 09, 10-10-2013 – Republican Shutdown Lies, And You Won’t Like Me When I’m Angry
Podcast #09: Republicans are lying through their teeth about the government shutdown. And you won’t like me when I’m angry…or maybe you will.
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July 28, 2013
07-28-2013 Left Call Radio 04 – Prison Industrial Complex, Conservative Convenience, Smooth Health Care Evasion, Infrastructure Now!
Episode 04: Prison industrial complex | Conservative bubble convenience | Republicans’ “smooth evasion” on health care, government | It’s the infrastructure stupid
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June 14, 2013
CHART: Social Security Average Wage Index vs. CEO Total Compensation Average
The Social Security Administration computes an annual “Average Wage Index” to ensure a “worker’s future benefits reflect the general rise in the standard of living that occurred during his or her working lifetime.” This index is based on “wages subject to Federal income taxes and contributions to deferred compensation plans.”
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June 1, 2013
Chart: Medicare Insolvency Projections 1980 to 2013
Every year we find out the long-term insolvency projection from the Medicare Trustees, and every year we hear calls from Republicans for major changes and cuts to Medicare in response. So this week we find out that the insolvency projection has been expanded by 2 years to 2026. That’s 13 years until insolvency. That sounds bad right? Well it’s not. The historic average Medicare insolvency projection since 1980 is over 12 years. It’s been as low as 4 years and as high as 28 years during that span. So with the latest report from the Medicare Trustees, we find out the sky is not falling because the program’s insolvency projection is sitting right at it’s 30-year average.
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April 14, 2013
Obama’s Proposed Social Security Cuts Are Wrong
Last week, The White House released a summary of President Obama’s budget. The proposal aims for a 3 to 1 spending cuts to tax increase ratio to reduce the deficit over the next 10 years. But the biggest headline from Obama’s budget plan is the $230 billion he wants to cut from Social Security.
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March 17, 2013
A Liberal Case For No Compromise In Washington
Numerous articles on this blog have critiqued Republicans’ unwillingness to compromise. I’ve mentioned that House Speaker John Boehner doesn’t even like the word compromise. So you would think that I believe compromise is a good thing in Washington. Well, if we were dealing with two political parties that gravitated towards the center of the political spectrum, one being center-left, the other being center-right, then sure, compromise is a good thing. That’s not the make-up of Washington D.C. at the moment.
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February 15, 2013
9 Reasons To Hate Big Government
Do you hate big government? Does waste and corruption disgust you? Do you loathe incompetence? Do you display a general disdain for those public sector scumbags? Well sit back and absorb these 9 reasons to hate big government.
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February 10, 2013
Liberal: What Does It Mean? – The Rise And Fall Of Modern Social Liberalism
In May of 2011, I asked the question “What does it mean to be a liberal?” The question and the blog post that followed were written months before the launch of what is now called The Left Call. Apparently I was not alone in asking the question as that post from nearly two years ago is now the 3rd most popular on this blog. And because of that, I feel the need to expand.
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