Are any American Expats worried Trump will stop there retirement income?  He’s headed for that next step.  He will destroy the SS system and Americans won’t have money to live on anymore.  We have our savings but it won’t last forever.  A reverse mortgage may be in our future.

6 minutes ago, pchansmorn said:

Are any American Expats worried Trump will stop there retirement income?  He’s headed for that next step.  He will destroy the SS system and Americans won’t have money to live on anymore.  We have our savings but it won’t last forever.  A reverse mortgage may be in our future.

Lot being said about SS and some sounds like it can be stopped, but although I dislike trump, some of what he's trying to do is actually preventing the loss of benefits. Time will tell. No one in their right minds would try and take survival money away from over 70 million Americans because it would be about the last thing they would do.

1 hour ago, pchansmorn said:

Are any American Expats worried Trump will stop there retirement income?  He’s headed for that next step.  He will destroy the SS system and Americans won’t have money to live on anymore.  We have our savings but it won’t last forever.  A reverse mortgage may be in our future.

 

 

Yes. Worried.

 

25 minutes ago, pchansmorn said:

Are any American Expats worried Trump will stop there retirement income?  He’s headed for that next step.  He will destroy the SS system and Americans won’t have money to live on anymore.  We have our savings but it won’t last forever.  A reverse mortgage may be in our future.

No.  Trump has said repeatedly that he won't cut Social Security, He has even advocated for no tax on Social Security benefits.  That said, the Fed has been destroying the value of the dollar since 1913, and Trump is on a path to spend tons of money and has no debt ceiling to contend with for a while, so there's always the danger that the dollar will collapse entirely.  At that point, you may still be receiving your benefits, but what will you do with your monthly check? Buy a cup of coffee? 

 

It probably won't come to that anytime soon, though.  Still, he dollar decline is inevitable, so it would be smart to start investing in assets that will generate an income, regardless of the dollar's value, either through dividends or capital gains.  And it wouldn't hurt to have some gold and silver and maybe some crypto. 

FFT:  Back when I still lived in Thailand and became eligible for SSA, I was able to apply by phone through the US Embassy in Manila.  According to what I've read recently, the government is taking steps to make initial applying only in person.  Don't know if this will affect any of the younger expats living in Thailand, but it might be a thing to watch out for.

 

Here is Musk’s direct quote: “The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.”

And he’s exactly right.

• FACT: The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
• FACT: Over the past two decades, the federal government has made an estimated $2.7 trillion in “improper payments” — the majority of which come in the form of “payments to deceased individuals or those who no longer [are] eligible for government programs.”
• FACT: The Social Security Administration made an estimated $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022.
• FACT: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimated it made $140+ billion in improper payments in 2024 alone.

What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?

21 hours ago, jas007 said:

No.  Trump has said repeatedly that he won't cut Social Security, He has even advocated for no tax on Social Security benefits.  That said, the Fed has been destroying the value of the dollar since 1913, and Trump is on a path to spend tons of money and has no debt ceiling to contend with for a while, so there's always the danger that the dollar will collapse entirely.  At that point, you may still be receiving your benefits, but what will you do with your monthly check? Buy a cup of coffee? 

 

It probably won't come to that anytime soon, though.  Still, he dollar decline is inevitable, so it would be smart to start investing in assets that will generate an income, regardless of the dollar's value, either through dividends or capital gains.  And it wouldn't hurt to have some gold and silver and maybe some crypto. 

You believe Trump? OMG.

41 minutes ago, Dan747 said:

Here is Musk’s direct quote: “The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.”

And he’s exactly right.

• FACT: The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
• FACT: Over the past two decades, the federal government has made an estimated $2.7 trillion in “improper payments” — the majority of which come in the form of “payments to deceased individuals or those who no longer [are] eligible for government programs.”
• FACT: The Social Security Administration made an estimated $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022.
• FACT: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimated it made $140+ billion in improper payments in 2024 alone.

What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?

Nobody is against that but the question is the storm trooper smash it all tactics of DOGE. 

Also why did you paste all that with NO LINK?

Very suspect "facts" if you don't bother to do that.

22 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

No one in their right minds would try and take survival money away from over 70 million Americans

Aha, I see the flaw in your argument!

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Nobody is against that but the question is the storm trooper smash it all tactics of DOGE. 

Also why did you paste all that with NO LINK?

Very suspect "facts" if you don't bother to do that.

Yes, but it was a very loud post, in a really big font, which means it conclusively wins the argument!

 

Surely you have been around long enough to know that posting "FACT" at the start of a claim or statement means it is absolutely incontrovertible, one might say it trumps any argument!

22 hours ago, jas007 said:

No.  Trump has said repeatedly that he won't cut Social Security, He has even advocated for no tax on Social Security benefits.  That said, the Fed has been destroying the value of the dollar since 1913, and Trump is on a path to spend tons of money and has no debt ceiling to contend with for a while, so there's always the danger that the dollar will collapse entirely.  At that point, you may still be receiving your benefits, but what will you do with your monthly check? Buy a cup of coffee? 

 

It probably won't come to that anytime soon, though.  Still, he dollar decline is inevitable, so it would be smart to start investing in assets that will generate an income, regardless of the dollar's value, either through dividends or capital gains.  And it wouldn't hurt to have some gold and silver and maybe some crypto. 

The value of the dollar is declining? You are thinking of dollars as being like shares of stock. The question is is the purchasing power of the average American greater now than it was in 1913. In other words while the value of the individual dollar has decreased, what's relevant is how many dollars the average person now has and can they purchase more with it and they covered what they had back in 2013.

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

The value of the dollar is declining? You are thinking of dollars as being like shares of stock. The question is is the purchasing power of the average American greater now than it was in 1913. In other words while the value of the individual dollar has increased, what's relevant is how many dollars the average person now has and can they purchase more with it and they covered what they had back in 2013.

Lefties are clueless about inflation. Buy bitcoin

7 minutes ago, placeholder said:

The value of the dollar is declining? You are thinking of dollars as being like shares of stock. The question is is the purchasing power of the average American greater now than it was in 1913. In other words while the value of the individual dollar has increased, what's relevant is how many dollars the average person now has and can they purchase more with it and they covered what they had back in 2013.

Good point,

In 1913 how much would a 2 week holiday trip to Thailand cost you?

Or how much for a new EV?

Just now, hotsun said:

Lefties are clueless about inflation. Buy bitcoin

Just before you made your post I corrected mine. It's what comes of dictating to an Android phone without checking it first. So it is a fact that despite decrease in value of the dollar what counts is how many dollars you have and what their total purchasing power is. And anybody who thinks otherwise is the truly clueless person.

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Good point,

In 1913 how much would a 2 week holiday trip to Thailand cost you?

Or how much for a new EV?

I guess you think you're making some kind of point.

22 hours ago, pchansmorn said:

Are any American Expats worried Trump will stop there retirement income?  He’s headed for that next step.  He will destroy the SS system and Americans won’t have money to live on anymore.  We have our savings but it won’t last forever.  A reverse mortgage may be in our future.

You don't know what you are talking about.   SS can only be eliminated by an act of Congress. 

13 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Just before you made your post I corrected mine. It's what comes of dictating to an Android phone without checking it first. So it is a fact that despite decrease in value of the dollar what counts is how many dollars you have and what their total purchasing power is. And anybody who thinks otherwise is the truly clueless person.

You have no idea about inflation. Totally clueless

Just now, hotsun said:

You have no idea about inflation. Totally clueless

If you actually had an idea about inflation and its relation to individual prosperity, you would offer it. I can only assume that you suffer from the same confusion as does Jas007. Apparently you believe that Americans were richer 50 years ago than they are today.

24 minutes ago, hotsun said:

Lefties are clueless about inflation. Buy bitcoin

Absolutely, invest in a bubble!

1 minute ago, JAG said:

Absolutely, invest in a bubble!

What? Bitcoin or the dollar?

1 minute ago, hotsun said:

What? Bitcoin or the dollar?

Bitcoin - it is a classic bubble.

No worries at all.

3 minutes ago, JAG said:

Bitcoin - it is a classic bubble.

Just now, hotsun said:

You don't understand the difference between currency and stock. Once again to the people who earn their money in dollars (unless they are a currency trader), it's not a question of the individual value of a dollar but rather how many dollars they have. That's what determines their purchasing power.

2 minutes ago, placeholder said:

You don't understand the difference between currency and stock. Once again to the people who earn their money in dollars (unless they are a currency trader), it's not a question of the individual value of a dollar but rather how many dollars they have. That's what determines their purchasing power.

Paper money is infinite. Inherently worthless

1 hour ago, Dan747 said:

Here is Musk’s direct quote: “The waste and fraud in entitlement spending — which is most of the federal spending is entitlements — so, that’s, like, the big one to eliminate. That’s the, sort of half-trillion, maybe $6-700 billion a year.”

And he’s exactly right.

• FACT: The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud — and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.
• FACT: Over the past two decades, the federal government has made an estimated $2.7 trillion in “improper payments” — the majority of which come in the form of “payments to deceased individuals or those who no longer [are] eligible for government programs.”
• FACT: The Social Security Administration made an estimated $72 billion in improper payments between 2015 and 2022.
• FACT: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimated it made $140+ billion in improper payments in 2024 alone.

What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?

What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending that ultimately costs taxpayers more?

 

The kind that directly or indirectly benefit from it.

 

1 minute ago, hotsun said:

Paper money is infinite. Inherently worthless

Which is why the world economy has shrunk to nothing since Fiat currency became the norm? At least, that's apparently the case in the alternate universe you seem hail from.

22 hours ago, jas007 said:

No.  Trump has said repeatedly that he won't cut Social Security,

Yes, of course. Trump never lies.

22 hours ago, jas007 said:

He has even advocated for no tax on Social Security benefits.  

That only happens if he abolishes income tax for all and collects money via tarrifs. It becomes a consumption tax which gets most if the money from those at the lower end of the income spectrum who spend all their money living. The rich consume a much smaller portion of their income so the impact is less for them.

3 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Which is why the world economy has shrunk to nothing since Fiat currency became the norm? At least, that's apparently the case in the alternate universe you seem hail from.

Alternate universe is the future, yes