Census form

[srkruzich]

So how much did you invest in this miraculous Qfund? 

Its not miraculous it is a smart investment.  SImplicity usually works best and that is what qfund is. I invested heavily into it in 1999 sold out in 2001 after i became disabled.  Used it to pay off medical bills and bills for 3 years while i waited on social security.

[srkruzich]

Just so folks know the q fund take every dollar you put into it and spreads it over all the stocks in the fund.  If theres 2000 stocks in the fund then you buy a piece of each stock.  The idea is sound and you spread your risk over the whole spectrum. When one stock goes down another will go up and by spreading it over all the stocks, your safer in that there will be more stocks go up than down in any given period.

The stock market is NOT a short term investment.  IT is a long term investment and has consistantly risen since 1929. 
IT has its ups n downs but every time it goes down it comes back higher than before. 

I think i still have some oil stocks in play. haven't checked them in a while.  THey had gone down so low it wasn't worth selling them so i just hung on to them. 

[frawin]

I don't think see, or anyone else, should recieve social security "benefits", as it is not mandated by the Constitution.  Other than for voting purposes, what need should a person have to establish their age other than to adhere to laws that restrict our freedoms?

Billy when the Constitution of these Great United States was written the Population was 2.5 Million people, today the population is 310million,. When the Constitution was written the life expectancy was 35 years of age, today it is 77.5 to 80 years of age. Our forefathers in all of their great wisdom had no idea what the future held and there were many things that could not possibly have been planned for. The Constitution did allow for all 3 of the branches of the government, President and both Houses of Congress to enact laws and programs to allow for changes that were needed. With the changes in America during the Industrial Revolution it was evident that America was fast becoming an Industrialized nation and people were leaving the farms for the cities and for factory jobs, at that time the life expectancy had risen to 61.7 years and it was evident that many people needed some help and security in their elderly years. Our Government came up with Social Security which was to help the elderly in their later years. Contrary to your beliefs and comments it was not designed as a gimme program, it was designed as mandated savings for the people and by the people and their employers. The plan was a good one and worked very well for many years, the farmers were added in the 1950s, and were allowed to get in with very little paid in, in my opinion that was fine.
I have worked hard all of my life and I began paying into social security in 1951 at the age of 11, I have paid in for almost 59 years and now I draw it,in addition at 69 I am still working everyday and I have no immediate plans to quit, and yes I am still paying into Social Security, I don't care if I draw as much as was paid in or not, if I don't other people will benefit from  it. That is the American way, to help others in need and deserving. You are totally out of touch with reality if you think that the children of the elderly can or will be able or wiilling in every case to take care of them. Look around you at the drugs, crime and direction that a lot of the young people are taking. Besides many of the young people are trying to raise their own families and educate their children.
Billy I respect you very much for the time you spent in the defense of your country, but I think your comments and ideas about many of the posts on the forum are totally out of touch with reality. As the moderator of the Political section, I would think you would want to encourage participation, ideas and discussion on any worthwhile subject that comes up, instead you try to destroy the poster and the subject. Enough said, probably to much but I really enjoy the forum and I want it to continue with everyone feeling that they can start a discussion without being rudely criticized. One added comment, I am amazed in all of your wisdom that you would compare 9/11 to the attack on Pearl Harbor and WWII.

[greatguns]

Well said.

[redcliffsw]

Frank, I believe that Billy is doing a good job on the forum.  He's a Constitutionalist and that's great.
He's standing by the Constitution and with our founding fathers and I see no fault with that.  Billy is correct
on this particular issue and if there is any rudeness, it's not coming from his side.  You're right on many
things, but not this one.

Respectfully Submitted,
rc

[srkruzich]

One added comment, I am amazed in all of your wisdom that you would compare 9/11 to the attack on Pearl Harbor and WWII.

UHmm Lets see attack on pearl harbor was a attack on military installation, civilans were affected as well but japans attack was on military not civilian.  9/11 the attack was directed at civlian population not military.   
    * US Navy 2,008 KIA
    * USMC 109 KIA
    * US Army 218 KIA
    * Civilians 68


Total 2,403

63 civilians in pearl harbor, almost 3000 civilians on 9/11.   I would say both are devestating but the 9/11 attacks were by far most heinous.   

We were attacked without provocation both times.  Japan payed dearly for their decision in attacking us, and the terrorists should pay as dearly as the japanese did.

I think comparing tit for tat is not possible, but comparing the events as a whole are identicle.   Both events sent us into war.

[Varmit]

Bullshit. Lifetime welfare recipients MAYBE.......women like me who got rid of a worthless husband and took help till we could get a job lined out....NOT even close. I have dug ditches, shoveled shit, and a whole bunch of OTHER crappy jobs to take care of my kids. I AM not ashamed of the help I got to start with. I am NOT and never HAVE been a drug addict. Think about it before you go shootin off your mouth and generalizin about people and situations.

Oookay then, you totally missed the point I was getting at, so let me break it down for ya....the comparison I made between welfare folks and drug addicts was meant to illustrate their addiction to something.  Did I mean every single person that ever needed a little help?...No. I thought that would have been pretty clear. 


Frawin, thank you for illustrating my point, "Contrary to your beliefs and comments it was not designed as a gimme program, it was designed as MANDATED savings for the people and by the people and their employers." (emphasis added

Lets take a closer look at the word Mandated shall we. When something is mandated it means YOU don't have a choice in the matter.  In this case the gov't forced the people into this.  They took money away from one group and gave it to another.  The theives that came up with this were smart enough to realize that the only way this program wil work is if the worker to retiree ratio would remain constant.  They knew it wouldn't.  So the answer they came up with was to increase the tax to fund this program.  To make matters worse we now have people saying "well, I paid into it, I should be able to collect", and to a point they are correct.  However, the problems start when you have people that have only paid, for example, 50k and over the years have drawn 4 times that amount.  How is that even possible?...oh yeah, they just keep taking from others.

You say that the younger generation is not willing or able to take care of the elderly...I submit this question to you sir, Why should we? 
Everyone knows that in order for the social security program to continue, the taxes that fund it will have to increase.  That means us younger folks have to work longer and harder just to make a buck, while the older generation demands more and more.  And bear in mind that the "babyboomers" haven't started to retire yet.  Which will put an even bigger strain on the system.  Which, in turn, means even more money taken from "us".  So, would you be willing to help someone who not only steals from you but continues to raise the amount that he takes?

Out of touch with reality...The reality is the system is broken, yet most aren't willing to do what is neseccary to fix it.  Instead, they leave it for others to pick up the tab.  We have an older generation that will wave the flag and hail the troops, yet they themselves seem unwilling to make the sacrifices now that will enable future generations to prosper.

As for my posts...I am a very blunt person. I don't believe in candy coating things, it serves no purpose.  I believe that Robert E. Lee said it best, "You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do on every occasion, and take it for granted that you mean to do right." As far as encouraging participation, I welcome the opinion of others in a discussion, however much I may disagree with them.  If they choose to get personal or "bitey" I will also.  Is it helpful to the conversation?...not really, but I will give just as good as I get.  I do not aim to "destroy" any poster and don't understand where you get that impression?

As for comparing 9/11 to the attack on Pearl Harbor...for my generation, 9/11 was our Pearl Harbor.  Now it might not have been as large of a scale of Pearl, but I don't see the difference.  We were attacked by an outside force that seeks our destruction.  Americans died in both attacks for no apparent reason.  Maybe I am just an Idealist, but I don't see the difference a bodycount makes.  We live with the same type of fears that the country felt after Pearl.  Only now instead of mass invasions and atomic bombs, its suicide bomber with suitcase nukes or biologics. 

No Sir, I do not believe that I am out of touch.  My eyes are open wide and I see this world for what it is.



P.S. Thanks Red!

[srkruzich]

You know varmit, if we could get what we paid into ss and opt out, that would be a risk i would take.  I could take it and invest it so that it would bring me a income in.   Whether i invested it in the stock market or startup of a business either way it would take care of my needs.  RIght now my needs aren't being taken care of.  Personally, they need to start with 40 year olds and  younger and change the system to be a privatized account for them. Then pay off the existing debt to those who are older.  I think it was chile that did the same thing, and made all ss accounts private.  ITs successful! 
Give those who are up to 45 a choice of either converting what they paid in into a privatized account and allow them to own their own account.  Pass it along to their heirs.  That is only fair. phase out this ponzi scheme over the next 40 years.

shoot i would even risk going privatized and rolling what i have paid in into the account.  Most likely in 10 years it would be more than enough to take care of me for the rest of my life and leave enough to pass along to my kids and grandkids.

[frawin]

Thanks to all of you that have emailed me on this. I see that there are a lot of Guests on the Forum, I have often wondered who some of you were. Two of you made humorous comments, one was the comment that our forefathers did not put anything in the Constitution about us having to wear seats belts so we shouldn't have to, another was there was nothing in the Constitution about us having to have car insurance so we shouldn't have to. I believe in the Constitution and I believe that our Founders and the signors of the Constitution done a great job with it, but in all of their wisdom they could not have possibly imagined what big changes would come in the next 234 years. I further believe that they felt that we would have wise leaders and would enact laws and pass bills to cover the changes. As far as Social Security I don't think it has anything to do with the Constitution. Further, I think our forefathers felt that the Majority would rule and bills and laws would be passed as needed accordingly. Unfortunately that maybe changing for the worst.

[Wilma]

I'm sorry, Varmit, the fear on 9/11 was nothing compared to the fear that pervaded the nation on Dec. 7, 1941.  I lived through both of them.  I was there on that Sunday afternoon, just home from a visit to my grandparents, when my 15 year old brother came in, said something and turned the radio on.  I listened as my father and mother listened to what seemed to be the same thing that had happened 25 years earlier.  They knew what invasion meant.  They had lived through one world war and they could see that it was happening again.  We had been having reports of what Hitler was doing in Europe for several years and I think that everyone knew that we were going to have to go over there and put a stop to it.  We were living in a time of tension, not really recovered from the Great Depression, wanting nothing but to live in peace and take care of ourselves.  At least I, an 11 year old girl, wanted only to live peaceably, doing the things that a girl growing up needs to do.  You might think I was too young to realize what was happening?  I didn't need to know what was happening.  I could feel it in my parents, and my older siblings.

I also lived through 9/11.  I watched it unfold on the national news that morning when suddenly they were showing the trade center buildings, one of them smoking, then a plane showed up, circled around the buildings and came at them from the other side.  I could hear the people in the studio screaming as they realized what was happening.  There was no time for fear to set in.  It happened.  It was not something that our nation had been thinking about for some time.  It was not something that we were being set up for and, therefore, had time for the fear to set in.  The fear then was, where else is this going to happen?  I think that what saved the day then were the brave Americans on the 4th plane, who realized what was happening and what was going to happen to them and chose to stop it with their lives. 

You can't know the fear that we felt December 7, 1941.  You had to be there.