{"id":14280,"date":"2011-03-09T08:05:34","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T15:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=14280"},"modified":"2011-03-09T03:08:03","modified_gmt":"2011-03-09T10:08:03","slug":"social-security-and-the-tyranny-of-noomps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/14280\/social-security-and-the-tyranny-of-noomps\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security and the Tyranny of NOOMPs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The debate over Social Security and America\u2019s mind-boggling debt is going to get more heated.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen over and over in polls that people favor cutting spending\u2026 unless that spending involves them directly.\u00a0 In my industry we see it with the NAR and every Rotarian Socialist program that comes down the pike.\u00a0 But we see it with everyday homeowners too.\u00a0 \u201cYes!\u201d they scream with their signs and their votes, \u201ccut spending across the board.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been taxed enough!\u201d\u00a0 But suggest eliminating the mortgage interest deduction and see what happens.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s way too important,\u201d and \u201cWhat would that do to the real estate industry?\u201d (virtually nothing, by the way).\u00a0 What\u2019s to be concluded?\u00a0 We are dealing with a nation of NOOMPs. (You remember NIMBY<\/a>s, right?)\u00a0 NOOMPs are people who support spending cuts, so long as those cuts are N<\/span>ot O<\/span>ut O<\/span>f M<\/span>y P<\/span>ocket.)\u00a0 And I suggest there\u2019s no greater concentration of NOOMPs than within the AARP.<\/p>\n

Robert Samuelson wrote a good piece in Newsweek recently entitled Who Rules America? It\u2019s The AARP. <\/a>\u00a0In it, he suggests \u201cthe AARP sets overall priorities (in government).\u00a0 Its power derives from the fear it inspires in senators, congressmen, presidents and political candidates.\u201d\u00a0 He went on to say \u201cNo one wants to strip needy seniors of essential benefits.\u00a0 Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid provide crucial protections for millions of poorer and older households.\u00a0 But for many relatively healthy and economically secure Americans, these programs constitute middle-class welfare.\u201d\u00a0 That last bit of analogy apparently caused such an uproar (ostensibly from middle-class Americans who don\u2019t appreciate it when someone points out they are on welfare), that he felt obliged to write a second<\/em> article entitled Social Security: A Form of Welfare<\/a> to try and set the record straight.\u00a0 I applaud Mr. Samuelson for his frank and honest discussion, but I don\u2019t think he goes far enough\u2026<\/p>\n

The Social Security system has been a welfare scheme since its inception.\u00a0 If it had been a situation where people paid in and then later withdrew \u2013 what we might call a retirement account<\/em> \u2013 and which Congress then went in and stole from (leaving Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I, for one, am tired of hearing people, especially Baby Busters \u2013quite possibly the most economically, politically and culturally devastating generation in America\u2019s brief history \u2013 arguing that they have some kind of contract; they paid in and they deserve their money back. Or worse: that they paid in and now current generations owe it to them to continue this Ponzi scheme of wealth redistribution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251,29],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-big-mother","7":"category-group-therapy","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14423,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/14423\/thomas-sowells-budget-cutting-idea-cut-welfare-for-billionaires\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":0},"title":"Thomas Sowell’s budget-cutting idea: Cut welfare for billionaires.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"April 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"So Republicans got hustled on their paltry budget cuts. What a surprise. Meanwhile, the Tea Party is busy fixing what's wrong with America by tinkering with abortion rules and gun control laws. This is an excellent way to blow a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It seems obvious to me that what needs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2560,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2560\/understanding-the-laffer-curve-reality-myth-whats-next\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":1},"title":"Understanding the Laffer Curve — Reality & Myth — What’s Next?","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"February 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Being just slightly to the right of Attila the Hun, taxes are of great import to me. I believe in principles long established. One of them is small government works better for its citizens than large government. Lower taxes are better than higher taxes as long as the bills are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3284,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3284\/mortgage-market-week-in-review-the-fed-translated\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":2},"title":"Mortgage Market Week in Review – the Fed Translated….","author":"Tom Vanderwell","date":"June 27, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi all, I want to thank Greg and Teri and Brian and....everyone for the honor of being invited to hang out with such an esteemed bunch.\u00a0 I'm really excited about it and looking forward to working, talking and \"raising the bar.\" I'll do up a post next week telling a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lending"","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6225,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/6225\/learning-to-appreciate-the-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":3},"title":"Learning to Appreciate the Arts","author":"Sean Purcell","date":"December 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Not everyone appreciates the entertainment value of watching the body politic.\u00a0 But I do.\u00a0 I stand hands on hips, amazed by the intricate movements each player contributes to their tap dance around the truth.\u00a0 I listen to their spin, enthralled by the rhythm and stunned by their ability to stand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1955,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/1955\/fed-trades-a-sharp-pain-quick-recovery-for-extended-convalescence\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":4},"title":"Fed trades a sharp pain, quick recovery for extended convalescence","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my column this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link): \u00a0Fed trades a sharp pain, quick recovery for extended convalescence As I write this the Federal Reserve Bank just cut its federal funds rate and also its discount rate, both by half-a-percent. The Fed doesn't control mortgage interest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lending"","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10321,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/10321\/how-can-a-flat-and-dusty-bumpkintopia-like-texas-outgrow-a-paradise-on-earth-like-california\/","url_meta":{"origin":14280,"position":5},"title":"How can a flat and dusty bumpkintopia like Texas outgrow a paradise on earth like California?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"A clip from a fascinating City Journal article on the differences in taxes and services among the states and how that affects growth:If California doesn\u2019t want to be Texas, it must find a way to be a better California. The easy thing about being Texas is that the government has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Big Mother"","block_context":{"text":"Big Mother","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/big-mother\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14280"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14303,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14280\/revisions\/14303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}