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AUTHOR: R Quinn on 12/28/2025
I admit it, I am addicted to social media. I read Threads, X, Facebook and even TruthSocial every day. It is a bad, frustrating and depressing habit.
There are those who say just ignore them, what is said does not matter in the real world. I wish that were true, but I think that widespread distribution of lies, and misinformation is very harmful to individuals and society. When I read an absolute falsehood about Social Security or Medicare and see hundreds of agreeing comments and thousands of likes, we have a problem in my opinion.
I’m not diving into the political world, but consider these current often repeated posts. I don’t know who or what generates them, or if misleading is intentional or extremely ignorant, but it’s there.
Did you know Social Security is a scam, only a Ponzi scheme or that Congress stole the trust fund money and never returned it. That the trust would be in fine shape if only ineligible people weren’t receiving benefits. Not true of course😱
Hey, there is no reason seniors should have to pay for Part B of Medicare. “They” give us a minimal COLA and “they” raise the Part B premium and take it back” – as if there is a calculated plot against seniors rather than the changes set by law reflecting increasing costs.😱
If you are 65 or older, you “paid your dues” and should not have to pay any taxes. If you are retired, you should not pay property taxes once your house is paid-based on the widespread myth you don’t home your home if there is a mortgage. No consideration is given to how schools and community services will be funded.
Economists point out that property taxes are used because they are stable and don’t fluctuate with economic conditions unlike income or sales taxes and can quickly be adjusted. Property taxes have funded schools since around 1840.
There are those who believe income taxes can be eliminated and the government entirely funded with tariffs. The inadequacy, instability and unfairness of that revenue was demonstrated over a hundred years ago.
The drumbeat against taxes does not reflect what our taxes provide. There seems to be no connection between our roads, national parks, airports, safety-security, etc, and taxes. The anti-tax movement or perhaps more accurate anti-tax me paying taxes movement is not healthy IMO.🥵
One subject that is over the top is healthcare and health in insurance. Millions of people seem convinced that premiums are high simply because the insurance companies are greedy and making excessive profits at their expense. The fact is premiums reflect the cost and use of healthcare. Insurer profits are limited by law and the profit margins are among the lowest in any industry – under 5%. The fact that growing income is driven by policy volume and not per policy premiums is ignored.
Or consider this post. “We pay into Medicare with every paycheck we receive during our lifetime. 40+ years of payments should guarantee us free healthcare at retirement.” The Medicare A trust is seriously underfunded and headed for insolvable. Must be the fault of “they.”🤑
It’s widely posted that Members of Congress have better/free healthcare than “the rest of us.” Actually, Congress must select a plan from a ACA exchange and pay a significant portion of the premium the same as all federal employees.
The examples go on and on and the ignorance and disregard for facts seems to be out of control. No wonder handling personal finances is a challenge for so many people. They use advice from social media. 🥵
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
“Making significant changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs to reduce their cost”
What are those changes that will reduce cost? Is this another “waste, fraud and abuse” initiative?
The only way to reduce the cost is to cut someone’s benefits.
Too frequently, when Democrats talk about reducing the cost of entitlements, they aren’t reducing the cost, but transfering more of the expense to other Americans.
That is, they will promise better Medicaid coverage (or more people eligible for Medicaid) and greater food assistance (or more people eligible for food assistance) and send the bill to future generations by running greater deficits.
All of that stuff is to be funded by general revenues, primarily income taxes. Bottom line, if you ask the 60% of Americans who pay income taxes whether they would be willing to pay more in income taxes to increase the value of Medicaid and the food assistance, a vast majority would say no, or HELL NO!
Show me the survey that says a majority of Americans who are already paying income taxes want to pay more income taxes. Show me the proposals on who Congress plans to tax more, and their willingness to pay more.
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“The wealthy are not taking from you or blocking your opportunity and neither are the poor who need assistance.”
True(ish), however… “Free” enterprise should eventually, gradually, level out income and wealth somewhat.
My Dad probably borrowed his “common wisdom” from some unknown source, but when he explained capitalism (as opposed to communism?), to me, he said that a man who works harder, or smarter, should earn, and keep more than others.
“But it’s hard* to imagine someone working TEN THOUSAND TIMES (emphasis mine) harder than I do.”
Reagan was wrong. Bring back the much more progressive income tax.
“In 1941, Roosevelt proposed a 99.5 percent marginal rate on all incomes over $100,000. “Why not?” he said when an adviser questioned him.”
My income is above average, and I’m OK with a tax increase for me. And you.
*impossible, IMHO
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Not just the billionaires, BTW. In the U.S. there are untold millions of doctors (yes, even doctors) engineers, attorneys, CPAs, etc. who earn relatively more than they would in most countries, and are taxed less.Studies show* that even many of them would advocate more progressive taxation.
*I made that up, but would bet many agree. I earn more than median income (but less than average) and would support a tax increase for me.
And for you.
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You are free to pay more in taxes anytime you like. But, unlike you, I have always paid more than my “fair share” in taxes – especially when it comes to entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. My “fair share” also includes a couple of years wearing the green – when I volunteered my draft back in 1971. So, until things change, feel free to call on other Americans before you ask me for even more.
I think the $1 Trillion a year in interest payments on the national debt are a near perfect example of Congress lying to Americans, promising them more while sending the bill to generations too young to vote and generations yet unborn. Almost all of that interest is attributable to deficit spending after “Health Reform”, compounded by more spending in the American Rescue Act of 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act and other stupid spending – where those and other “investments” added $28 Trillion in national debt after 3/23/2010.
If you give them more money, they will spend more to buy more votes.
So, you can count on me for more of my money ONLY AFTER Congress takes action to balance the federal budget, so that any additional taxes from me are used to pay down our national debt.
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Making significant changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs to reduce their cost
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Americans’ Preferences for Reducing Federal Debt, by Party
Gallup, Oct. 14, 2025
‘By party’, not by income status. 63% of U.S. adults prefer…
Increasing income tax rates for upper-income Americans
It’s nuanced of course, one could almost interpret this study several ways. But surely 63% includes some, or many, of above average income. The study was quoted by Mitt Romney.
“Romney said he no longer opposes increasing taxes on wealthier Americans and argued that the biggest “source of additional tax revenues is also probably the most compelling for fairness and social stability.”
Fairness and social stability.
86% of Democrats. 64% of Independents. 38% of Republicans
……………………..
OTOH, 45% of U.S. adults support reducing the federal debt by “Making significant changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs to reduce their cost.”
75% of Republicans, 22% of Democrats, 50% of Independents
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Al Lindquist
As Jack says you can pay more just get the form from the IRS and send in more money–per usual, in my opinion, it’s all talk and bluster–you probably mean other folks should pay more.
Roosevelt was a fool–once my income hit say $95,000 why would I put in more hours, sweat, and tears only to lose almost 100% of it to the government? many of us are slow but not stupid–we want to encourage work not discourage it.
the more I keep the more I can spend, save, or invest–all good for economy–the more the government takes the less vibrant the economy and the more fraud and corruption (MN–IL–CA) will waste the tax dollars.
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“I’m not diving into the political world” – most of the social media lies originated in Congressional promises of what people should be receiving for their tax dollars … such as a Medicare for All, a guaraneed income, a livable wage.
Why are you surprised Americans are so ignorant about these issues when Congress, the idiot ass Trump, and so many others lie to them every day? Why are you surprised that people think there is a pot of gold out there that Congress could distribute when the idiot ass Biden approves a multiemployer pension plan bailout to the tune of $80+ Billion (a bailout that won’t fix chronic underfunding which has been commonplace since before Jimmy Carter became president), or his approval of the Social Security Fairness Act, which CBO priced at nearly $200 billion during the first ten years alone!
They are buying votes, and they are using social media to sell their schemes.
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