Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for September 29, 2012

That darn 47%! Living in the lap of luxury, and not paying any taxes!

Prior to the Social Security act passing in the 1930s the two main causes of death for the elderly were hypothermia and starvation. Food for thought, next time you hear from someone who wants to do away with the program.

Pet food is pretty costly. Rats, now there’s some cheap nutrition!

with a sprig of parsley on the side for that je ne sais quoi…

Fish food on Friday.

Hey! My Boeuf Bourguinon is very tasty and a family favorite!

It is similar to the Canadian version above but much simpler.

The dog would make about three meals, and then you wouldn’t have to share your dog food. The savings would mean you could have hot dogs once a month!

Dog food is awful! Yuck! But, cat food in a can is great on Premium Saltine crackers…Kinda like a pate’

Dog: “Woof?”

Dude: “Woof!”

A rose by any other name is still the same!

Remember pink slime? Once upon a time it was only fit for dog food.

welcome to italy!

just imagine how much each of us would receive if those who never paid into the system could not draw from the same, i.e., the moocher class

Gives new meaning to the 47%that are on the Gravy Train.

gop dream of getting rid of social security, medicare, medicaid, safety nets.

Vegan? Is that someone from the Vega star system? It would make sense if they were.

Just think if the government confiscated your entire paycheck, you could have a decent satndard of living! The more they take, the better things get, no!

Yeah. As I recall, Congress (both parties) raided social security some time ago. Maybe they’ll publish a nice dog food cookbook for the rest of us.

Romney’s America

People today who are in the “elderly” class worked during the time wages were very limited. I worked for over 20 years, and my salaries started at $1.40 and ended (as an office manager) at $12. Since your SS income is based on what you paid in, this group of elders receive smaller checks that don’t cover today’s cost of living.

No that’s lasagna silly. How soon we forget..Weren’t these people raised in the 70’s? That’s when all the good dog food recipes came out.

If they were so poor that they had to eat dog food, how could they afford to feed the dog (maybe really short because it’s the end of the month?)?

see, we know Mitt would provide….

Kibble with milk makes that perfect breakfast – though I haven’t tried it.

Hey, Social Security ain’t so bad… we got a raise this year :-)

I wonder how Mittens likes the taste of crow?

a wealthy (53%er) old widow down the street living on 600 USD a month sez Fancy Feast is the best for taste and quality. she has no cats. ;p

What’s sad is that there are the elderly who are continuing to die of starvation and inadequate housing today. There are shut-ins that are out of the scope of meals on wheels and other out reach programs that die inside their homes from starvation, dehydration, extreme heat and cold . . . I don’t know what we’re going to do to take care of the boomers, but we better think of something soon!

Oh, man, I would be there if it weren’t for a small income from a rental unit. I am so glad that Gov. Moonbeam signed a law in California that will provide a state retirement plan for non-public employees. It won’t be a lot—3% of income—but it will supplement Social Security. It won’t affect me but will be so good for my children.

This is the reality for many many seniors, especially in the week before that pitiful SS check arrives.

My father told me that pigeon (squab) was OK, but sparrow breasts were delicious. Gardens provided veggies which I preferred. Denis1112, A few years ago, I used to take people around to pick up commodities, food from pantries, etc. Sometimes I wondered what people thought about me loading this stuff in the back of my big station wagon. Now I guess I know, I was a freeloader. Wal-Mart doesn’t sell liquor in this area. Cigarettes, yes and I agree that anyone using food stamps should not smoke and that our government should stop subsidizing the tobacco farmers. Propose that to Mitch McConnell and see what his answer is. He voted against the last attempt to defund big tobacco.

@Peabody-Martini (way up above)“Prior to the Social Security act passing in the 1930s the two main causes of death for the elderly were hypothermia and starvation.”How curious. I just went to the CDC’s table, “Leading Causes of Death, 1900-1998” (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/lead1900_98.pdf)Neither hypothermia nor starvation, nor anything that could serve as a surrogate for hypothermia or starvation, showed up between 1900 and 1935, when the Social Security Act was passed. Nor have they showed up since. Pneumonia and influenza led for three or four years around 1918 — remember the Spanish Flu — but for most years heart disease was the number one killer. Where do you get your data?

Sound cold and uncaring? Yes…but you forgot selfish and self-centered. There are people who are truly disabled, and elderly who lose their means of living (remember 401K’s being lost and pensions cancelled? Happens every day). What is your solution for them? Perhaps culling the herd? Surely you don’t suggest the Nazi solution. I know what you DON’T want done, but what DO you want done?

Sorry, Mr. Miller, I forgot where I was for a bit.

bird, “Woof!”

On a side note – dry dog food IS edible by humans with out any side effects other than the taste.>Cat food however, will eventually cause a vitamin/ nutrient deficiency.>Wet/canned cat or dog food is NOT advisable as an alternate food source. The meat used is usually considered “not edible by humans”, and some times may not be fully cooked.

Well, MOST dry dog food. The kind made by major manufacturers is usually safe, the “homemade” or “soft” dog food should be avoided.

The church takes care of their poor, that is the believers who belong to that church. The LDS does a very good job of taking care of its people, but they have to be too old or cripple to do it themselves. I have seen a group of men show up and roof a widow’s house, they will help pay bills and feed the family of an injured worker. That is more than other churches do here in the US.

Just got back from taking one of our granddaughters to Washington. A memorable quote on one of the walls in the FDR Memorial: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” I can see Obama saying that, and I can see Romney choking on those words.

galanti, I hear you brother. What a quote for our times…Obama may very well be our new Roosevelt….Reminds me of Jessie Jackson’s quip…..I’d rather have Roosevelt in a wheel chair than Reagan on a horse…

Almost as good as Granny Clampett’s Road Kill stew!

I’m still waiting to see if there will ever be a Social Security raise that matches the invisible inflation that the Government cannot see…but continues to give congress and house raises to account for.

Welcome to America, land of the hopeless

Can we look at who these 47% are? Many are poor and much is made of that, but many are not poor and have cheated (yes, I said cheated, and I know all about the legal difference between “tax avoidance” and “tax evasion,” and I see no moral difference) their way to paying no federal income tax:

=========

ANNUAL INCOME OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT PAY NO INCOME TAX

(figures from NPR)

$0 to $10,000 31.9%

$10,000 to $20,000 30.0%

$20,000 to $30,000 16.6%

$30,000 to $40,000 9.3%

$40,000 to $50,000 5.5%

$50,000 to $75,000 3.8%

$75,000 to $100,000 0.9%

$100,000 or more 0.6%

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Incidentally, I am not one of them. Married filing jointly, both spouses over 65, income under $25,000.00, I still paid (we still paid) federal income tax last year. We also paid sales tax, social security tax, Medicare tax, state income tax, property tax, taxes on gasoline, taxes on communications (phone/internet) and probably several more I am forgetting.

If corporations are people, they should be on this list too, but they aren’t. How does an individual/family bringing in over $100,000.00 per year manage to pay no federal income tax?

Agreed! I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t expect others to be. We just need to eat the amount of meat we’re supposed to, not as the main component in every single meal.