2008 Election Issue!!!

[Andy_Stephenson]

IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT! KEEP IT GOING!!!!
SOCIAL SECURITY:
(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many year! s ago they voted in their

own benefit plan .

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.

Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..

This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275,000.00 during the last years of their lives.


Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA....ZILCH...

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;

"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into,-every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer)-we can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.

Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator! Bill Bradley's benefits!


Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to:
Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us .
then sit back.....
and watch how fast they would fix it.

[bush_is_wacko]

1. Andy, I believe Social Security is a distraction tactic.

We must be diligently monitoring EVERYTHING that our elected officials are trying to push through. I believe we have a few Democrats that need to be monitored heavily too. There is some evidence even THEY aren't getting the message, or are even complicit in the thug's agenda.

BTW, I also don't believe ALL Republicans are thugs!

[BeFree]

3. Just a distraction

Divide us andy we are conquered. Gotta keep the wool pulled over the eyes, doncha know?

The election was stolen, how soon we forget.... time to tackle SS! Gee, I wonder what's next?

[bush_is_wacko]

7. I fear Iran is next. Condi made a serious effort to say Iraq was not an

issue for a short time too!

They ARE currently attacking ALL federal "charity" programs as well and I believe that is, in part what they are attempting to divert aour attention from. They KNOW Social Security reforms such as these will insight many to concentrate SOLELY on making sure THIS agenda doesn't go through! AARP is doing just that and AARP is a monkey on bush's back!

I work in the public school system and the growing number of children living on the streets is, to say the least, ALARMING! Some of these children are getting their ONLY meals at school. Head Start has seen HUGE budget cuts and they are fully aware they are on the verge of extinction. Free and reduced lunch programs are increasingly burdening the public school system in a way that will bankrupt them shortly without some sort of outside intervention.

Medicare is in grave crisis, really. The recent "reform" has left Medicare and Medicaid recipients out in the cold. Funding for the program has either been diverted or just plain stolen by this administration. Rampant fraud and clear cronyism has prevailed. Doctor's and Hospitals are outright REFUSING to take on Medicare and Medicaid recipients and those that do take them have hired people with the knowledge and where-with-all to rip the system off!

I also know several people that work for the government. bush has just revealed to several government agencies that he plans to shut them down within the next three years. One such agencies is the US Geological Survey. He plans to reduce that agency of ten's of thousands all across the nation to 100 individuals. They have known for many years that they are on the chopping block, and some think rightfully so, since some of what they do very outdated and can be done more accurately through private companies.

The problem here is that private companies have the technology to "spy" through mapping technology and they do not have to be held accountable for the information they provide or the actions they take regrading that information. USGS also provides much scientifically based information, such as earthquake detection and global warming information that can be completely hidden from the public as "private" information if the division is dissolved.

I'm sure there are many government individuals with more agency information that can shed light on the ramifications of privatizing other government agencies, but the implications are similar in other agencies. The administration wants to HIDE what they are doing by claiming "privatization" reduces cost. All you have to do is look at what Halliburtin charges for a 6 pack of Pepsi to realize the "cost reduction" excuse doesn't fly.

[elizm]

10. I made same comment this morning...

I emailed a friend this morning and said I think the Social Security thing is just a smokescreen for what the SOB is really planning to do. I read this article this morning and it scared the sh-- out of me. (Hey,btw, I'm a public school teacher, too. There are a few of us here it seems).

The Coming Israeli Attack on Iran, and its Consequences: Pearl Harbor Redux

Or, How George Bush will Institute the Military Draft, in spite of his campaign promises, and have the support of the American people for it: By provoking Iran to attack the USA first. And how this might destroy the world.

by Harry Brunser
(http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1349.htm

[bush_is_wacko]

11. I'm finding an awful lot of us that work around kids have a sixth

(or should I say SICK) sense about this. How can so many of us see it the same way without it being far more than a conspiracy theory. None of us really feel comfortable talking about this issue on the job. How is it that we all find ourselves speaking this same mantra outside that arena without ever having voiced it at work?

[stray cat]

2. Thanks this needs more emphasis!

[merh]

4. Urban legend

Claim: Members of Congress receive lavish pensions but are not required to contribute to the Social Security fund.

Status: False.

(snip)

Origins: This piece has been circulating on the Internet since April 2000. So much of it is outdated, inaccurate, or misleading, it's difficult to know where to begin.

* It is not true that Congressmen do not pay into the Social Security fund. They pay into the fund just as most everyone else does. (A few odd exceptions to the Social Security program still exist, both inside and outside of government.)

* It was true prior to 1984 that Congressmen did not pay into the Social Security fund because they participated in a separate program for civil servants (the Civil Service Retirement System, or CSRS), but that program was closed to government employees hired after 1983:
In 1983, Public Law 98-21 required Social Security coverage for federal civilian employees first hired after 1983 and closed the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to new federal employees and Members of Congress. All incumbent Members of Congress were required to be covered by Social Security, regardless of when they entered Congress. Members who had participated in CSRS before 1984 could elect to stay in that plan in addition to being covered by Social Security or elect coverage under an 'offset plan' that integrates CSRS and Social Security. Under the CSRS Offset Plan, an individual's contributions to CSRS and their pension benefits from that plan are reduced ('offset') by the amount of their contributions to, and benefits from, Social Security.

(snip)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/pensions.asp

[Andy_Stephenson]

5. Coll thanks for the info...

This was sent to me...funny...they used the same verbage...I will send your link to her.

[merh]

8. Not a problem!

;-) :hi:

[AtLiberty]

6. You forgot to mention that Congress also receives...

...life time health care coverage FOR FREE -- the very best coverage available.

[Chi]

9. More info, if you like.

http://www.ntu.org/main/press_printable.php?PressID=343&org_name=

"At first glance, the issue of Congressional compensation would seem straightforward. Rank- and-file lawmakers are currently paid a salary of $141,300. The Speaker of the House earns $181,400, while the Senate President Pro Tem and the Majority and Minority Leaders each earn $157,0001. The total annual cost to taxpayers to pay Members of Congress is thus roughly $75 million. All of these salaries are subject to periodic increases depending upon the actions of lawmakers. But as with any position, the salary is only a part of the total compensation package.


For lawmakers who were elected before 1984, the pension formula upon retirement is the average of the three highest years' salaries, multiplied by years of Congressional, federal, and active duty military service, multiplied by 2.5 percent. The first year's benefit may not exceed 80 percent of final salary (but subsequent Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) can boost the figure well past 80 percent). "