A letter to the Catfood Commission--and the response

[Jackpine Radical]

My wife wrote a letter to Alan Simpson about Social Security "reform," and got a response from Simpson. Here is the correspondence, copied without editorializing from me. My wife intends to reply to his response, but hasn't written it yet. I will pass on any suggestions people might have.

Dear Chairman Simpson,

Social Security and Medicare have proven to be among the most successful social programs in our nation's history. Without them many seniors living in America would be in poverty. I am concerned that the Commission on Fiscal Responsibility is considering cuts to Social Security and Medicare as a means to reducing the national deficit, and am concerned in particular with the option to raise the social security retirement age to 70. This could have a dire impact on many Americans, especially on women, the elderly, low and middle income individuals, widows and those groups for whom life expectancy is not equal with other populations.

As a person of faith I urge you and the members of the Commission to be responsible in your deliberations on this critical and sensitive issue.
Please consider the impact of your decisions on the lives of the working poor and other vulnerable populations as you explore all options to reduce the federal budget.

In a world that only dimly reflects God's will being done "on earth, as it is in heaven," the Social Security and Medicare programs stand as beacons of light and hope. Social Security and Medicare are covenants from one generation to the next, a promise to care for those who are retired and/or are no longer able to work.

Thank you for protecting and preserving Social Security and Medicare and honoring that covenant.

The response:

Hello!

I couldn't agree more with your thoughts and concerns. I too am a man of Faith -- that's why we are not out to "cut" or "gut" anything!! We are trying in honest good will (and Faith!) to restore long term solvency for 75 to 100 years to the Social Security System. Disability Insurance (D.I.) will be "exhausted" in less than 10 years-- i.e., GONE! -- and will then need an injection of cash from the SS Trust Fund to continue to pay ANY benefits. All good citizens-- who really care and choose to learn the honest truth know well -- that if we "do nothing" that the SS system will "pay out" only 75 per cent of the scheduled benefits in the year 2037-- just 27 years from now. How fair is that to your children and grandchildren???? Three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will consume ALL the taxes paid to our government this year! -- and we will borrow ALL the rest (mostly from China (again!)) to run ALL of the rest of the things you and I love -- and some things we don't!! The deficit this year will approach one and one-half TRILLION DOLLARS -- and your kin and mine will be paying a ghastly burden of interest on that for decades to come and everything you and I care about will be squeezed out by the Big Three above!! Doesn't sound very fair to me and I'll work like a dog to try to see it does not happen on my watch!!

Somebody has been feeding you a lot of misinformation!! Hope this helps a little to clear it up!!!!

Most cordially and sincerely,

Al Simpson

[burnsei sensei]

1. I can't believe what I'm reading.

Simpson's perspective is badly distorted by his inability to look at what is going on around him.

Quote:
Three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will consume ALL the taxes paid to our government this year! -- and we will borrow ALL the rest (mostly from China (again!)) to run ALL of the rest of the things you and I love -- and some things we don't!! The deficit this year will approach one and one-half TRILLION DOLLARS -- and your kin and mine will be paying a ghastly burden of interest on that for decades to come and everything you and I care about will be squeezed out by the Big Three above!! Doesn't sound very fair to me and I'll work like a dog to try to see it does not happen on my watch!!
end quote.

Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will consume a pittance compared to the expenses of our external wars, black operations in foreign countries, and commitments to foreign governments.
A ghastly burden of interest? Yes Mr. Simpson. Your interest. Not the public interest.
Money should be spent for the public good, not for foolish commitments.
And to blame the deficit on the impoverished is a tremendous abdication of responsibility on your part.
The indication is that he has not read the news since Sept. 11, 2001.

[fogonthelake]

9. The repug mindset (and some dems) do not need

to read the news. to them, the wars are wonderful. they keep the troops employed.

[Lance_Boyle]

10. I'd like to see your sources on the claim that spending on defense, etc.

is more than spending on the three programs Sen. Simpson mentions. My understanding is that he's absolutely right on this. My solution, of course, is not to gut or cut, but rather to eliminate altogether the cap on federal income taxation to fund the programs. I might also be open to a means test for benefits, but only after that insidious and unfair cap is lifted.

[burnsei sensei]

13. Well, let's look at the projected budget for 2011.

Dept of Defense: 548.9 billion dollars + 33 billion dollars more.
Social Security Administration: 12.5 billion dollars.
2010 budget enacted for HHS: 79.6 billion dollars.

581.9 > 92.1 by a hell of a lot.

Yeah, those social programs are real budget busters.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget
They're just going to KILL us all. Murder the future. Drown the kids.
Better cut out that 92.1 billion RIGHT NOW.

[burnsei sensei]

14. Social Security does means test

for SSI.
In fact, it more than means tests. It keeps track of the beneficiaries' resources quite closely.
You can get to any of the sheets via this page.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview

[hfojvt]

25. no, he is full of crap

he said those three programs would consume all of the taxes this year. Well social security is $678 billion, medicare is $425 billion and medicaid is $251 billion. For a total of $1,354 billion. On the tax side there are income taxes of $915 billion and FICA taxes of $845 billion for a total of $1,760 billion. Other taxes bring the total to $2,105 billion. So that is $400 to $750 billion more in taxes than those three programs. Not to mention that tax receipts are way down this year. They were over $1,000 billion back in the year 2000 before Bush slashed them for the wealthy and later watched the economy crash.

[burnsei sensei]

26. That's why it's extremely important that

taxes on the wealthy and corporate entities, who are sitting on a huge pile of cash, must be raised now.
This Gilded Age must be stopped before the suffering gets any worse.

[Poboy]

2. Did he really use all the extra punctuation and caps?

Thats fine and expected on message boards and such as an informal means of expression, but as an official response?
I dunno, seems like a staffer, however versed in PR, is manning the replies.

The spin and couching of his justifications are just as transparent.

[Jackpine Radical]

8. I just cut & pasted.

The punctuation is the way it came.

[gratuitous]

12. I've read teenage Twitter posts with fewer exclamation points

Dear me. Good luck to your wife. I'd have to take a good long time to compose a reply, and even then, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't forsake "mendacious" for "lying motherfucker."

[Jackpine Radical]

19. Prevaricating pony posterior?

Bloviating bovine BM?

[Poboy]

47. It reads like a very defensive, highly dismissive con.

[ensho]

3. I'd reply that I was sorry his mind was going, perhaps he needed to

go home and stay there.

[asdjrocky]

4. That reply sounds like it came from a used car salesman.

What a jerk.

[fogonthelake]

6. But he blames the entitlements for the deficits so he WILL slash

them. Yes he will.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. Of course.

This whole business is just a setup for "We couldn't find any other way to avoid taxing the rich, so we're having to cut SS payments to you vermin so we can send the proceeds to our major donors.

[liberal N proud]

5. This part really gets me...

...the Social Security System. Disability Insurance (D.I.) will be "exhausted" in less than 10 years-- i.e., GONE! -- and will then need an injection of cash from the SS Trust Fund to continue to pay ANY benefits.


Is there a trust fund? I thought they stole all the trust fund money years ago to fund one of their silly little wars.

[burnsei sensei]

7. I've always felt that this country's addiction

to war and to long-term and very demanding international obligations amounted to a huge violation of the American social contract.
If Republicans become powerful again, if the worst happens and they find themselves in charge of the presidency and Congress, and they do what they want to do and change nothing.
And if, as a result, the misery deepens in this country, no one of them will be safe from the righteous rage of the people.
If they want power, they'd better re-consider.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. But with control of the media they will be able to continue

scapegoating the workers, immigrants, blacks, Muslins (I've typed it that way in derision so many times it comes naturally to my fingers), unions, old people, etc.until they've managed to kill most of us and bring about the heat death of the biosphere.

[burnsei sensei]

20. For me, personal experience

has always spoken louder than pundits or commentators.
And when the personal experiences of more of the people are soured by the policies of these pretenders to republicanism, their comfortable regime will end.

[Jackpine Radical]

23. We now have 20% real unemployment

and uncounted foreclosed homes. People are literally starving and homeless. Where is the rebellion? All I see is a bunch of gun-waving old farts with belly-bulging Tea Party T-shirts and talk chips programmed by Glenn Beck.

[burnsei sensei]

28. What it tells me is that constructed power,

the institutions that are, have not completely lost credibility.
Revolutionary action is only possible when every institution in the society loses the credit of the majority.
When people feel they have no stake in what is, they'll change it.
What I think is unconscionable on the part of the people is the tolerance of the government allowing our children to be slaughtered in foreign countries by people who hate them.
It's almost as if our august administration said in 2002, "You hate Americans? Here come and get these ones!"
They have brought the young men, who are worthy of the means to build a future, into danger.
They have done so because the society and economy are no longer capable of providing the means for young men to build their futures.
And so all they have to offer is death, insanity, and then death.
We are ruled by nihilists.

[Demeter]

11. A Hundred Years of Security, Eh?

That's not only asinine, it's an outright lie.

There's no reasoning with a man who writes a letter like that one--even if he didn't write it personally.

[burnsei sensei]

15. I can't believe also that people still buy into the

Reagan fairy story that defense is cheaper than social spending.
It costs big time to kill.
And very little to do good.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. SSDI will be exhausted?

When I pay ss tax, no distinction is made between the portion of that which the SS trustees allocate to disability insurance, and the part they allocate to retirement insurance.

I don't care which parts of the SS system withdraw from the trust fund first. I only care that the trust fund be spent on that which it was intended - retirees.

One observation; raising the retirement age affects women least of all. Raising the retirement age to 70 is, in effect, a 38% benefits cut for men compared to a 21% cut for women.

But I guess pointing that out would have been counterproductive. No one cares.


btw... is this you?
http://www.theyoungturks.com/story/2010/8/5/164555/2104/Diary/We-re-screwed-Social-Security-

[burnsei sensei]

21. So are the disabled freeloading?

I think it's important to clear the air concerning this now.

[lumberjack_jeff]

30. The words? Clearly english.

No, my social security taxes pay for a package of insurance which includes disability insurance. No one who qualifies for benefits of that insurance is freeloading - they paid premiums.

Workers should be the ones who get the benefit of the trust fund.

[burnsei sensei]

33. Really?

I was born severely visually impaired and was declared legally blind in my 20th year.
Not much time to be one of your workers.
I was a housewife. I never earned a wage.
Never bought a house.
But I raised three children, and did all the things housewives do.
My husband died.
And all through this, I remained legally blind.
What is my work worth in your scheme of things?
I collect SSDI because I am legally blind.
I held two jobs before I was declared legally blind and married. And so I can collect, but the amount is about an eighth to tenth of my sustenance.
I'm also a widow whose husband had a consistent work record.
But what about the person born legally blind? Or otherwise profoundly disabled?
The one who has a 68 to 74% chance of being unemployed and remaining so at any given time?
You don't realize that 69 to 74% of the blind in particular, regardless of education or rehabilitation, are unemployed at any given time, do you?
And believe me, their unemployment often runs out.
The only recourse they have is SSI, which is administered by the states and I think partially funded by them.
The people who draw SSDI do earn it even if they are disabled, because they have worked for a given period of time and contributed to the system before they can collect.
If I had never worked, I would not collect SSDI.
What ever made you think that people who never worked were drawing SSDI?

[Donnachaidh]

36. as one who paid in for DECADES -- NO, we're not freeloading.

But you will see the villainization of disabled people will allow him to pit one group against another.

Divide and conquer baby! This tells ME they are definitely going for the throat.... :grr:

[burnsei sensei]

37. Another obtuse conservative scheme. nt

[LWolf]

22. He writes like a teabagger.

What an embarrassment. Could we find no one better educated to place on that commission, let alone as chairperson?

[Jackpine Radical]

24. How about decommissioning the commission?

Oh, and the Sensible Woodchuck says not to worry. Our Fearless Leader is playing chess.

[LWolf]

31. I know some 10-12 yo boys that could beat the fearless leader at chess.

Either of my sons could have when they were pre-teens, and they could do it today, as well. So could half the kids in my k-8 school chess club.

But that's probably part of his deeper strategy, as well. He plays badly, because someday he's gonna...er....do something.

[burnsei sensei]

38. If this is chess, I'd say that

Fearless Leader is not very good.

[Greyhound]

27. Wow, the authoritarians have unrecced this? A simple reposting of

correspondence between a citizen and the White House shill for bringing even more pain to the least of us?

You asshats are really that deluded?

Simply amazing...:eyes:

And you think you are the "hope" for this nation?

[burnsei sensei]

29. I have recommended this thread.

I see no indication that I have done so.

[Vinca]

32. She should tell him "easy fix - raise the income cap on payments in."

Bill Gates will somehow get by if it's upped to $200,000.

[ceile]

34. What a load of crap!

I don't buy it: "Three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security will consume ALL the taxes paid to our government this year!"

And what's up with the shitty writing? Did his teenage staffer write this?

[Donnachaidh]

35. Sounds as if he's going to pit one side against the other

"Yeah, those crummy disability folks are stealing money from the program! Gasp and Swoon!" :sarcasm:

He's setting up a divide and conquer scenario - because if he just goes for the cuts he WANTS, he'll get a shot in the genitals from every SS group out there.

:sigh:

I guess I'd better get used to the coming villainization from the Catfood Commission...

[burnsei sensei]

40. My right middle finger is trembling in anticipation. nt

[Donnachaidh]

41. I'd join you in flipping him off, but this D/C move is not a good thing to be facing

I live in a red area that BELIEVES that welfare recipients are lazy bastards who just want handouts. It won't take very much pushing to get them to believe THAT of disabled people either.

I really don't want to basically be labeled as *chum* for the haters. I really don't. And it really REALLY infuriates me that this government we worked so hard to get into office is going to allow him and his cronies to do it. :grr:

[burnsei sensei]

42. I live in a very blue neighborhood, in a

blue state.

[QC]

39. Who appointed the likes of Simpson to this committee, anyway? n/t

[Donnachaidh]

43. IIRC, the *agent of Change* put this dude in.

:puke:

[Spheric]

44. Al Simpson is a big fat liar.

The truth is that the SS Trust Fund as well as Social Security itself are completely solvent. It was just this year that SS began paying out as much or more than it is taking in through payroll taxes. And some of this has to do with the super high unemployment rate - we currently have less people paying in than we should (this wasn't predicted to happen until 2017 a year ago).

But, here is the kicker. That is one of the reasons why there is a Trust Fund as a reserve. It has been built up over decades of paying in more than was paid out. Simple. And it contains trillions of dollars (or should). All of that money has been borrowed by the government to pay for other things. They have replaced it with something similar to treasury bonds which pay interest. So, if nothing whatsoever is changed, the reserves in the trust fund as well as the interest paid on the bonds will run out in 2037 (the prediction was between 2042 and 2052 a year ago) or thereabouts. At that point, we will be no longer have any reserves left to make up the difference.

The very simple solution to this is to raise the cap on payroll taxes. Currently, no one in the country pays one dime of payroll tax on any income over $102,000. Raising that limit to, say $200,000 extends The trust fund far, far into the future.

So, what is the problem? The real problem according to Al Simpson (although he phrases it differently) is that the government is having to pay back all the money they borrowed from the SS Trust Fund. And since they borrowed every penny they could get their hands on and spent it all, it is costing a fortune to pay it back. And, it is being paid back out of the general fund (were income taxes go), which is also what we use to pay for wars and schools and roads, etc.

And here is the real crux of the problem. Since they continue to take all of the money out of the Trust Fund as soon as it arrives and replace it with IOUs, they have to pay it back every month in order to send out checks. Al Gore's talk of a "lock box" back in the 2000 presidential race was an effort to put a stop to this.

And it is also why they don't like raising the cap on payroll taxes as a solution. The government will just continue to borrow that, too, and spend it on other things and then have to pay it back. What they want to do is lower the amount the government has to pay back every month (by lowering benefits) in order to help balance the budget problems with the general fund (NOT the SS Trust Fund - it's doing just fine, thank you). Instead of borrowing the money, they want to steal it outright.

These are the simple facts that those in Washington don't want "we the people" to know and understand. That is why they try their damnedest to make it all sound so complicated. If someone thinks I've got this wrong, please correct me.

Oh, and K&R. I know there are many who don't want anyone to see the actual words of the guys running this Cat Food Commission. Makes the talking points harder to sell. But, I say screw 'em. The truth will out.

[sabrina 1]

45. Wow, he's still lying about SS.

And why are in a position of having to deal with a known SS privatizer from the far right after we elected a Democratic administration?

The fact that despite the number of respected Economists who have corrected his claims about SS and who have stated rightfully, that he should be removed from this Commission, he is still there is very disturbing.

The original letter is a very nice letter. But SS has nothing to do with the deficit so it should never be mentioned in the same sentence. This is how the right (and now Obama who has adapted this claim in his speeches) scares people into thinking that privatizing a part of the SS will make things better.

Obama should shut down this commission. It has been discredited and he himself stated that he would not support these kinds of Commissions because , he said correctly at the time, that all they are for is to find a 'stealth way' to bypass Congress on important issues.

Shut Down This Commission! It is a threat to the future of Social Security.

[Spheric]

46. +1 /nt

[maryf]

48. K&R

wtf.

[xchrom]

49. Recommend -- he's telling you they're not cutting it and they have to cut it

All at the same time.

Typical repuke.