Posted on 02/22/2005 6:47:54 PM PST by Dan Walsh
My democommie Congressman Pete Visclosky had a Social Security forum at 2:30 this afternoon.
I figure setting an afternoon forum was to assure that nobody with a job could show up!!
So I decided I need to take some time away from my business and give my congress critter a little heat!
Usually my congressman's town meetings attract less than fifty people, so I was shocked to see the room jammed packed and people scrambling to open the divider into the adjacent room.
Seems a co-sponsor of the forum was the Alliance for Retired Americans which I now know is a front group for the AFL-CIO. Their mission is to scare these retirees who have already had their pension funds raided by the union and by their companies filing bankruptcies. The group’s president gave short presentation on how wonderful social security is just the was it is. He assured us the trust fund was 100% secure until 2050.
He did have some suggestions though. First that Congress pay back all the billions it borrowed from the trust fund. Interesting since had just said the trust fund was fine the way it was. The rest involved paying more money to beneficiaries with minor children and those who are over 85! I'm sure that will do miracles to extend the solvency of social security.
When they opened up for audience opinions I was quick to the nearest Mic.
I told the crowd that Anybody with sense knows that Social Security is broke right now. They won't be able to pay your March check if people were to with hold paying taxes this week. I don't want to be coming to these meeting every ten years to fight my retirement. I want completely in my name right now so I don't have the government or some bankrupt company controlling my retirement.
Social Security should be 100% privatized immediately.
The room erupted in boos. The Moderator admonished the crowd to let me have my say.
Ever so intimidated by the greedy geezers, I told them all people here over 50 need to go home. Privatizing social security was only for people under 50. The current problems with social security was entirely their own fault for electing leaders like our congressman who has blown the entire trust fund.
I told them my generation needs to borrow the money to pay the benefits they had been promised but after that we need 100% privatization so that my children would never be stuck with underfunded pensions and government spending away everyone’s retirement.
Since only about four people applauded I don’t think I changed any minds.
Constructive criticism on how I might of been less confrontational and more convincing are welcome!!
Wasn't that the Logan's Run plot?
This would be true if SS were a brand new program, but it's been in effect for 70 years. Somebody's been paying in all that time, the funding burden hasn't suddenly been thrust upon our "young workers" for the benefit of us greedy bastards.
By the way, are you French?
"greedy geezers"
THere's your first problem. That's repugnant. There is nothing "greedy" about people who have paid into SS Trust Fund all their working lives wanting their benefits as promised.
This isn't Welfare. This is money that was extorted from our paychecks and was to be there for our retirement. The rotten politicians from JFK to the present STOLE the trillions that have been paid in. Those "greedy geezers" are the victims, not the problem.
Until you realize that, you just don't have an argument they'll want to hear.
I support the 4% provided they give the rest of us the 4% we've already paid in.
Your anger should be addressed to the CROOKS in our government...there should be many trillions in that account but instead there's NOTHING.
That includes this present administration. Where's that "lockbox" that they keep campaigning on??? That money should be put into an account that our Greedy Politicians can't touch.
If it had been, there would be ZERO shortage...in fact, there should be surplus trillions.
As for there being no money..I would suggest that instead of Bush giving every single third world hellhole our money, they repay their own citizens back first.
If we can afford 15 million to pay the Palestinians electric bills, we can certainly pay back our seniors.
You're a brave man, sir. I admire you!
BTW, am I the only one who objects to the use of the disparaging term "geezer" in a headline? It's one thing for a person to use the term laughingly to describe himself, but to categorize a group that way is offensive.
I don't understand a whole room full of seniors who seem to be doing okay fr themselves that don't seen concerned for their kids or grand children
>> Somebody's been paying in all that time, the funding burden hasn't suddenly been thrust upon our "young workers" for the benefit of us greedy bastards.
Can I help it your generation bought into this social program? I'm not responsible for the fact that your generation retires... Your children are you social security, not me.
But then again, many of you decided to kill your social security plans before they were even born, or you decided to take birth control, so you limited your own social security plan.
I'm not your child, nor do I want to support you.
I don't care what foolish scheme you bought into.
And it is "suddenly" thrust on to us, the day we start working. Before that, we weren't supporting you.
It would be ironic to euthanize the generations that killed their unborn because there aren't enough young people to keep the program alive...
Ok, that's my cynical response. I don't wanna see anybody euthanized, but the older generation has to come to grips with the fact that I don't owe them squat and that younger people need a better plan.
>> Somebody's been paying in all that time, the funding burden hasn't suddenly been thrust upon our "young workers" for the benefit of us greedy bastards.
Can I help it your generation bought into this social program? I'm not responsible for the fact that your generation retires... Your children are you social security, not me.
But then again, many of you decided to kill your social security plans before they were even born, or you decided to take birth control, so you limited your own social security plan.
I'm not your child, nor do I want to support you.
I don't care what foolish scheme you bought into.
And it is "suddenly" thrust on to us, the day we start working. Before that, we weren't supporting you.
It would be ironic to euthanize the generations that killed their unborn because there aren't enough young people to keep the program alive...
Ok, that's my cynical response. I don't wanna see anybody euthanized, but the older generation has to come to grips with the fact that I don't owe them squat and that younger people need a better plan.
Social Security was never intended to be either a sole retirement program nor a vehicle for health care let alone a great big piggy bank for gutless politicians who have squandered trillions of contributions.
I have a couple of great aunts still alive today who started paying into Social Security from Day One during the depression and deserve every penny. They may not have paid as great a percentage of their earnings as you may but they also didn't have the loopholes you do.
Since you have chosen to avoid answering your slam against one of your tenants who may or may not be collecting SSDI/SSI perhaps we should return to your original request which was to give you some feedback on your style.
1. Learn the facts about the origin and current activities of the SSA.
2. Don't make up scary scenarios which are not part of the plan for privatization.
3. Don't make claims you refuse to verify and then hide.
4. Don't play the bully; there are too many of them around here right now.
5. Finally, the old geezers you have maligned probably gave you the opportunity to be the very important person you describe and should only be faulted for not smacking you one up the side the head when you were about ten and thereafter every time you opined on subjects not understood by you.
Well done. You made several good points in a short time. I'll bet you at least made some of the geezers rethink the issue. Freep on!
This would be true if SS were a brand new program, but it's been in effect for 70 years. Somebody's been paying in all that time, the funding burden hasn't suddenly been thrust upon our "young workers" for the benefit of us greedy bastards.
By the way, are you French?
42 posted on 02/22/2005 8:28:43 PM PST by Greedy Geezer
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THere's your first problem. That's repugnant. There is nothing "greedy" about people who have paid into SS Trust Fund all their working lives wanting their benefits as promised.
This isn't Welfare. This is money that was extorted from our paychecks and was to be there for our retirement. The rotten politicians from JFK to the present STOLE the trillions that have been paid in. Those "greedy geezers" are the victims, not the problem.
Until you realize that, you just don't have an argument they'll want to hear.
I support the 4% provided they give the rest of us the 4% we've already paid in.
Your anger should be addressed to the CROOKS in our government...there should be many trillions in that account but instead there's NOTHING.
There is an alternative to the partial privatization of Social Security. I like to call it the Logan's Run solution.
The geezers need to go home and let us fix their mistakes!!
I havn't seen that movie but I will be sure to now that its been mentioned here a few times!
Hey how does an Amish Dude get a computer to run with no power!! I suppose your tired of hearing that one!
Yeah. You would have thought I'd put something on my profile page. Ah, but probably not.
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