[butternut_squash_bisque]

My BP is spiking just reading this crap! SOBs!!

[conservativecorner]

Karl Rove and La Raza


Looky, looky, looky:

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., announced today that former President Bill Clinton, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are among the confirmed speakers for the upcoming NCLR Annual Conference which will be held July 8-11 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Can someone tell Rove that speaking at a La Raza Event may not be in the interests of the United States of America. PATHETIC!!

[Clara Lou]

Here's a link to Social Security's take on the matter. http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/USandMexico-alt.htm
It has some interesting explanations.

[gondramB]

>>The Totalization Agreement could allow millions of illegal Mexican workers to draw billions of dollars from the U.S. Social Security Trust Fund.<<

How!?

Have they paid into social security? If so, they are still losing money like all the rest of us.

[Bikers4Bush]

You know he's going to sign it so our only hope at this point is that the house rejects it.

[Mr. Mojo]

"President Bush has expressed his support for this Agreement, and we believe that regardless of the current immigration debate, his most likely window for signing it is immediately after the 2006 midterm elections when no one is looking,"

Once President Bush approves the agreement, which would be done without congressional vote, either house would have 60 days to disapprove the agreement by voting to reject it.

That being the case, supporters of this agreement should be hoping the Dems recapture the House.

[seasoned traditionalist]

Thanks friend for saving me the time and trouble. Was getting (all worked up) and ready to post this myself.

As a Seasoned Citizen, who is going to be filing for retirement benefits shortly, this is an abomination.

Worse yet, is for you younger Freepers, for while those who are now--or like myself who are about to begin-- collecting, we probably don't have to worry about having our benefits cut off.

However, for younger Americans, there are only two options to consider: Either they will have to pay more in SS withholdings or will [either] have "their" benefits reduced and/or have to wait until a later date (i.e. age 65 or even 67) to begin collecting.

The real shame is the Administration's complicity in this travesty, compounded, by their utter intransigence in their willingness to release the information relevant thereto.

[TomGuy]

Per some reports, this Trialization bill would allow the relatives of illegals, no matter where they are in the world, to apply for US Social Security benefits, too.

It is a massive bill.

Who keep selling the US out to Mexican interests????

Specter allowed Levin (IIRC) to insert that amendment into the Senate Immigration bill that mandates Mexico be consulted on border matters.

If the goal is to merge the US, Mexico, and Canada, at least have the cajones to tell the American people --- and give them the opportunity to vote on this, rather than doing it behind our backs, in secret agreements.

[Condor51]

• Social Security actuaries estimate that a totalization agreement with Mexico would have a negligible long-range effect on the Trust Funds.
• Costs to the U.S. Social Security system are estimated to average about $105 million per year over the first five years. These costs are for additional benefits to eligible U.S. and Mexican workers and reduced Social Security tax contributions under the dual taxation exemption.
• To put this in perspective, in 2002, costs to the U.S. system for the existing agreement with Canada were about $197 million.

There is NO way that there's more Canadians working in the US than Mexicans - no freaking way.

So throw that $105 mil in the garbage and triple (at least) the $197 mil paid to Canucks, which is $591 MILLION. There's also no way in HELL that some 30 million Mexicans making minimum wage and below, could ever, ever, ever pay that much INTO the system. Their whole extended family will be sucking the SS system dry in five years - period!

[seasoned traditionalist]

An after thought: Just how many of the estimated (depending on who's numbers are accurate) 12 - 20 million Illegals in the US have "VALID" Social Security numbers?

Duh!!

If they do, how did they get them?

And for the ones who don't (which I am going to assume are the majority) just HOW, can they claim benefits when they retire?

I hope the answers are in the report the State Dept and SS Admin are refusing to release and we somehow (Where are the leakers/whistelblowers when we really need them) get to see it?

[DustyMoment]

This is just more of the Bush Administration legitimizing the actions of criminals!!! As a Baby Boomer, I don't expect to get back in SS anything approaching what I paid into it (given its proximity to bankruptcy - Thank you Congress!), but now it appears that there won't be enough for me to draw even a fraction on the dollar of what I paid in if this goes through.

[krunkygirl]

save and bump

[HarleyLady27]

OH so, Social Secuity is going to run out in say 10 years, and everyone has to put in their own money in their own accounts...and we have enough monies there to support some stupid illigal from south of the border because he is a mexican national????

WHOOOOOOAAAAAA....hold it there Mr. President....if you want to donate your millions to the mexican nationals, then you just go ahead and do so, but don't you be giving those dirty idiots any of the monies I put in there for my kids or for anyone else as a matter of fact....sure glad your not running this year....I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR YOU....

And IF you love them so much, then move your Crawford ranch over South of the Border and stay there....

[VOA]

for the folks that have (sometimes reasonable) skepticism about NewsMax reports...
here's a link to TREA:
http://www.tscl.org/NewContent/100207.asp

and a link to their front-page with news of the totalization:
http://www.tscl.org/index.asp

Looks legit enough to me. But if anyone has other thoughts on TREA, let's hear 'em.
(that's a friendly suggestion)

[A.Hun]

Apparently Newscrap is fanning the illegal immigration fire again.....

How exactly do you hide an agreement that is going to be presented to Congress and has to be approved by them?

On top of that, just from a cursory read, you would have to be in the US longer than Mexico for it to apply, you would have to have valid SS# and valid documentation in general proving that you have paid SS. Apparently, under existing law, any legal Mexican worker is already covered under US SS law.

How about this link that explains the same program that we have with so many other nations, explaining that the benefit is primarily for our citizens and employers working in foreign nations?

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/agreements_overview.html

[musicman]

(TOTAL CREDIT to Pookie18 who works very hard to bring these cartoons to FR on th daily "Pookie18 'Toon Thread" !!)

[ExSES]

They could also potentially return to Mexico and claim credits for illegal work in the U.S., or claim payments through other as yet undisclosed methods.

"Government Speak" for GIVEAWAY!!!

The problem of multiple illegals using the same SSN has been around forever!

40 years ago I worked for the Social Security Administration and, whenever ther was "spare" time to do so, we had computer runs of employers in our district who had reported earnings on multiple individuals using the same SSN. Believe me, there is no way to really straighten out such messes after the fact (there is a substantial lag time between the faulty reporting and when the Social Security Administration finds out)!

Usually, the first person to file a claim on the number got the benefits and later individuals got squat! Now, I presume, EVERYBODY claiming work on a bogus number will receive benefits! Your welfare state at work!!!

[kabar]

"We are outraged that our government won't tell us how much they plan to take out of the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for the Totalization Agreement with Mexico, and we want to know what they're hiding," said Ralph McCutchen, Chairman of the TREA Senior Citizens League.

The SSTF has no assets, just IOUs in the form of non-marketable T-bills, i.e., only the USG can redeem them. All this does is add to the overall liability of the SS system, which is pay as you go. The SSTF is included in the national debt as intragovernmental holdings.

[TAdams8591]

Outrageous.

[lowbridge]

bump