I recently received this e-mail from my boss, who, at my behest, forwarded it to me, so that I may read it. He knows I dig politics, so it was very cool of him. Thanks, Jim. However, what I read in the e-mail disturbed me, and I went on a fact checking misson... well, I'll save you the boring shit, here's the original e-mail, and below it is my rebuttal, which I e-mailed to my boss, and urged him to pass on. You are more than welcome to pass it on as well. (E-mail has been SLIGHTLY reformatted as you see it here, to keep it from being far too hard to read. Mispellings and grammatical errors are not mine, however.)
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!
KEEP IT GOING!!!!
2008 Election Issue!!
GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC.
This must be an issue in "2008 ". Please! 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 years 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.
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.
How many people can YOU send this to? Better yet.....
How many people WILL you send this to??
A Short rebuttal:
Almost every statement made in this e-mail is either blatantly incorrect, or poorly worded. I doubt this e-mail was fact-checked at all before it was sent out, and if it was, the person who did said checking is most likely legally blind.
"Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it."
The above statement is knee-jerkingly incorrect. As of 1984, it is true that Members of the Congress can choose not to draw from Social Security, but they do all indeed pay into it, at the rate of 6.2% of their annual salary. The current standard salary for members of the House and Senate is $158,100 per year, so the lowest payment into SS, per year, per member is $607.73 Those members of Congress that sign up with the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) also pay 1.6% of their annual salary into that fund. You may read more about FERS at the US Department of the Interior Website, if you care to:
http://www.doiu.nbc.gov/orientation/fers.html [
Link]
I will leave out all the bitter attacks that this e-mail contained, directed against the personalities and traits of our ELECTED officials, and simply address the fallacies.
"So, many years 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."
Well, yes, indeed, it was. But it wasn't the plan that you're speaking of. The plan that was enacted in the 1920s was the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Social Security, incidentally, was enacted on August 14, 1935. Now, this system was in place until 1984, at which point, it was true that Senators and Representatives did not contribute or withdraw from the Social Security System. However, members covered by the CSRS offset pay (or paid) 1.8% of the first $87,900 of salary, and 8.0% of salary above that, into the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund.
"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."
Again, not true. To quote About.com
"The amount of a Congressperson's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of his or her salary. By law, the starting amount of a Member's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of his or her final salary.
Data compiled in 20034 showed 413 retired Members of Congress were receiving federal pensions based fully or in part on their congressional service. The average age of those retiring under CSRS was 75.5 and had at least 20 years of federal service. Those who retired under FERS had an average age of 68.3 years and 21.6 years of federal service. Their average retirement payment was $3,909 a month."
"Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives."
Incorrect. Members of Congress are not eligible to gain their pension until they are 50 years old, but ONLY if they have completed 20 years of service. To quote About.com once more:
"Members are eligible at any age after completing 25 years of service or after they reach the age of 62. Please also note that Member's of Congress have to serve at least 5 years to even receive a pension."
"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"!"
Well, really, I've shown you where the funding comes from, but if you're still worried about your tax dollars at work, stop worrying about benefits paid to retirees that YOU, the voting populace of the United States, elected to serve. Frankly, I object more to pork-barrel spending (http://www.cagw.org/)[
Link], rampant government spending (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/bg1622.cfm)[
Link], and the mounting cost of a war no one, besides certain big business, asked for (http://costofwar.com/)[
Link].
" 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."
Well, seeing as no-one has offered a legitimate way to fix something that isn't broken, I heftily doubt that. Social Security, despite the hemming and hawing of the current administration, has more than enough money and resources to last, with projected inflation, well into 2050, and evern 2070, by some estimates. If, however, you would care to see what kind of "trouble" the SS system is in, check the SSA's Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. (http://www.ssa.gov/finance/) [
Link]
Now, is there a reason to worry about Social Security? Most likely, as the Baby Boomer age nears and passes the age at which they may collect it, but does it so dire that one must drop to their knees and cry out and a cold indifferent sky, all the while wailing and gnashing their teeth? No. Calm down, we have a good long time to solve this, and SS isn't a issue that should be solved hastily. If the "Social Security problem" is solved to rashly, the solution is going to be no better than the original problem. Please, as a young man of 23, I plead with those of you who are perhaps a bit more impulsive; slow down, take your time, think this through. Don't screw it up for the youngsters.
-Nate Bellon
This E-mail is also posted at http://getonthebandwagon.blogspot.com [
Link] , along with the full content of the original e-mail.
Sources:
About.com: I will provide the address to the article for you, but be forwarned: Unless you are using a secure browser (i.e. anything that is not Microsoft Internet Explorer) you will have spyware installed on your computer from this site. Try using FireFox. It's better.(http://www.getfirefox.com)[
Link]
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm [
Link]
Social Security Online:The History of Social Security
http://www.ssa.gov/history/history.html [
Link]
RI Senator Jack Reed
http://reed.senate.gov/socialsecuritymyth.htm [
Link]
US Department of the Interior: Civil Service Retirement System
http://www.doiu.nbc.gov/orientation/csrs.html [
Link]
US Departmant of the Interior: Federal Employees Retirement System
http://www.doiu.nbc.gov/orientation/fers.html [
Link]
