Jambo,Good People.
In reference to my last post, criticising an article (poorly) written by Robert J. Samuelson in Newsweek Magazine, I was surprised to see that the Moron is at it again.
In the issue following the one in which the first incendiary article appeared, Mr. Samuelson rubbed salt into the mental wounds he created in the Senior Citizens of this Republic by revisiting a subject he would have, in my humble opinion, been better off abandoning and letting his first article rest on its lousy laurels and gone on to another subject.
To be absolutely fair and honest, I will admit that Mr. S is probably much better educated, and wiser, than am I. However, I stand ready to participate in a verbal duel with this dedicated anti-humanitarian, at ten paces or pages.
In his latest article, revisiting the subject of Social Security, Mr. Samuelson now says bluntly that Social Security benefits for the elderly are "Middle Class Welfare'.
Also in order to be fair I should say that obviously you have the constitutional
freedom to agree with Mr. S, just as you have the right to believe that the Earth is flat, the moon is made of green cheese and that Politicians are Honest, that used car salesmen (those who weren't smart enough to be politicians) are pure of heart and the cost of living hasn't gone up at all in the last two years (as the Federal Government States), but I wouldn't recommend it.
I will enter into a sub-fractional agreement with Mr. Samuelson on a tiny bit of his "welfare" remark e.g. that perhaps the "Welfare appellation might be accurate for those among us who don't work, have never worked and never will . These are the selfsame individuals who drew the REAL welfare earlier in their lives, and are now drawing Social Security, but I sincerely think that this portion of the S.S. recipients is infinitesimally minute, in that the overwhelming majority of we recipients DID work for most or all of our adult lives to EARN our social Security, and to pick the Fly Specks out of the pepper, as Mr. S tends to do,I again hasten to affirm that few of us paid enough into the Social Security Fund to cover the amounts we will draw in what's left of our life, and I will again say that we didn't write the Social Security Bill, had nothing to do with the amount congress decided to assign each of us to pay into the fund, so whose fault is it?
I will also agree that people who have a overlarge income upon retirement should not qualify for Social Security. Just consider this one more tax., and with that I will close this part of this days post.
On another subject, I see where it has now been 30 years since John Hinckley shot President Reagan, his Press Secretary, Jim Brady, a secret Service Agent and a Washington Policeman. I think we all know the status of all the above wounded, but do you know what kind of life Mr. Hinkley is leading?
Well to inform. Mr. Hinkley is still committed to a Mental Institution, but is free to wander the grounds freely and unsupervised, has had a number of girlfriends, gets 12 unsupervised trips to visit his Mother each year, Ten days at each visit. Folks, that's One Hundred and Twenty days per year of Absolute freedom for this nut, Four Months, or one third of his confinement year !!!! Boy, that'll teach him !!!
Oh Well, enough of the grim news. I also read of a new growth of British Television shows, which if you haven't seen them, you can have no idea of how superior they are to the Best Efforts of the American Entertainment industry.
My wife got hooked on British Television quite a number of years ago, and persuaded me to watch them on a trial basis, and now.....well now, I simply DO NOT miss one of these fine shows. Such shows as "Foyle's War", Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christies 'Poirot" and the latest show we've found to be terrific, "Doc Martin", are absolute Blue Ribbon entertainment, and I think once you watch them you will be just as addicted to them as my wife and I are. I have no idea why such quality entertainment is beyond the capabilities of the American entertainment industry, but, sadly, it is. On American Series, if the characters aren't nearly or at least,partially, naked, it seems that the industry thinks the show is a failure. I think Charlie Sheen's drug-driven rages are perhaps symptomatic of one of the troubles in the American Entertainment industry. It seems that scarcely a week goes by that we don't hear or read of another Television or Movie Star's absolutely abhorant behavior, and these are the people to whom Millions of Dollars are paid. Yeah life's fair. Oh Well.
Just wanted to end this on an "up" beat, but it seems I've failed. Anyway if you get a chance check your local PBS TV channel and sample some of these fine British T.V. shows, I think you will like them as much as I do.
God Bless,
The Old Professor
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Robert J. Samuelson vs the AARP
Good Afternoon folks:
I have just finished reading this weeks issue of Newsweek, and I am sadly disappointed in this usually fine magazine. In this issue Robert J. Samuelson attacks the AARP and by inference all the retired people in the United States. According to RJS, or Joe Stalin Jr. as I call him, America's financial troubles are all the fault of the people in the USA who had the utter arrogance to live, and work, until they reached retirement age, and then audaciously accept a niggardly (no that's not a racial slur--look it up)amount each month from Social Security, into which we, the grey generation, paid into for most, if not all, of our working life.
Now if this fine old idiot had simply pointed out that most retirees receive more in Social Security payments than they paid into the Account over their working life, I, for one, would have no quarrel with him. But if I may be so bold as to ask this ass whose fault is it that this situation exists ? No one asked me (or mine) if we were paying in enough to S.S. to keep the ledger balanced, and our temerity in accepting Social Security Payments as our due would not be questioned. But no one asked us. The system was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and has been the salvation of many an older person who, inevitably was facing financial ruin because of Huge medical bills, and I am such a person.
I worked for almost 20 years in the Nuclear Industry, and have the scars and illnesses to prove it. I was badly injured in a work-place accident in 1985, was not allowed to return to work, as the illnesses I contracted as a result of breathing in Uranium dust, Asbestos Particles, and every chemical known to man had ruined my lungs, kidneys, bladder and thyroid, and I could no longer pass a standard breathing test.
For those same almost 20 years, I had paid into not only Social Security, but had the full cost of a disability plan deducted from my monthly paycheck, so when I was placed on disability by the company for which I worked, I assumed, naively, that my disability plan, as promised, would come into play. Boy was I ever wrong! I was told by one of the blow-dried,wingtip wonders who worked in Human Relations (a standing joke at the lab where I worked was that this Department should have been called 'Barely,Human relations"`) that I had to apply for Social Security Disability. I replied that I didn't want to, as I had paid in a Disability-Income plan for about 20 years. I was told that, in order to draw on my self-funded plan, I had to first apply for Social Security, otherwise my plan would be null and void.
I followed this field order, and reluctantly filed for Social Security Disability. In due course I was contacted by Social Security and questioned about my application. I told the nice lady rather bluntly "I don't want the damned Social Security payments", and that " I was being forced by my employer to apply as a condition of receiving ANY sort of payment for my injuries, even though they occurred on the job". and whiz bang zippo, I received a letter saying my claim for Social Security Disability had been approved . After notifying my company that I had received the above mentioned benefit, I was told that since I would be receiving Social Security, my Personal Disability Plan would not apply. To this day I think I was screwed, but since I worked for a company with about 78000 employees, there was no point in my fighting for justice. Now, I tell my personal story to illustrate one point, that most of us old geezers worked our collective asses off all our working life, and when, as always occurs, we are no longer able to work, by damn we don't appreciate being thought of as the part of the population that is Bankrupting the Country. We send Politicians to Washington to take care of that task.
So, Mr. Marx, er, Samuelson, I am just as damned sorry as I can be that we retired people are such an inconvenience as to absolutely cripple the Government, but, I will take, as a point of privilege, the opportunity to speak for most, if not all, retired people in the United States, and simply say "We are dying as fast as we know how", BUT, you arrogant Asshole, the overwhelming majority of us worked at Honest Labor to earn at least a small portion of our Social Security , and damned few of us "earned" a living by writing articles for a collection of Left-Wing publications , and if thats honest labor I'm a Jackass from Georgia (and I'm from Kentucky)
And NEWSWEEK ought to be ashamed of themselves, surely they can find a cheap writer thats less biased than this idiot.
Courage
The Old Professor
I have just finished reading this weeks issue of Newsweek, and I am sadly disappointed in this usually fine magazine. In this issue Robert J. Samuelson attacks the AARP and by inference all the retired people in the United States. According to RJS, or Joe Stalin Jr. as I call him, America's financial troubles are all the fault of the people in the USA who had the utter arrogance to live, and work, until they reached retirement age, and then audaciously accept a niggardly (no that's not a racial slur--look it up)amount each month from Social Security, into which we, the grey generation, paid into for most, if not all, of our working life.
Now if this fine old idiot had simply pointed out that most retirees receive more in Social Security payments than they paid into the Account over their working life, I, for one, would have no quarrel with him. But if I may be so bold as to ask this ass whose fault is it that this situation exists ? No one asked me (or mine) if we were paying in enough to S.S. to keep the ledger balanced, and our temerity in accepting Social Security Payments as our due would not be questioned. But no one asked us. The system was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and has been the salvation of many an older person who, inevitably was facing financial ruin because of Huge medical bills, and I am such a person.
I worked for almost 20 years in the Nuclear Industry, and have the scars and illnesses to prove it. I was badly injured in a work-place accident in 1985, was not allowed to return to work, as the illnesses I contracted as a result of breathing in Uranium dust, Asbestos Particles, and every chemical known to man had ruined my lungs, kidneys, bladder and thyroid, and I could no longer pass a standard breathing test.
For those same almost 20 years, I had paid into not only Social Security, but had the full cost of a disability plan deducted from my monthly paycheck, so when I was placed on disability by the company for which I worked, I assumed, naively, that my disability plan, as promised, would come into play. Boy was I ever wrong! I was told by one of the blow-dried,wingtip wonders who worked in Human Relations (a standing joke at the lab where I worked was that this Department should have been called 'Barely,Human relations"`) that I had to apply for Social Security Disability. I replied that I didn't want to, as I had paid in a Disability-Income plan for about 20 years. I was told that, in order to draw on my self-funded plan, I had to first apply for Social Security, otherwise my plan would be null and void.
I followed this field order, and reluctantly filed for Social Security Disability. In due course I was contacted by Social Security and questioned about my application. I told the nice lady rather bluntly "I don't want the damned Social Security payments", and that " I was being forced by my employer to apply as a condition of receiving ANY sort of payment for my injuries, even though they occurred on the job". and whiz bang zippo, I received a letter saying my claim for Social Security Disability had been approved . After notifying my company that I had received the above mentioned benefit, I was told that since I would be receiving Social Security, my Personal Disability Plan would not apply. To this day I think I was screwed, but since I worked for a company with about 78000 employees, there was no point in my fighting for justice. Now, I tell my personal story to illustrate one point, that most of us old geezers worked our collective asses off all our working life, and when, as always occurs, we are no longer able to work, by damn we don't appreciate being thought of as the part of the population that is Bankrupting the Country. We send Politicians to Washington to take care of that task.
So, Mr. Marx, er, Samuelson, I am just as damned sorry as I can be that we retired people are such an inconvenience as to absolutely cripple the Government, but, I will take, as a point of privilege, the opportunity to speak for most, if not all, retired people in the United States, and simply say "We are dying as fast as we know how", BUT, you arrogant Asshole, the overwhelming majority of us worked at Honest Labor to earn at least a small portion of our Social Security , and damned few of us "earned" a living by writing articles for a collection of Left-Wing publications , and if thats honest labor I'm a Jackass from Georgia (and I'm from Kentucky)
And NEWSWEEK ought to be ashamed of themselves, surely they can find a cheap writer thats less biased than this idiot.
Courage
The Old Professor
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