Thievery: How Congress Keeps Stealing From Our Retirement Benefits and Social Safety Net

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/congress-keeps-nickle-and-diming-earned-social-insurance-payments



Congress has a nasty habit that’s not going away. It has been stealing a few billion here and a few billion there from earned retirement and safety net payments, overlooking whether those benefits have been promised or are even sufficient.

As the House and Senate passed its $1.012 trillion 2014 budget last week, veterans were blindsided when they learned that Congress had cut cost-of-living increases for retiree pensions by 1 percent. A master sergeant who served 20 years could lose $80,000 in his lifetime, said Col. Mike Barron of the Military Officers Association of America.

The cuts will affect 1.1 million retirees, 400,000 of whom retired after 9/11, and save an estimated $6 billion. “It’s deferred compensation,” Barron said. “You are changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s very unfair. It’s a clear breach of faith with us.”

But it’s not just military retirees who are prey to Congress’s petty thievery. In the Senate, there are competing Democratic and Republican proposals to extend unemployment insurance (UI) for 1.3 million longterm jobless people. Unemployment is another earned benefit that people pay into from years of work. The UI extension would be funded by taking money that now goes to Social Security disability recipients, so someone could not receive both unemployment and disability.

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. K&R Anybody have any experience living in Costa Rica?

At this point, I'm just tired and want out.

[Wilms]

2. ^

[mikeysnot]

3. Support the troops!

Obviously with yellow ribbons, silly slogans, bumperstickers and flags.... but not with their own money, that they earned and deserve...

[MisterP]

4. Reaganomics says government cannot be possible: Reaganites get into office to make sure it isn't

#USPS

[dickthegrouch]

5. Time to take some back

How about suggesting law changes to effect some protection for us:


For people laid off from their job after 50 years old and unable to find a new one before unemployment insurance benefits are exhausted if their income was less than $250,000 averaged over the previous three years

1. Repeal (and refund) any capital gains taxes paid on real estate

2. Repeal (and refund) all penalties for using retirement funds to live off

3. Restore Income averaging for tax purposes over three years for all persons whose income decreases as a result of layoff or wage reduction (which is not replaced by some other means e.g. stock grants or options).

4. Make all extensions to unemployment benefits automatic unless both unemployment is less than 3.5% and there are funded positions open for more than 80% of the unemployed

5. A laid-off person shall not be required to take a position paying less than their most-recent position.

4. No income taxes payable until income exceeds the locale-adjusted poverty line by 125% of the amount of the income tax payable

We need to start negotiating from positions that strongly benefit us, in order that the watered down version, that eventually gets passed, is still beneficial to us.