Can anyone confirm/deny this bit of sillyness for me please?

[GregD]

I've had back-to-back guests in for the past week and perhaps I missed some news. Is tehre an immigration bill being considered that has language that changes how illegal workers are treated with regard to social security?

I received this from my reich-wing realtor.

To ALL:

It does not matter if you personally like or dislike the President, you need to sign
this and let's flood his email box with emails and tell him that even if the House
passes this bill, he needs to veto it.

Social Security was established as a partial retirement benefit for Citizens who
contributed to the system. As stated below, the Senate voted this week to allow
"illegal" aliens (non-citizens) to have access to Social Security benefits.

Attached is an opportunity to sign a petition that requires citizenship for
eligibility to social Security benefits.

PETITION FOR: President Bush

Mr. President: The petition below is a Protest against what the senate voted
on recently which was to allow illegal aliens to access our social security!
As elected servants of the people, it is your duty to protect and serve us,
the People.

We respectfully demand that you and all Congressional representatives require
citizenship as a basis for eligibility for social services, and in particular,
Social Security benefits in the United States.

Respectfully signed by,

Citizens of the United States of America

[OregonBlue]

1. Partly true, here's what they did approve:

WASHINGTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

The immigration bill being debated by the Senate would allow over two million illegal workers
who received Social Security numbers prior to 2004 to receive more than $966 billion in Social
Security benefits by 2040.

Despite a provision in the bill that would prevent individuals who
performed illegal work and then obtained a Social Security number after
2007 from receiving credit for Social Security taxes paid in previous
years, the legislation does nothing to prevent aliens who illegally
obtained "non-work" Social Security numbers prior to 2004 from claiming
benefits.

Between 1974 and 2003, the Social Security Administration issued more
than seven million "non-work" Social Security numbers, which entitled some
foreign nationals -- some of whom were illegal aliens -- to services such
as Medicaid and food stamps. The majority of non-work Social Security
numbers were issued during an era of less restrictive immigration policy;
in some cases, aliens didn't need proof of citizenship to receive a number.

Despite their "non-work" status, millions performed unlawful work.
Under the Senate legislation currently being considered, this group would
be eligible for Social Security benefits.

[glowing]

2. In theory, if there is amnesty and a path to citizenship, then there is

the possibility of collecting social security. And if you happen to have come in when you were older and you are paid under the table, then you haven't been contributing as long, but you are allowing more people access to the social security. What people don't understand is that we will be lucky if we have social security another 10yrs... I probably will never see my social security, even though I've def. been paying into the system since I was 16.

[OzarkDem]

7. Bottom line

A large amnesty program for illegal aliens would do great harm to the solvency of SS.

It would also place a huge burden on any system of universal health care that we may (hopefully) try to develop here.

How much illegals have contributed to the SS system is debatable.

Bottom line, we can't keep Social Security solvent and will never have a chance to implement a single payer, universal health care system with a large amnesty program and unless immigration is under control.

As much as we may want to feel compassion for our neighbors, we can't afford to care for them and ourselves, too. And we certainly can't make improvements in the social safety net and enact health care reform while taking on the burden of providing those services for millions of immigrants. Its not realistic.

We can't help the rest of the world until make our own country strong and healthy. If we try to do otherwise, we'll end up just another third world country.

[Arger68]

3. Snopes has this:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/socialsecurity.asp

[Breeze54]

4. Urban Legend (partly true)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/socialsecurity.asp

[baldguy]

5. The sender wishes to deny people the ability to access benefits

of a program which they paid into. It's just another way for Republicans to steal from the poor.

[OzarkDem]

8. Illegally

These are people who stole the identities of US citizens. Perhaps we could consider a program to send the money they contributed back to them, but to let them collect social security for the rest of their lives from a system they barely paid into in a country they aren't a citizen of? I would disagree with that.

[baldguy]

9. And the wealthy legally avoid paying their full share into the same system

But they get the full benefit. But that's OK, right?

Just because something is "legal" doesn't make it right or moral or just, and being "illegal" doesn't make it wrong.

[Pharaoh]

6. I Don't Know

But I believe the President has already destroyed social security, hopefully it can be saved from collapse if we can get rid of these Nazi's