No Judge 'Would Allow Alan Simpson To Serve On A Jury If Social Security Were On Trial'

[democracy1st]

Edward Coyle, Retiree Advocate: No Judge 'Would Allow Alan Simpson To Serve On A Jury If Social Security Were On Trial'


Opponents of cutting Social Security benefits for retired Americans won't relent in their mission to convince President Obama that Alan Simpson should not lead the president's deficit commission, which may recommend cuts to retirees' benefits.

"There is not a judge in this country that would allow Alan Simpson to serve on a jury if Social Security were on trial," said Edward Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, in a statement. "Co-chairing a presidential panel is serious business. Much like serving on a jury, it requires a fair, balanced, and honest evaluation of the evidence. By this reasonable yardstick, Alan Simpson has disqualified himself from serving on this commission."

Social Security stands accused of aiding and abetting an unconscionable national budget deficit. The jury is the president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Simpson, a former Republican senator from Wyoming, is the co-foreman -- even though he called Social Security "a milk cow with 310 million tits!" last week.

Simpson apologized for the statement and the White House said he would remain co-chairman of the commission despite mounting pressure to ask for his resignation.

"Simpson's remarks were not only deeply hurtful and inaccurate, but they clearly compromise his ability to objectively weigh the arguments presented to the commission during its deliberations,' said Coyle. "His conduct is unbecoming someone trusted with this level of responsibility, and it is time for President Obama to replace him with someone with a greater sense of comportment and impartiality."

Simpson's milk cow remark is the most recent in a series of cranky statements -- he said most of the people anxious about Social Security who write him are "people who live in gated communities and drive their Lexus to the Perkins restaurant to get the AARP discount," for instance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/retiree-advocate-alan-sim_n_700751.html



Bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-establishes-bipartisan-national-commission-fiscal-responsibility-an


Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/TRSUM/index.html

[Bozita]

1. K&R. bigtime!

[Mimosa]

2. K&R n/t

[sandnsea]

3. Well it's a good thing there's no social security jury

Just a panel that can make recommendations.

[eridani]

4. And if Congress acts on them, people are going to die n/t

[sandnsea]

5. No recommendations have even been made... and DIE?

Really? How would that happen?

[eridani]

6. Right, There is no conceivable reason to suspect that people who want to end Social Security

--might recommend severe cuts to it? Raising the retirement age is going to kill people.

[Mimosa]

7. "Raising the retirement age is going to kill people."

Eridani, I think that's the point.

[bobbolink]

10. As is cutting people off disability.... We need to sacrifice OURSELVES to save the country.

Amend that to... save the military budget and the tax "relief" for the top 2% of the rich assholes.

OK, I just added "assholes" because I'm angry at the deaths of thousands.

Label me "vindictive".

:hi:

[eridani]

13. I'd call it justifiable anger, myself n/t

[sandnsea]

9. They already raised it on boomers

I can't collect full retirement until 67. Why aren't people screaming about boomers dying right now?

There's another level of social security that pays more if you wait until age 70 to collect, they'll probably increase that to 72 or add another layer.

But you can still retire at 62. They won't change that. They may put in a tier of work that is eligible for that retirement age. They already have a system that identifies labor in workmens comp. It wouldn't be too hard to access that and identify job categories that require an earlier retirement.

Nobody is going to die because of changes in social security. Saying so sounds just like Sarah Palin and her death panels.

[eridani]

12. They are. The ones who were forced into early retirement account for

--a significant chunk of the 44,000 a year who die because they can't pay for health care.

[sandnsea]

14. WTF are you talking about now?

Who is forced into early retirement? You were talking about people dying because they wouldn't be able to retire, now you're talking about people dying because they *will* be able to retire.

[eridani]

16. I am talking about older people who can't find work due to age discrimination

Cutting benefits by raising the retirement age is going to impoverish many of them, and kill some.

[xchrom]

8. Recommend - I think that's true of several people on the Catfood Commission. Nt

[indepat]

11. The only judge in the matter must have thought Simpson fit the bill as judge, jury, and executioner

of social security for his views, as well as all the predominantly RW conservatives also chosen for this grisly role, were well known. :)

[WillyT]

15. K & R !!!

:kick: