I received an email from Senator Bill Nelson (D FL) this morning asking me

[1monster]

to comment on the debt debate.

This is what I am planning to send. Comments before I hit the send button. (edited to fix typos)

July 27, 2011

Dear Senator Nelson:

Tax those with the highest incomes and corporations, both who are paying less in taxes than at any other time in the last hundred years.

Reduce military spending by half and bring our troops home.

Leave Social Security and Medicare alone.

We, the tax payers of the United States have paid into Social Security and Medicare all of our working lives. As part of wages, our employers also have paid into Social Security for all the time we have worked for them. Both Social Security and Medicare are separate items on the deductions of our pay checks.

We are entitled to our Social Security and Medicare benefits because WE PAID FOR THEM! That is why they are called ENTITLEMENTS. We paid for them. They belong to us.

Social Security and Medicare should NEVER be bargaining chips in the budgeting process. It does not and has not contributed to the national debt. Social Security has been paid for and currently the U.S. government owes Social Security billions if not trillions of dollars. In fact, Social Security is owed more money by the U.S. government than any other debt holder in the world.

I know the spin is that Social Security is going and has been going broke for years, but the truth is that Social Security moneys have been placed into the general budget for years and obscenely used for wars, and for other nonessential garbage.

More and more in this country, there is a movement to absolve the richest from any responsibilities of citizenship while they reap the benefits of the same citizenship.

In 1918, the top tax rate was 77%. In 1932, the top tax rate was 63%. In 1945, the rate for those making over $200,000 was 94% and the rate stayed over 90% until 1964 when it was lowered to 77%.

Today, those with the top income are sometimes paying the same rate of pay as those of the lowest taxable rate. That is unacceptable.

It is time to stop the obscene wars and keep our military for what it was intended: our defense. Cut military spending in half at the least. We spend more on the military than all of the rest of the world combined.

Cut military spending and raise taxes on the highest income brackets and the debt problem will not be a problem any more.

Sincerely,

[peace frog]

1. Got the same email today

He'll be hearing from me later, for what it's worth.

[emulatorloo]

2. Excellent - if I were you I would hit Send.

Gonna steal a few things from you to send to my Republican Senator.

My Dem Senator is one of the best there is, thankfully. As is my Dem Rep.

[Justyce]

3. Small typo, if you haven't sent it yet:

Sixth paragraph, third word. Social Security "and" Medicare.

Not a big deal of course, just happened to notice it :)

GREAT letter by the way!!

[1monster]

4. Thanks. I'm fixing it now. And two others I just found.

[FSogol]

5. Send it. n/t

[Snotcicles]

6. Let er rip. nt

[avebury]

7. Could I have your permission to use your letter to send

to my Senators and Rep.? It is so well written.

[1monster]

9. Thank you. Yes, but change it around just a little or personalize it a bit

so it doesn't look like one of those right-wing talking points letters to the editor types that go to fifty different newspapers with different signatures on all of them.

[1monster]

8. Okay. I've hit send. For what it's worth. (Probably not much, seeing as it is Bill Nelson.

[csziggy]

12. Actually Bill Nelson WILL protect SS and Medicare

He knows that one of his strongest blocks of voters are the Seniors that rely on this programs and he has always been against cutting them. He does have to pander to some very right wing areas to stay in office, but since the Democratic Party has shifted right, Bill Nelson has stayed about the same, so now he is probably on the left wing of the organized party.

I called his office last week to express my opinion on the debt/deficit debate and had a nice talk with one of his Tallahassee office people. She told me that Nelson is fighting to prevent cuts to entitlements. I suggested that he look at the Progressive budget - the one that will balance the budget in the long run without cutting social programs. It was a very good conversation.

[1monster]

14. I hope so. However, when I have phoned Nelson's office in the past

regarding one issue or another, the answer has been a super polite abcdeFU. He is a very conservative Dem. More royal or navy blue dog rather than just a blue dog.

[gateley]

10. I'd only move the leave SS and Med alone to the top of the list -

that's something they can MAYBE do right now, whereas an agreement on the corporations'/wealthy taxes and cutting the military budget would entail a lot more time to hash out. Tempus fugit!

Other than that - wow! I agree with the others - hit 'send'.

And you might want to thank him for asking your opinion. I know that's what they're supposed to do, and I know he's probably motivated to do this for political reasons, but it's nice he actually reached out. I haven't heard a peep from my Senators (Cantwell and Murray).

:patriot:

Again, GREAT job! :hi:

[WhiteTara]

11. Press "Send" Now. n/t

[checks-n-balances]

13. Also FYI everyone, a misspelling: it's monies, not moneys

Only reason I point it out is if we're using this letter to send to others, it's more suspect when everyone makes the same spelling mistake!

Otherwise, many thanks to the OP for providing this straightforward response!!!

[1monster]

15. I don't suggest my letter be a template just for that reason. Use the statistics in letter; they

are correct. But personalize your letters. State your own feelings and make your own suggestions.

[anamandujano]

16. I sent him this.

Senator Nelson,

Thank you for requesting my opinion. I wasn't going to contact any of my reps as I feel politicians aren't really interested in any voices except those that finance their elections. Most voters have been feeling this way for quite some time.

Reading at various message boards it's obvious that Republican and Democrat voters are unanimous on the issue of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They are furious with politicians for even considering tampering with these programs while continuing to receive their generous paychecks and endless perks, including pensions.

From my reading, voters feel that there are plenty of areas for cutting and finding revenue without putting more stress on the vulnerable. They feel the politicians are drones at best. Everybody knows what's going on. You all can't play dumb anymore. The squabbling and pointing fingers at the other party between the two sides is sickening.

Go to Yahoo news and do some reading if you don't want to take my word.

[1monster]

17. Great. I get this mental picture of a stern mom pointing her finger at the

corner indicating to the erring two year old that the misbehaving has gone way to far.