I looked further on the web and from what I can tell, the law is supposed to
protect people who worked for a system which did not do the usual tax
withholding from their pay checks for social security. It is supposed to ensure
that they receive income approximately equivalent to what they would have
gotten from social security.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 1:29 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Hi Miriam, in the days after 9-11, the Bush administration amended the social
security law by inserting what is known as the "windfall elimination
provision", which allows states to take the amount of a social security benefit
out of a retirees pension or deferred compensation effectively preventing them
from collecting social security. For example if an employee retires and gets
$2000 from their deferred comensation and $1000 from social security their
deferred compensation will be reduced to $1000. See the link below my
signature. To the best of my knowledge only 6 sates do this to their employees
with Massachusetts being one. Sadly, my senator, Ms. Warren refuses to take a
stand against this provision.
As far as Obama, I found many youtube clips of his debates but I found noting
where he said that he will eliminate or reduce social security. Can you provide
a link? If he did say that it certainly will be everywhere on the internet.
Frank
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/05/new-bill-would-change-social-security-rule-on-public-workers-benefits.html
P
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 9:38 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Well Frank,
It depends on what you mean by far left. I don't understand about your state,
how it could prevent you from receiving social security. I'll have to google
that. But I do remember hearing Obama, in a presidential debate with Romney,
talk about how it would be a good idea to privatize social security or lower
its benefits or some such thing. And now that I'm reading the book, We've Got
People by Ryan Grinn, which is a detailed history of the Democratic Party since
Jesse Jackson's run, my memory of Obama being willing to reduce our social
security has been verified. So if you think that the Democratic leadership is
left wing, you've been fooled like a lot of us were. The Clinton wing of the
Democratic party is corporatist and cares only to stay in power. There's an
industry of consultants who stay in business because the party insists that
moninees raise a certain amount of money in order to be supported in elections
by the party.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 2:29 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Miriam, yours is just one of the many experiences that make me think we have
already lost the battle. I used to have a stack of my late mother's medical
bills on my desk at home. I have since put them in a file box and hid them
under my desk as I can't stand to see them. About half of my take home pay goes
to those bills and will most likely do so until I die. Thankfully I don't have
children so the cycle of inherited debt will stop. Carl spoke about how he
fears that his pension and social security will be protected. That is a
generational thing as my generation is already living in a world where those
things don't exist. Even here in my allegedly progressive state, my union has
lost access to the state pension system. Instead we have it replaced by (nudge,
wink) "deferred compensation" which is nothing more than a zero interest
savings account where I am forced to contribute 15 percent of my paycheck to
every pay period and then when I retire I get to cash it in minus the almost 30
percent of cumulative back end charges and fees. Now about that social
security? As a state employee I am not allowed to collect social security when
I retire. Sure we pay into it but remember that piece of paper we signed when
we took the job? Yes sir that "windfall elimination plan" law really sticks it
to me as it does in the other 5 states in the country that require state
employees to sign away their social security. I feel defeated and don't have
any positive view of the future despite how many far left podcasts I listen to
as they too are part of the corporate demigods that got us where we are.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2019 9:25 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Amy was trying to ask, what she thought was a provocative and meaningful
question, and Warren was trying to dodge it. But really, I don't see the point
of the question. I've noticed that she often does something similar, asks
public figures to comment on outrageous things that other people have said.
Trying to get someone to say something in an unguarded moment is not, as far as
I'm concerned, doing useful journalism.
As for your personal concern, I surely do understand that. As I've explained,
my income slowly decreases as municipal bonds are called and replaced with
bonds that pay a lower rate of interest. My expenses rise, supplemental medical
insurance, Medicare Prescription insurance, and other expenses. As my physical
capacities decline, and I'm not sure how long I'll be able to walk, I'm going
to have to have a different level of care. And that's another issue. I can be
empathetic toward people on the margins of society, but it's quite a different
situation when you find yourself dependent on people who don't understand your
needs, have little education and poor training, don't speak English well, and
may steal your belongings. Now that Yaneek is leaving to join our military, I
may very soon be back in that situation again. What is most ironic is if I had
the $400,000 annually to pay for what is considered a quality nursing home here
and if I wanted to be in such a place, I'd be cared for by employees at the
same level of education, and they wouldn't be working for me, but for an
impersonal bureaucracy. When my mother was dying of cancer, she was in a well
known Catholic hospital that serves dying cancer patients. It had a modern
clean physical plant. They had her on medication which kept her free from pain.
But all her personal belongings were stolen. I also remember visiting one
Friday night. The rooms were all laid out in a circle, opening onto a corridor,
and in the center of the circle, there was a glass enclosed nursing station. As
we walked along the corridor, I could hear a woman crying out, asking for help
or something. She must have been feeling frightened and alone. No one went to
her. Those nurses acted like she didn't exist. That was back in the late 80's.
Oh, and by the way, because she didn't die within a year of being admitted,
they threw her out. She died in the best nursing home I could get her into,
with a much poorer level of care, a few months later.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2019 7:17 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
I heard it, both during the "debate" and on Democracy Now. I have no idea why
Amy played that up. It sounded to me as if it were simply another side step in
order to avoid saying anything provocative.
Frankly, I run hot and cold. We have a bunch of brain damaged candidates eager
to be the last president of the American Empire.
The billionaires are so greed driven that they no longer understand that they
need to working class in order to continue enriching themselves.
My current concern is wondering how long our pensions and social security will
continue. That is the source of the majority of our monthly income. If we
continue headed down the road the way we are, it won't be long before Cathy and
I will be attempting to live on half of what we need to stay afloat.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/11/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Democracy Now thought that Warren's response to Amy's last question
was so significant, that they have it as a separate thing on the
website and it downloaded as a separate episode. Amy asked her to
comment on the first 2 primaries being in majority white states where
candidates would have to spend a lot of time wooing voters and then
the third in a state with a large black population. Warren said, "Are
you going to ask me to comment on that?"
and then she said, "I'm just a player in the game." I suppose that Amy
thinks this is significant, Warren refusing to comment on race?
Miriam
