2012/09/06

archive: the lesser people

First, please watch this. Because there IS money to make things work. Some things have changed globally, comparable stacks remain.



 Now -- this
Dear National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility,
I am very concerned after hearing former Senator Simpson's response to a concerned member of the public. He was asked perfectly reasonable questions about how we might address the future solvency of Social Security, but demonstrated that he was more interested in degrading the interviewer. He was consistently condescending and made assumptions on the basis of a very partisan politics. Moreover, he demonstrated ignorance in how Social Security was set up, how it has been amended in the past to provide for the program's growth relative to meeting its future needs. Most of all, he made sweeping statements based on something besides fact. On the basis of this demonstration of arrogant and disobliging attitude and lack of competence, Simpson has no business deciding our future.
I am one of the "lesser people" who has no pension, as are the majority of workers today. Government programs are not handouts for lesser beings, those "scratching with the chickens" as Simpson put it. My father spent his life on the Hill working to implement a GI Bill that paid for itself ten-fold in what it did for our citizens and culture. But working for the government, my family in Washington DC also seem in a bubble, not understanding what it is like in the rest of the country, where workers do not have automatic pensions, healthcare, and job security. We depend on our nation's good will in formulating the future, just as our nation depends on each individual's diversity, talent, and willingness to build community. As we have seen in recent years, economics and banking are not fully rational and predictable mathematical sciences. We look to leaders who are willing to work towards solutions based not on ideology, but on the challenges of the changing face of reality, and the goodwill and equality our nation was founded upon.  Please relieve Sen. Simpson of his duties.
Regards and good wishes,
Deborah
etc.
PS. I also note Simpson was wrong in his understanding of projected age relative to benefits.  Perhaps you could pass along the below which does a good job in making the subject clear.