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12/31/2006
After 3 1/2 year battle Social Security finally releases agreement with Mexico
Verbatim cut and paste job,
| Social Security Agreement With Mexico Released After 3 1/2 Year Freedom of Information Act Battle |
The Totalization Agreement could allow millions of illegal Mexican workers to draw billions of dollars from the U.S. Social Security Trust Fund.
The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and is awaiting President Bush's signature. Once President Bush approves the agreement, which would be done without Congressional vote, either House of Congress would have 60 days to disapprove the agreement by voting to reject it.
The U.S. currently has 21 similar agreements in effect with other nations, which are intended to eliminate dual taxation for persons who work outside their country of origin. All of the agreements are with developed nations with economies similar to that of the U.S.
For example, a worker who turns 62 after 1990 generally needs 40 calendar quarters of coverage to receive retirement benefits. Under totalization agreements, workers are allowed to combine earnings from both countries in order to qualify for benefits. The Agreement with Mexico, like other totalization agreements, would allow workers to qualify with just six
quarters, or 18 months, of U.S. coverage.
But Mexico's retirement system is radically different than that of other participating countries. For example, only 40 percent of non-government workers participate in Mexico's system, whereas 96 percent of America's non- government workers do. In addition, the U.S. system is progressive, meaning lower wage earners get back much more than they put
in; in Mexico, workers get back only what they put in, plus accrued interest.
According to the SSA, the Social Security Trust Fund will begin paying out more than it is taking in by 2017, and will be exhausted by the year 2040.
With 1.2 million members, TREA Senior Citizens League is one of the nation's largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Visit
http://www.SeniorsLeague.org for more information or to see the Totalization Agreement documents.
SOURCE TREA Senior Citizens League
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12/30/2006
Welcome 2007, now listen up
- Don't make predictions. They never come true and even if yours does, it's going to sound like "I told you so" if you tout your tremendous powers of perception. Plus, there's going to be so many others saying that they predicted what happened, that really didn't, why bother?
- Get over yourself early. You're just another year and people will only remember what they want to.
- Take everything with a grain or two of salt. You're going to hear about cures, curses and causes that never will be proven or disproved, that may or may not materialize and none of it will end up worth a fiddler's fuck.
- Don't get snookered into anyone's game. They all want to use you and in the end they'll all lament over how lame you were.
- Keep reminding yourself that only through humility are you going to be able to find peace with yourself.
- People are like bees minus a unifying purpose, they fly around, buzz and sting but never produce much worthwhile for the entire colony.
- You'll be better off to pass through unaffected by woes and cares, you're just a page in the book not the whole story. Always remember you're here for a good time not a long one.
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Today's entry (it's still the 29th here): Baghdad Burning
Read it and weep,
I reread today's earlier post and to my astonishment or, should I say my shock and awe, I totally excluded the real victims of our Iraq transgression, the Iraqis.
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12/29/2006
The Great Decider's indecision
Flip a coin Mr President, are we in or out?
Remember when absolutes were in vogue and the conservatives were so convinced that there was an absolute lurking behind every issue, controversy or moral dilemma and only they had the power to divine the truth? What happened? Did an issue come along to muddy the waters? That couldn't have happened, not according to their belief system.
Self Righteous Rule # 1: THERE'S ALWAYS A RIGHT/WRONG, GOOD/BAD and it's ALWAYS AS PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON THEIR UNAPPROVING FACES. The same nose that they like to stick in everyone's business. The same nose that never fails to sniff out the truth, the absolutes.
But it IS failing. They don't know what to do about their pet project: Iraq and the continuing saga of death and destruction that they have wrought. More troops, less? Pull out? Stay the course? Declare victory? Admit defeat? James Baker or Bill Kristol? Work with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, arrange a coup d’etat? Where is the love ... I mean the ABSOLUTE that they are always so absolutely sure is there?
Could it be that there isn't a correct and moral choice? Could it be that deceit and lies on a grand scale beget chaos on a grand scale? Maybe this time there ain't no Santa Clause or Jesus gonna fix er up, *we're fucked. We're fucked and you fucked us, Mr. President, sir, ASSHOLE! Your unprecedented, preemptive war, otherwise know as madness has us put us in a box, a box that's on fire.
See, it wasn't a big ol' Texas showdown after all. The Middle East maniacs are slicing our head off, slowly, so they can revel in our pain, slowly so they can watch our eyes bulge and the blood sprout.
Your comeuppance is everyone else's cross. The one absolute that you didn't count on is asserting itself, absolute failure. Gene
P.S. Juan Cole nails it again: AlterNet: War on Iraq: Top Ten Iraq Myths for 2006
P.P.S. I reread this in light of my latest post: Baghdad Burning and I marveled at my own typical American attitude of self interest to the exclusion of the real victims, to have not even mention the Iraqi's suffering.
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12/28/2006
War on Christmas trees
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12/27/2006
More economic crap ...
First James Brown and then Gerald Ford, who's next? Saddam Hussein?
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Why are republicans who largely represent business or say they do, so crazy, insane, dead set against taxes but don't see anything at all wrong with charging the maximum for substandard products and services? How many billions have been thrown away over the last few years for no bid contracts and profiteering for Katrina and Iraq reconstruction? Where do they think THAT money came from?
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This morning, The Wall Street Journal bemoans the possibility that a tax increase may be in the works for the upper crust OpinionJournal - Featured Article, God forbid. They frame revamping Social Security by raising the payroll tax cap as "income redistribution," and display cold, Dickensesque, indifference toward the poor and elderly.
Eliminating or substantially raising the cap would convert Social Security into an overt income redistribution program. If that is the direction Congress wants to go, we should all then end the pretense that Social Security is some kind of "universal" insurance program and call it welfare for poor seniors.
In their pseudo, contrived reality, this is still the land of milk and honey, where even the most unfortunate can raise to the top through hard work and ambition.
The fact is, and they know it: we work in their factories, mines and chain stores, they rig the game so wages are shit, pensions are nonexistent and at the same time yank worker protection, consumer protection, the right to organize and environment standards out from under us, and then, the coup de grace, they say that paying taxes to keep us alive and just this side of poverty in our old age isn't fair, that they'll take their ball and go to China or the next cheapest, least regulated, most conducive to slave labor, child labor, country that they can find or create, like they tried but failed to do in Iraq. Baghdad Year Zero (Harpers.org)
By comparison we're still better off that most of the world, considering Causes of Poverty - Global Issues:
- Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.
- The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of the world’s countries) is less than the wealth of the world’s three richest people combined.
- Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
- Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
- 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water, 270 million have no access to health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or roughly 29,000 children per day).
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But since when did we gauge our prosperity in comparison to the poorest nations and peoples. In America we aspire for the heights not shirk from the depths or, we used to.
I'm willing to cut a deal, Wall Street Journal, you encourage your business readers and cronies to pay a living wage to Americans and with benefits. You're smart, so you can figure out how (maybe universal heath care might not be a bad idea after all) and then I'll not bug you about raising the cap on Social Security taxes.
If you pay people enough money that they can afford to save, they will. But, I fear, in your world, you'd call that, "income redistribution" too. Gene
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12/26/2006
We'll miss you James
After declaring I_Feel_Good James Brown, Godfather of Soul, broke into a Cold_Sweat and passed away yesterday, Christmas morning.
It's rumored James Brown's soul, due to its enormity, may take several days to pass through the pearly gates. James Brown will be remembered for his overall funkiness. HEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!
James Joseph Brown, Jr. May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006
P.S. You gotta see this: Video James Brown - Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - James, Brown, Papa's, Got, clip - Dailymotion Share Your Videos
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12/25/2006
Too poignant to ignore
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12/24/2006
The night before I became hopelessly confused about life and Christmas was just a right turn away around the corner
deck the halls and hide your folly,
while bloggers desperately seek the unified field theory of platitudes and mankind groans stumbles pulls up its pants and ambles out to buy a last minute gift for the white house before it sinks into the soft clay the walton family offers their good nights to america bob dylan shakespeare and jesus hop into their 57 chevy for a few beers and mailbox baseball or poker with queens wild as the hills wild or as wild as a day without sunshine until they are unable to shoot the shit without drooling or raising taxes
the optimum positions change and charge twice for their wrong headed advice and say theyre only doing what theyre paid to the santa impersonators walk the beat and indian wrestle lenny bruce for a quarter he always wins takes his holy grail shoots his junk and thanks god the father knows best who just happens to be in the house
the children sing the women weep the men wrap themselves in fur and fight the mastodon for food and a good idea peas carrots and onions grow like magic beans up to the giants golden goose egg jack swaps pearls for swine and on the way down climbs in the virgin marys window for a quick game of parcheesi
the credits roll choreography by the ghost of christmas past and things to come wait in the wings the shadows and places we never see until it's too late we brandish our feeble attempts like a sword and fall on it to please the ladies in the front row how fitting it all seems how average to be without a paycheck or intelligent enough to understand higher mathematics
the television soul of man meets the werewolf tonight so don't be afraid be very afraid because santa also comes but cant get no satisfaction until he strikes the harp and joins the chorus of blindfolded black men hands folded in prayer until they finally fold their hand and say theyre out bob dylan snickers and says queens were wild and you had 4
hes out shes out and we all pound the cheese the cheese screams and runs out the room for relief from constipation and other cheese related illnesses night falls and gets back up but santa has a bloody nose and guides his own sleigh leaving a trail of dry blood sweat and tears
Its all so humiliating and natural like a straight flush like a night on the town like a bell like a gear like a hammer goodnight john boy goodnight mamma goodnight santa and jesus gene
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12/23/2006
My special gift to you
For my female readers ... mostly,
YouTube - SNL - Digital Short - A Special Christmas Box *Uncensored Ve
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