221022 13:40 – save social security
It’s voting season and the campaigning is contention as always. Really the two party system is doing us no favors. It will fundamentally always be in my mind: “them against us,” or “us against them,” however you like it. It cannot not be otherwise. A candidate must have a comparison to rally against.
Unfortunately, one of the two sides is much more destructive to civilization. In so many ways, socioeconomically, environmentally, psychologically, physically; you name it. Being conservative by nature, how would that ever relate to being selfless, free with assistance to help others, generous?
Rick Scott, he released a policy agenda for the Republicans earlier this year. And I should also mention Scott’s not just some random senator. He’s the head of the Republican Senate campaign arm and has been campaigning and giving a lot of money to the Republican Senate candidates.
So Scott’s plan, it would mean that every five years, every federal government program, including Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, would have to be voted on and Congress would have to agree to reauthorize it or else it would be terminated.
And so that means that every five years, Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries would be left in limbo, wondering, is Congress going to reauthorize our benefits or are they going to cut it? Are they going to privatize it or are they going to end it entirely? It’s going to be just another part of congressional wheeling and dealing, just no longer the secure earned benefits that people have paid for. So that’s Rick Scott.
Sen. Ron Johnson from Wisconsin heard Scott’s plan and he decided, “You know what, I don’t think that’s cruel enough. I think that we should require Social Security and Medicare to be authorized every year.”
The conservatives want to make changes to social security.
Some rando facts:
Did you know 70 million people received benefits from programs administered by the Social Security Administration ( SSA ) in 2021. 5.4 million people were newly awarded Social Security benefits in 2021. 55% of adult Social Security beneficiaries in 2021 were women. 55.3 was the average age of disabled-worker beneficiaries in 2021.
As Baby Boomers retire and the U.S. population ages, fewer workers are left to contribute toward the benefits of each retiree. Social Security’s retirement benefits trust fund is projected to deplete reserves in 2034, leaving it reliant on tax receipts covering 77% of scheduled benefits
Employers and employees each pay 6.2 percent of wages up to the taxable maximum of $147,000 (in 2022), while the self-employed pay 12.4 percent. In 2021, $980.06 billion (90.1 percent) of total Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance income came from payroll taxes.
And,
• Social Security and Medicare are paid for with a separate tax. Neither program adds to the national debt.
• Social Security taxes are paid on only the first $147,000 of income (increases to $160,200 in 2023). If the cap was increased or removed, Social Security could be solvent in perpetuity.
• Social Security has about a $2,500,000,000,000 surplus.
• Congress has borrowed trillions from Social Security for government spending.
Why does society let those with the most money proportionally spend the least? Because we elect government officials to make laws that are flawed against society, that’s why.
• Register to Vote
• Voter registration is closed in GA, AZ, FL and OH.
• PA registration closes on October 24, 2022.
• WI has in-person registration through November 4, 2022.
• NV has in person registration through election day.
• NH has in-person election-day-only registration.
• CO has mail-in registration through October 31, 2022 and in-person registration on election day
• NC permits in-person registration at Early Voting sites (Oct. 20-Nov. 5)• Check your Voter registration!
• Make sure you have appropriate ID.
• Know your polling site.
• Check your signature.
• Get a mail-in ballot (and after you mail it, make sure it has been received and counted – most counties allow this to be done online or by calling your election office).
• And VOTE!
Thank you for reading today's post. Have an InterStellar Day! ~PrP
Thanks for the Social Security info. It came just when I needed it.
PrP, You nailed the republicans for what they are.
Is it possible to carry over some of the jokes on the last blog. I kept getting lost trying to find the new ones because there were so many posts. Is it possible to be too successful?
I was hoping to get feedback. I asked on the old post with all the jokes- do you like the new setup? Are too many comments unmanageable if I don’t post for a week? Maybe after 99 a new post goes up automatically? Or at 50 comments? Any opinion or insight on how you seethis working better for you? Anyone else? Feel free to reply to this comment
I think that after 50 comments a new post should go up automatically.
I like the set up. It works nicely. I think that 99 posts is too many though. I didn’t see your “ask” about the manageability issue. Will go back and check. I’m the “Did you know” Helen. I used to be a big fan of Michelle’s blog.
Hello, Michelle, delighted to see you post here.
I would like to comment on the things that you post on. How about leaving a blank “reply to PrP post” to start the blog off?
Did You Know?
U.S. consumers overwhelmingly prefer mint-flavored toothpaste, but around the world, you’ll find a wide variety of flavors—in China, floral and tea flavors are common, and in India, fennel and clove flavors are popular.
Did You Know?
During the last ice age, there was a species of giant beavers the size of black bears found in North America. Fossil remains of the beavers have been found as far south as Florida and as far north as Alaska and the Yukon.
Did You Know?
Despite the widely propagated belief that throwing rice at weddings poses a danger to birds, the rice is harmless—many birds around the world, after all, will eat raw rice right out of the field.
All this talk about electric vehicles: What about Hydrogen?
Hydrogen fuel cells, capable of turning the universe’s most abundant element into a clean fuel source, were arguably in the same bracket as nuclear fusion. Always five to ten years away and the perfect solution to one of the world’s biggest problems. But they aren’t five years away; they’re here and they’re here, and they work as advertised. The cells work by combining hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen, which as anyone who has done even the most basic science class will know, creates water.
The process also generates electricity, which charges a battery, which then powers the vehicle. This is around three times more efficient than burning gas and has zero emissions beyond water vapor. Refueling takes around the same amount of time as filling a car with gas, and if you break down, a canister of hydrogen would be all you need to get moving again.
Unfortunately, Hydrogen runs into some of the same issues EVs do, and in the case of infrastructure those issues are on a more extreme level. The US has fewer than 50 hydrogen fuel stations, and almost all of those are in the state of California. This lack of infrastructure prevents people from buying one of the few hydrogen cars available, as there’s no point in buying something you can’t fuel. This, in turn makes manufacturers say there is little demand and refrain from producing hydrogen cars.
Then there’s the hydrogen itself. Although it’s the most common element in existence, getting pure gas can be tricky. Most of it comes from subjecting natural gas to a high temperature in a process known as “steam reforming.” The process is energy-intensive, and the gas then needs to be captured and stored so it doesn’t float off into the upper atmosphere. Filling a hydrogen-powered car’s tank costs around $65, and that can get you anywhere up to 400 miles. Hydrogen cars are relatively expensive, but tax incentives can drop costs to around $35,000. There is also a chance vehicle and fuel costs would drop sharply if hydrogen became popular.
I looked at hydrogen vehicles before I bought my Tesla in 2020. There was only one charging station in my county. The Tesla supercharger network won me over.
Look for the gougers to drive up the price of turkeys. They have laid out a plan to keep turkeys off the market so that they can get the price they want for them.
So NASA sends a camera to Jupiter to photograph A’s ship while organizing a scientific group on earth to discover is we exist. Humans fun food to eat.
JOKE:
A big-city lawyer went duck hunting in rural North Alberta.
He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of a fence.
As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.
The litigator responded, “I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I’m going to retrieve it.”
The old farmer Peter replied, “This is my property, and you are not coming over here.”
The indignant lawyer said, “I am one of the best trial lawyers in Canada and, if you don’t let me get that duck, I’ll sue you and take everything you own.”
The old farmer smiled and said, “Apparently, you don’t know how we settle disputes in Alberta. We settle small disagreements like this with the ‘Three Kick Rule.’
The lawyer asked, “What is the ‘Three Kick Rule’?”
The Farmer replied, “Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.”
The lawyer quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger.
He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney.
His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer’s groin and dropped him to his knees!
His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer’s last meal gushing from his mouth.
The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer’s third kick to his rear end, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.
Summoning every bit of his will and remaining strength the lawyer very slowly managed to get to his feet.
Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, “Okay, you old fart. Now it’s my turn.”
The old farmer smiled and said, “Nah, I give up. You can have the duck.”
Sadio Mane, a Senegalese soccer star. earns approximately $10.2 million annually, has given the world a rude awakening after some fans spotted him carrying a cracked iPhone. His #response is #legendary:
“Why would I want ten Ferraris, 20 diamond watches and two jet planes? I starved, I worked in the fields, played barefoot, and I didn’t go to school. Now I can help people. I prefer to build schools and give poor people food or clothing. I have built schools and a stadium; provide clothes, shoes, and food for people in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people from a very poor Senegalese region in order to contribute to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars, luxury homes, trips, and even planes. I prefer that my people receive some of what life has given me.”
I saw this article. He is so down to earth. Cute too.
Can people tell if you’re not wearing underwear?
I would hope so. I make it pretty obvious by wearing thin/tight tops and many of my skirts and dresses have a slit. Leggings are good for camel toe. I make sure my husband’s trousers and shorts are slim fit, though a lot of the time he is in leggings as well.
I would hope so too. If you got a great ass flaunt it.
The recording device is at capacity.
Corrected it
Did You Know?
People with psoriasis develop skin cells at an extremely fast rate, and these build up into scaly lesions, or plaques.
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, at least 10% of people inherit one or more genes that could eventually give rise to psoriasis.
Only 2–3% of the population ever develops the condition, but one-third of people with psoriasis have a family member who also has it.
Psoriasis can also occur in people of any ethnicity, although there are differences in its prevalence among them. For example, 3.6% of Caucasian people have psoriasis, and only 1.9% of African American people have it.
Did You Know?
People with psoriasis develop skin cells at an extremely fast rate, and these build up into scaly lesions, or plaques.
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, at least 10% of people inherit one or more genes that could eventually give rise to psoriasis.
Only 2–3% of the population ever develops the condition, but one-third of people with psoriasis have a family member who also has it.
Psoriasis can also occur in people of any ethnicity, although there are differences in its prevalence among them. For example, 3.6% of Caucasian people have psoriasis, and only 1.9% of African American people have it.
The 5.1 was big enough for you to make your point in my opinion
Dose that mean we can’t follow up with a tiny bigger one?
You’ve already made your point. Would you like to tell why you did it? I’m curious.
They got the message and returned what they were not entitled to have.
I was asked who I would be voting for. I answered that I would be voting for the party that was not trying to overthrow the US government and does not have the full support of the Nazis and the entire room got quiet and looked at me so I said it again.