To repeat of my comment from yesterday, if you live in a Congressional district represented by someone who were listed in the amici curiae to State of Texas v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I’d suggest printing out a copy of Federal Code on Treason and Sedition. Show up at a local office of your representative on Monday morning and present it to them. Be calm. Perhaps say “I think you need to refresh your knowledge of these statutes. “ Then leave.
Yes, this is when we need the Lincoln Project (real Republicans) to primary every one of the members of Congress and state AsG who supported TX vs. PA in the mid-term election. They need to be more scared of a Lincoln Party opponent than a DT opponent.
I think ppl will forget this seditious by the time 2022 rolls around. They shouldn’t. LP is so good at ads that skewer that I hope they have one ready to go and all they have to do is insert the rep’s name. Mine’s Tim Burchett.
Interestingly the lone R from Oregon did not sign and he is retiring. Neither did the R that represents the area in Washington across the river from Portland. We have some state pols who thought this was a great idea however and they should have the seditious label stick to them.
In Washington, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse are the GOP representatives who signed. I tweeted both of them - calling them out on their seditious act. Rodgers's contact form online did not allow constituents from outside her district to use this method, so I went to Twitter for both.
However slight the chance of the House being able to enact Pascrell’s motion - I feel it worthy to call on the chairs of the 90+ member House Democratic Caucus:
I regularly comment on the pages of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette; I’ve twice posted the nefarious state reps who challenged the state's votes. I wonder if there is a brief summary on this code? Do you know Stewart? I would happily post that on the comment page of an upcoming relevant story.
I live In western PA, next door to Connor Lamb's district, and one of the plaintiffs in the Kelly V PA lawsuit was Connor Lamb's opponent, Sean Parnell, a guy who filmed his campaign ad at a bar, wearing a Proud Boys shirt with his purple heart covering the brand label, drinking a beer, and telling everybody he's just like us. Well, Sean lost to Connor Lamb the same way Trump lost PA - ahead in the beginning, then slowly losing ground as the mail-in votes came in. So Mike Kelly, a Rep from another neighboring county, was secure enough with his win to stand up and contest PA's widespread use of mail-in ballots. So the two of them sued PA that a PA law - WRITTEN AND SPONSORED by the gerrymandered Republican legislature that allowed for ballot requests without having a specific excuse went against the PA Constitution. AND he may have a point, BUT nobody thought to challenge the new in 2019 when it was passed with bipartisan support. Their answer was to knock out every mail-in ballot cast, which ran a consistent 80/20 for Joe Biden. Crazy. So after losing the case, Mike Kelly is still suing the state over the rule, so that mail-in ballots become as rare as they once were for the next election. I think he's covering his ass legally, so he doesn't come off as blatantly racist or vote-suppressing, or democracy destroying as he obviously is.
Plenty of PA folks want the PA delegation that latched onto the Texas lawsuit to be questioned about their stance on the election before being seated. If they think PA's election was rigged, then THEY themselves did not win legitimately. Stephen Colbert even upped the game with his suggestion - have Nancy Pelosi draft a resolution that the 2020 election was conducted and counted fairly, that no mass-fraud occurred, and that the Biden/Harris ticket won fair and square. Then, before seating the 14 Reps who enjoined the Texas lawsuit, have EVERYBODY in Congress agree unanimously, including the rest of the 126 on the suit, or refuse to seat those fourteen, since they participated in an illegitimate election.
Beth Moore has stirred the Christian masses. She defies the teachings of Southern Baptists and her audience is mostly women. So-called Christian men are the ones who are yelling at her to just “sit down”. How manly of them! I say it is a welcome sight when you have somewhat sane religious people who are willing to go out on a limb, to proclaim that Trumpism has nothing to do with Christianity.
For sure Trump has negated all the progress made in the economy by Barack Obama after the Bush years. I pray the two Senate seats go blue and that we can build some enthusiasm for the 2022 midterms. I am fortunate that my state is blue with exception of one House position in a part of the state that acts more like Texas because of oil and gas influence.
I am very happy to see some of the Evangelical Right movement is beginning to see the dangers of Christian nationalism. It gives me hope.
Thank you Dr. Richardson. I am encouraging my daughter to use her doctorate title earned in engineering every chance she gets. I was disgusted by the Op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. What a misogynistic crock.
Totally agree about the WSJ anti-Dr. Jill Biden op-ed. The language describing doctorates needs to be more specific. One doesn't "have" a doctorate, or "receive" a doctorate, or is "awarded" a doctorate. Unless honorary, doctoral degrees are EARNED through years of hard work and tenacity.
Not to defend the article, but I remember my father (a college graduate) verbally rolling his eyes about a man in the top echelons of an international shipping company who wanted to be addressed Dr instead of Mr. It is a common attitude, gender of the Dr notwithstanding. Probably everyone who earned a doctorate (not the honorary’s) should use the title they earned.
I think it depends on the work place -- in academia, using the title "Dr." is commonplace because it denotes a level of scholarly achievement. Outside of academia, not so much. So even though I am most often addressed as "Dr. G" in my position as a university professor, I'd be rolling my eyes with your Dad at an international shipping company.
Let’s please put our money where our prayers and good thoughts are and donate to Stacy Abrams and Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in their efforts to win the two Georgia seats!
Donating again to Stacey Abrams to help get out the vote. Have heard that ads don’t matter as much. It’s getting voters to the polls that is needed in a runoff in January. Praying. Writing postcards to GA. ❤️🤍💙
Great! Stacy is the moving force so the best to donate to. And the other day I donated to a group that is getting a bunch of food trucks to the polling places in GA to give out free meals to voters! I will look for the link!
Check the outfit Stacy Efrat is running and consider donating to her. There was an excellent story in the Washington Post on her a couple of days ago. She is canvassing in person, door to door, in an area that hadn’t been getting much attention and is making headway. I will look for the link to her group and the PayPal account.
I've never been able to rectify Christian Evangelical's claim of following Jesus and their voting record. The "preachers" have done an amazing job of steering their flock over the cliff demonstrating just how powerful a tool hysteria can be. I recall how shocked I was that a Christian friend informed me that her minister told her that Trump was the best candidate. This woman graduated from Berkeley, taught school and was involved in charity work but couldn't think for herself when it came to politics! Religious organization should be considered businesses and treated as such.
Yes, I have a high school neighbor who, when asked what she thinks about T***p a few years ago, said that she did not know and needed to see what her church's stance was. Well, at least that rolled out Faux.
My BIL, a highly educated man who is an Evangelical, voted for trump in 2016. When I asked him about his support of trump, he said, and I quote: I didn’t want to live under Sharia law. I was dumbstruck, never having heard of that. Later I read some preachers told their people that was the outcome for voting otherwise. !!?
Apparently some people want this country governed by religious law - theirs - which is why they find it so easy to believe the contest is whose religious law shall be applied. There's are good reasons the founders of this country separated church and state.
Funny they should say that when they’re pushing politicians to force women to give birth. Do they have a plan to help with the all the consequences like the finances & logistics of raising that child? No, and they don’t care to. Clearly after the ICE nightmare, the anti-maskers, & the pro-congregating at church during pandemic, they’re NOT pro-life. So what is the likely goal of force birth? To control women and get them out of the workplace. Make them more likely to go back to being dependent on men.
This makes me so mad.
If men had truly respected women as people, women likely would never have been forced to demand & fight equal rights etc.
The up-and-coming young evangelical writer Kaitlyn Schiess recently published _The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor._ She critiques American politics' influence on Christianity from an insider's view. An excellent interview starts ca. 11 minutes in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh4Nh7g6wM0 Also, I recommend listening to the post-interview conclusion as the 3 co-hosts discuss the further differences between American Christianity and Biblical teaching. The gulf is wide and not being ignored.
Just as more Christian leaders are willing to speak up, I've begun to wonder: over the next generation, will any Republicans admit the error of following Trump? Will they, like Robert McNamara, confess "We were wrong, terribly wrong."?
The fact it is only the Christian Evangelist female leaders (and certainly not all of them, most of the worst Trumper types happen to be female) who are speaking out against Trump gives the toxic masculine types the opening they need. These female leaders will be attacked for being too uppity, and the attacks will surely work in that arena. I think the larger problem in America is toxic masculinity, across the board.
Do you think this indicates the beginning of a movement toward the Evangelicals severing ties with DT permanently? They have the conservative judges now.
There is some motion amongst younger Evangelicals, like Kaitlyn Schiess, who struggle with the cognitive dissonance between Jesus' teaching and 21st-C America. But I find this rejection of 21st-C American values by some non-Christian young people, too.
I was encouraged, however, while listening to recent sermons posted by an influential South Carolina non-denominational church. The pastor almost made a joke about "Two Corinthians." I speculate that if the pastor was a Trumpist, he would not have even considered making such a joke. Preceding the election, sermons warned to keep faith in Jesus, not in any man-made promises. So there's some hope.
But I also know some very influential Christian leaders whose Facebook posts are regularly tagged as unverifiable and who posted the lies about election fraud. They write their falsehoods persuasively and passionately, using the same tools they use to teach Jesus as a loving redeemer. It scares me.
“I find this rejection of 21st-C American values by some non-Christian young people, too.”
Non-Christian people of any age should NOT be held to Christian values because they’re not Christians.
Forgive me for criticizing you, but it is seems a bit arrogant, unfair, and presumptuous to expect non-Christians to uphold Christian values because it’s the most commonly practiced religion in America.
I feel it would be a little like Americans expecting foreign countries to uphold America’s laws in their own countries.
Freedom of religion in America I think should include freedom FROM religion if it doesn’t already.
I agree that to hold non-Christian young people to Christian values is terribly arrogant -- and it is not what I was attempting to communicate. Please let me try again.
I find that some young people reject 21st-C American values (e.g., profit before people, disregard for other's welfare, lack of universal health insurance, etc.). Some Christian youth [correctly] judge these values as contradicting with Jesus' teachings (love thy neighbor as thyself, feed the poor, care for the sick, etc.).
Thanks for clarifying. I agree. I only wanted to point it out because I think it is part of America’s problem, that many Christians appear to want only Christians (or just their ethics) in America. The very idea is ridiculous, because like you said, THEY don’t even follow their own religion.
Thank you, cig. I found when DT first cited the Two Corinthians at Liberty University in January of 2016 when he was struggling to make the sale to evangelicals.
Heather, you aggregate and make sense of the most astonishingly diverse collection of news items --never ceases to amaze me.
Thank you for picking up on the evangelicals' pronouncements. Maybe the sheer surrealism of Trump can send all his supporters scurrying back to their roots: the violence of the Proud Boys and the render unto Caesar of the evangelicals. Now if he could only scare the dregs of the Republickers back to free trade, multinational alliances, cutting deficits, and upholding the rule of law. Ah, but I must be waxing delirious.
I listened to Heather on Bill Moyers’ program (she was excellent, of course). Her observation about Republicans wanting to establish an oligarchy, demolish out democratic republic and continue to move money upward should be talked and talked about. Educate the public. Start now. With the history of the party to support this not-new position, people need to be told this in every forum possible.
Excellent interview. Unfortunately, I found myself agreeing with Mr. Harper who even said the very words I have been thinking for a long time. The media has consistently used the words “breaking norms” as opposed to the reality, “breaking laws,” when referring to DT. He has never been held to the rule of law. The rule of law now seems completely arbitrary, and without it, how can there be a democracy? How do we take back that ground?
We can begin by prosecuting Trump for every crime he's committed! We let Nixon off the hook as well as Reagan, so Trump naturally thought he too was above the law. Time to hold those in high office accountable to "we the people."
Cowboy Confederates | Dissent Magazine Fall 2020: review of How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy...by Heather Cox Richardson, and The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States by Walter Johnson
” Now does his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief.” Macbeth I spotted this a couple of days ago, thought it sounded very apropos!
Finally some conservative religious leaders who see the chicanery perpetrated by the GOP in their slavish worship of iDJiT. What has been done in the name of their brand of Christianity,because it certainly isn't mine or that of many Christians that I know, has horrified us.
I truly believe that Nancy Pelosi needs to take some decisive, definitive action against those members of the House that have displayed and voiced their willingness to participate in sedition. Our country for too long has labored under the delusion that actions do not require consequences. We have allowed our leaders to sweep things under the rug that have continued to grow under that rug like the worst infestation of mold you can imagine. iDJiT and his congressional enablers need to be made the example that puts a stop to this now so we are not faced with these types of shenanigans forever.
With the Electors voting tomorrow, are we finally done with all the shenanigans on trying to overturn the People's vote? What else could DT try other than having a scene on January 6th in Congress when they acknowledge the vote of the Electors? While I'm glad the judiciary remained sane and decisive, the members of Congress and the State AsG scared me. We need to make a list of things we need to accomplish to make sure this doesn't happen again. 1) neuter the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact 2. Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine 3. Find a way to fix gerrymandering 4. Repeal Citizens United / campaign financing reform 5. Reinstate and strengthened the Voting Rights Act 6. Strengthen civics education in our schools ... and so forth... Lots to do to defend democracy.
As FYI and NOT to sound alarms, this is circulating on Twitter under “martial law:”
“ The legal battles in the courts helped President Trump discover the lawbreakers. Tomorrow is December 14th, and here are some pieces we have remaining on the chessboard:
♟National Emergency Executive Order
♟Insurrection Act
♟Martial Law
♟Executive Directive 51 “
Executive Directive 51 pertains to national emergencies, such as a pandemic:
While it would be interesting to figure out the what-ifs for these scenarios, and I believe in being prepared, we should not give it unnecessary oxygen, and I will not elevate it with a link. Biden will pass through any shenanigans on Dec. 14 or Jan. 6, and when he is inaugurated, we all have so much work on this crucial Must Do list. Not to mention supporting Ossoff and Warnock in the Georgia run off.
Cathy, did you notice the record of DT’s attempts in court before the final slam down by the ‘Supremes’? Something like 1-52 (won-loss). It was clear to every knowledgeable source that the courts maintained integrity, and IO have to believe that the very integrity of the Supremes was riding on this decision. It really, was .... a slam dunk
Oh yes I did! I do believe the judiciary understood its integrity was on the line. So glad it held. What I find hilarious now is the Republicans using the What About game of Al Gore waiting 38 days to concede. One state, Florida, with a very obvious vote count problem, hanging chads, with a very narrow margin, a few hundred votes.
"Several Senate Republicans — including Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — have forcefully rejected the idea of overturning the results, and their votes would be enough for Mr. Biden to prevail with the support of Democrats."
Now I’m confused. I thought one of the things this Administration pledged to do is protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This could be wrong. I realize there are funding issues because Congress never repaid the money it borrowed from Social Security, but how significant potentially are the changes Yellen might propose? How might such changes impact 2022, if at all? Just a quirky little question. As always, you wrote a very informative letter, and it’s much appreciated.
In my layman’s understanding, the above programs are not immediately threatened. One very easy solution, long-term, is to fairly raise the income cap of paying into SS. It is surprisingly low, income above $142,000 (2021) is not taxed. Shouldn’t realtors, lawyers, lobbyists, ‘stars’ and athletes pay their fair share?
Social Security is a pass-through system. Those working now pay FICA taxes, and this money is IMMEDIATELY paid out to people drawing Social Security. So long as there are enough workers to cover retirees, the system cannot go broke, and it is inherently inflation-proof, since pay-in is in today's dollars, and pay-out is in today's dollars.
The main problem is that the FICA tax has to cover all of the payout, and that depends on how many people reach retirement age each year, how long they are likely to live, and the size of the workforce that is making the tax payments. It was recognized decades ago that the Baby Boom generation was likely to be the largest and most long-lived collection of retirees the country was likely to face, and that tax burden would fall like a cartoon piano on the Millennials and the following generation. So they started the Trust Fund.
The Trust Fund is pre-payment the Boomers have been putting into they program, so that the entire load won't land on our children and grandchildren. It gets larger every year. It "invests" in treasury bonds, and earns the basic bond rate, as well as the excess tax that Boomers are paying in. The actuaries figured out how big that pile needed to be when the first Boomers started retiring, so that they could start using the Fund to supplement pay-in without increasing FICA taxes on the young workers. Sometime after that, the Fund would stop growing, and then start shrinking. The calculations were set to empty the Trust Fund just as the last Boomer dies.
That threw another variable into the mix, which is the return rate on treasury bonds. If that rate fluctuates, it throws all the calculations off. And -- of course -- if the government defaults on its "full faith and credit" obligations -- something the Republicans have threatened more than once -- that entire pile of money could shrink or even vanish.
When I read through the details several years back, all the hoopla about "Congress borrowing from Social Security" turned out to be complete propaganda. The Trust Fund is still there, and Social Security is running just fine. Right now.
The fundamental problems Social Security faces are:
1) People (particularly Boomers) are living longer. That translates directly into "the Trust Fund isn't big enough." When it runs out, the FICA tax will have to suddenly increase by a lot, because there's no supplement coming from the empty Trust Fund.
2) Young people aren't getting the good middle-class jobs any more. Gig work doesn't pay FICA taxes. Low-paying work doesn't pay much into it. And the low income cap ensures that higher-paid workers are not putting in their fair share.
3) Congress -- specifically the Republicans, no surprise there -- absolutely refuse to raise the FICA tax now, so that Boomers (who are still working) can help increase the Trust Fund to the size it needs to be before they retire. They have also refused to move the income cap. They have not been shy about making old people work longer, though that -- of course -- keeps younger people out of the top-paying positions.
The actuaries have worked all this out, and a 2% increase on the FICA rate, had it been enacted ten or fifteen years ago when they started floating the idea, would have completely resolved the problem. Increasing the income cap could also completely cover the problem.
Republicans have blocked all of that with the "no new taxes" balderdash they've been peddling for two decades.
So Social Security won't actually fail. But under Republican leadership, it will step off a cliff in somewhere around 2032 -- only 12 years away -- when the too-small Trust Fund starts making sucking sounds, and they'll have no choice but to raise the income cap, the FICA rate, AND cut benefits. As someone who is going to get hit by this, I find it hard to construct a bitter enough curse to lay on these ... these ... (exhale). Let's keep it clean here. They are sociopaths.
The key seems to be removing the income cap from OASDI taxes. According to the IRS, half of all reported income is not subject to that tax and the change would generate in excess of $1 trillion annually. Simply doing that and retaining the current payment structure would ensure the stability of the Trust Fund for the reasonable actuarial future. As for the rest of the budget, buying fewer F-35s would be a good start.
Exactly: the ceiling for paying into SocSec is way too low. People who can well afford to pay more in both SocSec and Medicare withholding are getting a free pass, and making use of a system that has been paid for by the working class. Dems have been pushing for reform to the income cap for decades. The Greedy Old Poo-Suckers are the ones who have been resisting. Because the Koch Brothers are against it.
I know an incredibly wealthy person who was in need of cataract surgery. He could easily have afforded the $7,000 needed for it. But he waited 3 years for his medicare to kick in so he would not have to pay for it. I could not understand why he would suffer and not be able to see well when he owned multiple houses and boats and yet he was so stingy he had to suck off our govt. He spent more money per year having his giant grass lawns mowed than that surgery would have cost him. He will never be able to spend all his money in multiple lifetimes. I think our wealthy elite might look into their hearts and suffer, ever so slightly, for the benefit of the whole system. I do it willingly to pay for schools and roads and the welfare of my fellow citizens. I have just enough to live on.
But my parents taught me to always give--- and we raised money for Meals for Millions or Easter Seals, Head Start programs, Native American schools or orphanages in Mexico over the border. We proudly planted trees on Arbor Day and picked up trash and flotsam because it made our beaches and the world more beautiful.
They taught us children to give because we have enough, do not forget those who do not, because it could be you in crisis one day. That is how empathy is born. Those acts may be where I learned discernment and critical thinking skills to analyze the world around me. THAT IS HOW SELF-ABSORBED, EGO-DRIVEN, RACIST NARCISSISTS ARE NOT BORN. Respectful, empathic, caring qualities begin in early childhood.
Thinking on this today, I am very proud of my parents who worked hard in different ways and were economically privileged whites, but did not think they were superior to their fellow humans or the earth. I noticed the racism in a few elder family members but my mother's teachings counteracted that. I saw her argue vehemently with my grandfathers when they made racist/sexist/homophobic jokes or statements. She taught us (and probably my dad) the plight of black Americans via her volunteer work at Headstart and why black people were rioting in Watts an hour and half north of us. My grandmother taught me about REAL Native American history not taught in school and what happened to them and took me to reservations in the south and we purchased things they made from trading posts. It was mostly from my mother and my grandmothers that I learned to respect everyone and that when all of us do well, the whole world is a better place for everyone. I am very grateful to my parents but more so for coming from a long line of very strong, conscious women. They taught me well despite their own oppression.
Thank you for this no nonsense explanation and the accurate assessment of how social security functions. I am a firm believer that personal financial management should be part of the public school educational curriculum as soon as kids are able to count! There is a real lack of structure to help people navigate the complexities of managing personal finances.
We had a class called Consumer Survival when I was in education. Don't know if it still exists. It turned out to be very useful in my government class when a student (the son of one of my colleagues who knew my political preferences) came in suggesting a flat tax. He expected a tirade, but I put up two incomes, one richer than the other and let them choose the categories and amounts. They had had Consumer Survival, so they knew the needs and costs. End of the period, they all decided the flat tax was not a good idea with no input from me.
I like the title "Consumer Survival"! That would be great for the high school level. When one understands the basics and gets a financial foundation (personally and on a macro level), policies can then be discussed from a position of knowledge vs. "sound bites". As we well know, knowledge greatly improves the chances of a more successful outcome.
Thank you for the story! When I was teaching, I found that the lessons that were student-centered, as was this one you tell about, were always the most successful - and, hopefully, were the ones that stayed in the minds (and hearts) of students the longest.
I’m going to cut and paste this and put it in my notes. I also have a couple of friends I’ll send copies to because basically most people don’t understand any of this. I don’t know which I enjoyed reading more, Heather’s letter or your explanation. Thank you so much.
Thank you for all this info. 🙂 I too will be hit by whatever shenanigans the R’s are putting in place to sabotage future payouts. I’ve heard more than one person (cynically) suggest that the anti-mask crowd is hoping to reduce the number of social security recipients as much as possible.
The only thing I (a 52 y/o) know most about Social Security is it will never be enough for me to retire. Neither will my 401K because I’ve never been able to contribute to it.
Due to Trickle-UP Economics and rising cost of health insurance, I haven’t had so much as a cost of living salary increase in nine years. Everything costs more now including the product my employer sells, but not the employee salaries (due to rising cost of healthcare, according to employer).
My retirement plan is work until I die and make sure I don’t live to the point where I am a problem for my employer. So I plan to catch a quickly fatal disease if I don’t get some kind of cancer first. (Maybe both if the cancer effects are too inconvenient for my employer to allow me to work).
I’m 70 and when people ask me when I’m going to retire an uncontrollable laugh comes out of my mouth.....”as long as people will have me” is my response. Lately every morning I wake up and think, well, I guess I can do it again today. Tomorrow? Who knows? I just know one thing. If I stop working there’s nothing there for me in order to live. Getting into a subsidize 62 and over takes between two and 10 years now because they are so filled up with baby boomers. It would be nice if the government would mandate building more of them but I guess that’s not gonna happen. My future is a huge question mark. There’s no there there. We are not alone.
I'm 71 and still an active freelance editor. In just a few minutes, I'll be participating in an online meeting, just as my much younger coworkers do. So far, I assume I will work until I die. But hope springs eternal that I won't have to if I can continue to save, save, save! 😂
I worked until I was 75 - was laid off and thinking I would have to keep working but after 6 months (with unemployment AND severance pay) didnt come up with anything, so retired. I'm really fortunate that the former company I worked for for 29 years had a profit sharing program & they were generous. So between ss & my ira, I'm ok. Now if I just dont have any medical issues!! But thats something I'm sure many of us here have concerns about.
SS, savings, and IRA is about where I am, too, but I would feel insecure if I ever retired. I feel like I might not have enough to live on, much less handle an emergency, if I quit, especially because I have been only freelance for the past 20 years, so my income has always fluctuated. At my age, I have doubts about finding a "real" job. When trump said he wanted to eliminate the payroll taxes so that SS would end in 2023, my heart leapt into my throat.
Or, should those who have more than they can spend in a lifetime not be eligible to collect because they are very well off and were favored in our capitalist system until at least until our debt is paid down?
So this might be a dumb question, but can people who earn more than the cap (that is, more than $142,000 per year) collect Social Security after retirement? It seems fair to me that they can't if they didn't pay into it, although I see in Penelope's comment here that wealthy people can use Medicare regardless of their level of wealth.
The income cap only governs the income you get taxed on, while you're working and paying into the system. I've reached a senior level in the tech industry, and for the last several years, I've exceeded the income cap for the first time in my life. What that means is that my FICA taxes are all paid (I've reached the taxable income cap) sometime in late November, so I don't pay FICA for the last six weeks or so. This seems crazy to me: I'd rather be paying the FICA tax and keeping Social Security on a good footing. I've not missed that money all year, since I've never seen it in my paycheck, and I won't miss it for the last few weeks in the year.
This has nothing to do with my benefits after I retire. IF I can retire.
There are certain funds that you can't draw from unless you are destitute. I went through this with my father, when he reached a point of senile dementia and had to be moved to assisted living and then nursing care. Medicaid will pay for that AFTER all your personal funds are gone.
Maybe someone else knows the details of whether you can draw retirement while you are also making high income. Most people who retire, RETIRE, and they go back to work only if a) they're going stir-crazy sitting at home, or b) their retirement benefits aren't enough to live on (increasingly true).
The "income cap" I saw first in this thread was about the maximum amount of income that could be taxed (while you are working) with FICA taxes. That was about $110,000 some years back, and is currently $137,700. So you pay 6.2% of all your income -- a flat tax -- up to $138k, and if you make more than that, you don't pay any FICA tax at all on anything above $138k. Your employer also pays another 6.2% on your income, up to $138k; if you're self-employed, you pay both parts (12.4%).
The payout is on a different schedule having to do with how long you paid into the system ("vesting"), and how much you put in through FICA taxes over that period, and the age at which you start receiving payments. Up to something like 10 years of pay-in, you get nothing back out: you aren't "vested," so you don't get benefits. If anyone starts yakking about illegal immigrants drawing down Social Security, they are ignorant: legal immigrants have to pay in for 10 years to get ANY benefits, and illegal immigrants don't have a Social Security number, so they never get payouts. The current maximum is $3,895/month, or $46,740/year, regardless of what you made during your working life. It was never intended to be a retirement plan: it was to prevent starvation and homelessness.
Medicare is a completely different thing. It doesn't involve Social Security at all. Medicaid is also completely different, and doesn't involve Social Security.
There are a few other programs that provide various benefits for people who have low or no income.
The "income cap" must be raised -- the maximum amount of a salary that gets taxed for SSN -- especially since it's the professional class that seem to have survived the pandemic by shifting work to home.
Increase on a schedule that raises the minimum $2 k / year for a decade or more.
At the same time, start lowering the age for Medicare eligibility in 3-4 month increments and hire more Medicare employees to handle the increase in patients. Even if future administrations were to stop the forward momentum, none could ever take back benefits awarded. Aftere a generation(?), we'd have Medicare-for-all. Radical, I know.
The 2020 cap is $137,700. In '21 it goes up to $142,800. That still gives a free pass to all those making more than that. Imagine if the cap were significantly raised or even eliminated how much money there would be for the government to use to bolster and increase Social Security and Medicare!
Not a quirky question at all!! I’m 70 and when I read those lines I was quite dismayed. Terror And anger ran thru me. I won’t do well with less senior benefits, and btw, that’s OUR money! Why do they always have to threaten our social “security”? I’m shocked and feel betrayed!!
They keep castigating it as an "entitlement." Well, yeah, it is, because we worked all our lives to contribute to it, and we are thus entitled to its benefits. It's not a giveaway as the R's would have people believe.
Please offer some history of Christian Nationalism. As a secularist, I am disturbed by the blatant misinterpretation and twisting of the first amendment to suit the purposes of religionists.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Pardon my Christianity but Godspeed and God bless the UPS and FedEx!!
I chuckled (without mirth) at the WH clan clamoring to get vaccinated. As we were on the cusp of getting a vaccine out, I remarked to my husband that it wouldn't surprise me to see the very people who mocked the severity of this virus "pushing and shoving" with a "me first" attitude to get immunized. But this WH crowd probably will have the most influence convincing a significant segment of the population to get vaccinated. So in the long run, that's a good thing for all of us.
Happy Hanukkah 2020 to my friends here on this post celebrating the Festival of Lights!!
...that were not sufficient for all aboard because of the wealthy owners of the ship didn't want them on the ship and any regulation for having them was not being enforced!
In principle, the Titanic was "unsinkable" of course and the few lifeboats that they accepted were somewhat "decorative" and considerably easier to access from the first-class accommodation than "stowage" class!
Thank you so much as always. I must say the idea of the Trump Administration being first in line for the vaccine is really quite unbelievable. They get rewarded for causing the virus to spread and for fueling disinformation and ridiculing masks. I know... I read Trump said he would not have the WH first, well he lies. And if for any reason they are not first, I'm sure it is because they are scared. I'm so worried about not taking the Senate as the thought of McConnell thumbing his nose at Biden and Harris makes me ill.
Thank you, Heather. I guess tomorrow you might be talking about the Russian hack of federal agencies. Pundits had been predicting there might be some kind of attack during the interregnum, with T**** leaving everything he can put his hands on in disarray, and here it is.
“Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded and safe,” he said following their talks at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.“
Most folks were outraged that Tя☭mp even suggested that maybe our Cold War enemies should have a key to our house, and he backed down. Or did he? Several times Russia has told us about private phone calls between the two men (there never seems to be a transcript from the WH). Now we’ve been hacked.....do we have a fox guarding the henhouse?
I read this article earlier and cannot, will not, let it slide that Putin has a heavy hand in this hacking. He messed with the election(s), infiltrated our government, and now this. There is no decency to be found with this administration. We have but 37 days to go for a new beginning.
When I found Tя☭mp posted on twitter, I copied it and pasted it into keyboard shortcuts. Every time I type “tru” it suggests “Tя☭mp” which saves a lot of effort since I type it a lot. 🙂
They are Unicode characters U+042F for the reverse R and U+262D for the hammer and sickle. I typed U+042F or 042F into Word and then did Alt X and it replaced the Unicode with the character symbol. Now I just copy the word TЯ☭mp and paste it here. Just wondering what would happen if I used it when writing to my Senator on his contact form. Would it flag it as a security threat? A Russian bot? Might try that.
That's an interesting notion to check out. Mitch has certainly sold Kentucky to the Russian Oligarchs to the point I'm surprised Putin hasn't annexed it yet.
IMHO, yes, absolutely. Potusboy is fighting his loss so vigorously because the down ballot hacking worked so well. What a crew of crazies was elected and re-elected.
When I hear about the execution of Federal death row inmates, I keep thinking about the Central Park Five and it makes me shudder at the callousness of the current administration.
To repeat of my comment from yesterday, if you live in a Congressional district represented by someone who were listed in the amici curiae to State of Texas v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I’d suggest printing out a copy of Federal Code on Treason and Sedition. Show up at a local office of your representative on Monday morning and present it to them. Be calm. Perhaps say “I think you need to refresh your knowledge of these statutes. “ Then leave.
Yes, this is when we need the Lincoln Project (real Republicans) to primary every one of the members of Congress and state AsG who supported TX vs. PA in the mid-term election. They need to be more scared of a Lincoln Party opponent than a DT opponent.
I think ppl will forget this seditious by the time 2022 rolls around. They shouldn’t. LP is so good at ads that skewer that I hope they have one ready to go and all they have to do is insert the rep’s name. Mine’s Tim Burchett.
Mine is Gus Bilirakis
Interestingly the lone R from Oregon did not sign and he is retiring. Neither did the R that represents the area in Washington across the river from Portland. We have some state pols who thought this was a great idea however and they should have the seditious label stick to them.
In Washington, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse are the GOP representatives who signed. I tweeted both of them - calling them out on their seditious act. Rodgers's contact form online did not allow constituents from outside her district to use this method, so I went to Twitter for both.
Can someone elaborate on the implications of Rep. Pascrell’s calling for the 126 House Representatives to not be seated?
https://twitter.com/billpascrell/status/1337482153752453120?s=21
https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/pascrell-demands-126-members-seeking-overturn-election-not-seated-congress/
Another link to the courageous effort by Rep Pascrell
However slight the chance of the House being able to enact Pascrell’s motion - I feel it worthy to call on the chairs of the 90+ member House Democratic Caucus:
https://progressives.house.gov/about-the-cpc
I’ll call the office of both chairs (Pocan and Jayapal) and my congressmember
I feel Rep Pascrell deserves our support
Yes yes yes! Thank you.
I am calling to thank him today. And Chris Murphy (D-Conn) for his statement. And then I am calling Pelosi to support his request.
I regularly comment on the pages of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette; I’ve twice posted the nefarious state reps who challenged the state's votes. I wonder if there is a brief summary on this code? Do you know Stewart? I would happily post that on the comment page of an upcoming relevant story.
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/uscode/uscode1946-00701/uscode1946-007018115/uscode1946-007018115.pdf
https://law.justia.com/codes/us/2012/title-18/part-i/chapter-115
Very helpful, thank you!
Thank You!
I found the links to be either unavailable to the public or less than optimum to handout, in size.
https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2020/09/30/sedition-protest-and-the-first-amendment-in-the-age-of-trump/
Thanks for the references.
I live In western PA, next door to Connor Lamb's district, and one of the plaintiffs in the Kelly V PA lawsuit was Connor Lamb's opponent, Sean Parnell, a guy who filmed his campaign ad at a bar, wearing a Proud Boys shirt with his purple heart covering the brand label, drinking a beer, and telling everybody he's just like us. Well, Sean lost to Connor Lamb the same way Trump lost PA - ahead in the beginning, then slowly losing ground as the mail-in votes came in. So Mike Kelly, a Rep from another neighboring county, was secure enough with his win to stand up and contest PA's widespread use of mail-in ballots. So the two of them sued PA that a PA law - WRITTEN AND SPONSORED by the gerrymandered Republican legislature that allowed for ballot requests without having a specific excuse went against the PA Constitution. AND he may have a point, BUT nobody thought to challenge the new in 2019 when it was passed with bipartisan support. Their answer was to knock out every mail-in ballot cast, which ran a consistent 80/20 for Joe Biden. Crazy. So after losing the case, Mike Kelly is still suing the state over the rule, so that mail-in ballots become as rare as they once were for the next election. I think he's covering his ass legally, so he doesn't come off as blatantly racist or vote-suppressing, or democracy destroying as he obviously is.
Plenty of PA folks want the PA delegation that latched onto the Texas lawsuit to be questioned about their stance on the election before being seated. If they think PA's election was rigged, then THEY themselves did not win legitimately. Stephen Colbert even upped the game with his suggestion - have Nancy Pelosi draft a resolution that the 2020 election was conducted and counted fairly, that no mass-fraud occurred, and that the Biden/Harris ticket won fair and square. Then, before seating the 14 Reps who enjoined the Texas lawsuit, have EVERYBODY in Congress agree unanimously, including the rest of the 126 on the suit, or refuse to seat those fourteen, since they participated in an illegitimate election.
(Sorry for the grammatical errors - I can't go back and edit.)
Excellent! May we copy an post?
Sure
Beth Moore has stirred the Christian masses. She defies the teachings of Southern Baptists and her audience is mostly women. So-called Christian men are the ones who are yelling at her to just “sit down”. How manly of them! I say it is a welcome sight when you have somewhat sane religious people who are willing to go out on a limb, to proclaim that Trumpism has nothing to do with Christianity.
The screams of a patriarchy that is seeing its relevance fade. Cornered animals get really nasty when confronted.
Male voices count more than female voices. So hopefully high-ranking male religious leaders take a stand. The Catholic Pope did already.
I knew he was a wonderful Pope......
... well, except for maybe ... the antichrist element ...?
For sure Trump has negated all the progress made in the economy by Barack Obama after the Bush years. I pray the two Senate seats go blue and that we can build some enthusiasm for the 2022 midterms. I am fortunate that my state is blue with exception of one House position in a part of the state that acts more like Texas because of oil and gas influence.
I am very happy to see some of the Evangelical Right movement is beginning to see the dangers of Christian nationalism. It gives me hope.
Thank you Dr. Richardson. I am encouraging my daughter to use her doctorate title earned in engineering every chance she gets. I was disgusted by the Op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. What a misogynistic crock.
Totally agree about the WSJ anti-Dr. Jill Biden op-ed. The language describing doctorates needs to be more specific. One doesn't "have" a doctorate, or "receive" a doctorate, or is "awarded" a doctorate. Unless honorary, doctoral degrees are EARNED through years of hard work and tenacity.
Not to defend the article, but I remember my father (a college graduate) verbally rolling his eyes about a man in the top echelons of an international shipping company who wanted to be addressed Dr instead of Mr. It is a common attitude, gender of the Dr notwithstanding. Probably everyone who earned a doctorate (not the honorary’s) should use the title they earned.
I think it depends on the work place -- in academia, using the title "Dr." is commonplace because it denotes a level of scholarly achievement. Outside of academia, not so much. So even though I am most often addressed as "Dr. G" in my position as a university professor, I'd be rolling my eyes with your Dad at an international shipping company.
I think it is bc no one is used to the idea of title of Dr being applied to anyone other than physicians.
It makes me sad that people don’t feel they should use a title they’ve worked so hard earn.
Bottom line, Dr Biden earned the title and if she prefers to be addressed as Dr Biden, people should do so and save their energy for real issues.
I agree. Anyone who wants to include her other position can say "First Lady Dr. Jill Biden."
Let’s please put our money where our prayers and good thoughts are and donate to Stacy Abrams and Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in their efforts to win the two Georgia seats!
Donating again to Stacey Abrams to help get out the vote. Have heard that ads don’t matter as much. It’s getting voters to the polls that is needed in a runoff in January. Praying. Writing postcards to GA. ❤️🤍💙
Great! Stacy is the moving force so the best to donate to. And the other day I donated to a group that is getting a bunch of food trucks to the polling places in GA to give out free meals to voters! I will look for the link!
My husband just donated to the food for polling places effort! This is so great, gives me hope!
I've written letters and donating to Stacey Abrams efforts in GA.
Here’s a link for food trucks giving out free food at GA polling places https://www.tmz.com/2020/10/28/vote-org-food-trucks-free-tacos-water-polling-places-early-voting-location-election/
Here’s the link to the story about Stacy Efrat and her canvassing work in GA. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a054babae2faa8-cobb
Check the outfit Stacy Efrat is running and consider donating to her. There was an excellent story in the Washington Post on her a couple of days ago. She is canvassing in person, door to door, in an area that hadn’t been getting much attention and is making headway. I will look for the link to her group and the PayPal account.
I'm writing postcards as well......
https://www.tmz.com/2020/10/28/vote-org-food-trucks-free-tacos-water-polling-places-early-voting-location-election/
I've never been able to rectify Christian Evangelical's claim of following Jesus and their voting record. The "preachers" have done an amazing job of steering their flock over the cliff demonstrating just how powerful a tool hysteria can be. I recall how shocked I was that a Christian friend informed me that her minister told her that Trump was the best candidate. This woman graduated from Berkeley, taught school and was involved in charity work but couldn't think for herself when it came to politics! Religious organization should be considered businesses and treated as such.
Taxed as such!
Yes Paula, taxed as such!
Yes, I have a high school neighbor who, when asked what she thinks about T***p a few years ago, said that she did not know and needed to see what her church's stance was. Well, at least that rolled out Faux.
My BIL, a highly educated man who is an Evangelical, voted for trump in 2016. When I asked him about his support of trump, he said, and I quote: I didn’t want to live under Sharia law. I was dumbstruck, never having heard of that. Later I read some preachers told their people that was the outcome for voting otherwise. !!?
Yikes...we have a lot to learn about how to deal with blatant misinformation, do we not?
Apparently some people want this country governed by religious law - theirs - which is why they find it so easy to believe the contest is whose religious law shall be applied. There's are good reasons the founders of this country separated church and state.
Funny they should say that when they’re pushing politicians to force women to give birth. Do they have a plan to help with the all the consequences like the finances & logistics of raising that child? No, and they don’t care to. Clearly after the ICE nightmare, the anti-maskers, & the pro-congregating at church during pandemic, they’re NOT pro-life. So what is the likely goal of force birth? To control women and get them out of the workplace. Make them more likely to go back to being dependent on men.
This makes me so mad.
If men had truly respected women as people, women likely would never have been forced to demand & fight equal rights etc.
I am encouraged by Evangelical leaders willing to speak out, led by women, of course.
Beth Moore, an influential Bible teacher for more than a generation, has spoken out against Trump in the past, and was criticized unmercifully for it by some: https://pulpitandpen.org/2019/12/19/kay-warren-and-beth-moore-attack-trump-for-maintaining-order-at-events/
The up-and-coming young evangelical writer Kaitlyn Schiess recently published _The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor._ She critiques American politics' influence on Christianity from an insider's view. An excellent interview starts ca. 11 minutes in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh4Nh7g6wM0 Also, I recommend listening to the post-interview conclusion as the 3 co-hosts discuss the further differences between American Christianity and Biblical teaching. The gulf is wide and not being ignored.
Just as more Christian leaders are willing to speak up, I've begun to wonder: over the next generation, will any Republicans admit the error of following Trump? Will they, like Robert McNamara, confess "We were wrong, terribly wrong."?
The fact it is only the Christian Evangelist female leaders (and certainly not all of them, most of the worst Trumper types happen to be female) who are speaking out against Trump gives the toxic masculine types the opening they need. These female leaders will be attacked for being too uppity, and the attacks will surely work in that arena. I think the larger problem in America is toxic masculinity, across the board.
That applies to priests as well. My sister, who I would label VERY conservative, hates liberals, socialism, etc......posted a video of a priest telling people that they should vote for Trump. No kidding. I'll share it if I find it. Of course because of the abortion issue mostly, I would assume. Here it is.....he claimed Biden was the party of death....unbelievable. https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/dan-rodricks/bs-md-rodricks-1025-20201022-nvvrkclrxvdpxhstd5gzqbhz54-story.html
Do you think this indicates the beginning of a movement toward the Evangelicals severing ties with DT permanently? They have the conservative judges now.
Permanently? No. All Evangelical leaders? No.
There is some motion amongst younger Evangelicals, like Kaitlyn Schiess, who struggle with the cognitive dissonance between Jesus' teaching and 21st-C America. But I find this rejection of 21st-C American values by some non-Christian young people, too.
I was encouraged, however, while listening to recent sermons posted by an influential South Carolina non-denominational church. The pastor almost made a joke about "Two Corinthians." I speculate that if the pastor was a Trumpist, he would not have even considered making such a joke. Preceding the election, sermons warned to keep faith in Jesus, not in any man-made promises. So there's some hope.
But I also know some very influential Christian leaders whose Facebook posts are regularly tagged as unverifiable and who posted the lies about election fraud. They write their falsehoods persuasively and passionately, using the same tools they use to teach Jesus as a loving redeemer. It scares me.
Regarding your comment:
“I find this rejection of 21st-C American values by some non-Christian young people, too.”
Non-Christian people of any age should NOT be held to Christian values because they’re not Christians.
Forgive me for criticizing you, but it is seems a bit arrogant, unfair, and presumptuous to expect non-Christians to uphold Christian values because it’s the most commonly practiced religion in America.
I feel it would be a little like Americans expecting foreign countries to uphold America’s laws in their own countries.
Freedom of religion in America I think should include freedom FROM religion if it doesn’t already.
Thank you for replying!
I agree that to hold non-Christian young people to Christian values is terribly arrogant -- and it is not what I was attempting to communicate. Please let me try again.
I find that some young people reject 21st-C American values (e.g., profit before people, disregard for other's welfare, lack of universal health insurance, etc.). Some Christian youth [correctly] judge these values as contradicting with Jesus' teachings (love thy neighbor as thyself, feed the poor, care for the sick, etc.).
Thanks for clarifying. I agree. I only wanted to point it out because I think it is part of America’s problem, that many Christians appear to want only Christians (or just their ethics) in America. The very idea is ridiculous, because like you said, THEY don’t even follow their own religion.
But can we all be held to American values?
No, we can only be held to American laws (and of course the laws of Physics). We cannot force everyone to value the same things.
Rich people value money more than people. Would you want everyone sharing that value?
Thank you, cig. I found when DT first cited the Two Corinthians at Liberty University in January of 2016 when he was struggling to make the sale to evangelicals.
https://www.npr.org/2016/01/18/463528847/citing-two-corinthians-trump-struggles-to-make-the-sale-to-evangelicals How the Evangelicals can support the Devil's Apprentice I just can't fathom.
Heather, you aggregate and make sense of the most astonishingly diverse collection of news items --never ceases to amaze me.
Thank you for picking up on the evangelicals' pronouncements. Maybe the sheer surrealism of Trump can send all his supporters scurrying back to their roots: the violence of the Proud Boys and the render unto Caesar of the evangelicals. Now if he could only scare the dregs of the Republickers back to free trade, multinational alliances, cutting deficits, and upholding the rule of law. Ah, but I must be waxing delirious.
Nonetheless, great letter! Many thanks.
I listened to Heather on Bill Moyers’ program (she was excellent, of course). Her observation about Republicans wanting to establish an oligarchy, demolish out democratic republic and continue to move money upward should be talked and talked about. Educate the public. Start now. With the history of the party to support this not-new position, people need to be told this in every forum possible.
Excellent interview. Unfortunately, I found myself agreeing with Mr. Harper who even said the very words I have been thinking for a long time. The media has consistently used the words “breaking norms” as opposed to the reality, “breaking laws,” when referring to DT. He has never been held to the rule of law. The rule of law now seems completely arbitrary, and without it, how can there be a democracy? How do we take back that ground?
We can begin by prosecuting Trump for every crime he's committed! We let Nixon off the hook as well as Reagan, so Trump naturally thought he too was above the law. Time to hold those in high office accountable to "we the people."
More Heather Watch: book reviews:
Cowboy Confederates | Dissent Magazine Fall 2020: review of How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy...by Heather Cox Richardson, and The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States by Walter Johnson
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/cowboy-confederates
Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks for mentioning Bill Moyers and HCR. I hope to find the interview. If you have a link, please post it here? Thanks!
Here you go, Sally:
https://billmoyers.com/story/podcast-democracy-on-the-edge-cox-richardson/?fbclid=IwAR16CH_vXSrkXV6OUp4B22QyfUVNJU6KAO7PwKC1Ff2TtpWhtibt1XDkSGk
Thank you, Mim
Terrific! Powerful!
” Now does his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief.” Macbeth I spotted this a couple of days ago, thought it sounded very apropos!
Obviously, proofreading is not one of my talents!
At least until I post!
Finally some conservative religious leaders who see the chicanery perpetrated by the GOP in their slavish worship of iDJiT. What has been done in the name of their brand of Christianity,because it certainly isn't mine or that of many Christians that I know, has horrified us.
I truly believe that Nancy Pelosi needs to take some decisive, definitive action against those members of the House that have displayed and voiced their willingness to participate in sedition. Our country for too long has labored under the delusion that actions do not require consequences. We have allowed our leaders to sweep things under the rug that have continued to grow under that rug like the worst infestation of mold you can imagine. iDJiT and his congressional enablers need to be made the example that puts a stop to this now so we are not faced with these types of shenanigans forever.
I agree. Write/call her office.
With the Electors voting tomorrow, are we finally done with all the shenanigans on trying to overturn the People's vote? What else could DT try other than having a scene on January 6th in Congress when they acknowledge the vote of the Electors? While I'm glad the judiciary remained sane and decisive, the members of Congress and the State AsG scared me. We need to make a list of things we need to accomplish to make sure this doesn't happen again. 1) neuter the Electoral College through the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact 2. Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine 3. Find a way to fix gerrymandering 4. Repeal Citizens United / campaign financing reform 5. Reinstate and strengthened the Voting Rights Act 6. Strengthen civics education in our schools ... and so forth... Lots to do to defend democracy.
As FYI and NOT to sound alarms, this is circulating on Twitter under “martial law:”
“ The legal battles in the courts helped President Trump discover the lawbreakers. Tomorrow is December 14th, and here are some pieces we have remaining on the chessboard:
♟National Emergency Executive Order
♟Insurrection Act
♟Martial Law
♟Executive Directive 51 “
Executive Directive 51 pertains to national emergencies, such as a pandemic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_and_Homeland_Security_Presidential_Directive
While it would be interesting to figure out the what-ifs for these scenarios, and I believe in being prepared, we should not give it unnecessary oxygen, and I will not elevate it with a link. Biden will pass through any shenanigans on Dec. 14 or Jan. 6, and when he is inaugurated, we all have so much work on this crucial Must Do list. Not to mention supporting Ossoff and Warnock in the Georgia run off.
Cathy, did you notice the record of DT’s attempts in court before the final slam down by the ‘Supremes’? Something like 1-52 (won-loss). It was clear to every knowledgeable source that the courts maintained integrity, and IO have to believe that the very integrity of the Supremes was riding on this decision. It really, was .... a slam dunk
Oh yes I did! I do believe the judiciary understood its integrity was on the line. So glad it held. What I find hilarious now is the Republicans using the What About game of Al Gore waiting 38 days to concede. One state, Florida, with a very obvious vote count problem, hanging chads, with a very narrow margin, a few hundred votes.
I cannot expect anything but craziness from these folks. I’m almost immune.
This is what else is yet to come: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/13/us/politics/trump-allies-election-overturn-congress-pence.html?surface=most-popular&fellback=false&req_id=736257023&algo=bandit-all-surfaces&variant=1_bandit-all-surfaces_daysback_4&imp_id=897085531&action=click&module=Most%20Popular&pgtype=Homepage
"Several Senate Republicans — including Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — have forcefully rejected the idea of overturning the results, and their votes would be enough for Mr. Biden to prevail with the support of Democrats."
Rethuglicans have already suggested doing something on Jan 6 to try again to have the orange cheeto named the "winner."
Rep. Jamie Raskin explains what Republicans will try on Jan. 6 and how it won’t work:
https://twitter.com/effiemysweet/status/1337713941288456192?s=21
Thanks for this Ellie Kona.
Now I’m confused. I thought one of the things this Administration pledged to do is protect and strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. This could be wrong. I realize there are funding issues because Congress never repaid the money it borrowed from Social Security, but how significant potentially are the changes Yellen might propose? How might such changes impact 2022, if at all? Just a quirky little question. As always, you wrote a very informative letter, and it’s much appreciated.
In my layman’s understanding, the above programs are not immediately threatened. One very easy solution, long-term, is to fairly raise the income cap of paying into SS. It is surprisingly low, income above $142,000 (2021) is not taxed. Shouldn’t realtors, lawyers, lobbyists, ‘stars’ and athletes pay their fair share?
I'd suggest that anyone who is curious, go to the Social Security website. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10024.pdf is a good starting point.
Social Security is a pass-through system. Those working now pay FICA taxes, and this money is IMMEDIATELY paid out to people drawing Social Security. So long as there are enough workers to cover retirees, the system cannot go broke, and it is inherently inflation-proof, since pay-in is in today's dollars, and pay-out is in today's dollars.
The main problem is that the FICA tax has to cover all of the payout, and that depends on how many people reach retirement age each year, how long they are likely to live, and the size of the workforce that is making the tax payments. It was recognized decades ago that the Baby Boom generation was likely to be the largest and most long-lived collection of retirees the country was likely to face, and that tax burden would fall like a cartoon piano on the Millennials and the following generation. So they started the Trust Fund.
The Trust Fund is pre-payment the Boomers have been putting into they program, so that the entire load won't land on our children and grandchildren. It gets larger every year. It "invests" in treasury bonds, and earns the basic bond rate, as well as the excess tax that Boomers are paying in. The actuaries figured out how big that pile needed to be when the first Boomers started retiring, so that they could start using the Fund to supplement pay-in without increasing FICA taxes on the young workers. Sometime after that, the Fund would stop growing, and then start shrinking. The calculations were set to empty the Trust Fund just as the last Boomer dies.
That threw another variable into the mix, which is the return rate on treasury bonds. If that rate fluctuates, it throws all the calculations off. And -- of course -- if the government defaults on its "full faith and credit" obligations -- something the Republicans have threatened more than once -- that entire pile of money could shrink or even vanish.
When I read through the details several years back, all the hoopla about "Congress borrowing from Social Security" turned out to be complete propaganda. The Trust Fund is still there, and Social Security is running just fine. Right now.
The fundamental problems Social Security faces are:
1) People (particularly Boomers) are living longer. That translates directly into "the Trust Fund isn't big enough." When it runs out, the FICA tax will have to suddenly increase by a lot, because there's no supplement coming from the empty Trust Fund.
2) Young people aren't getting the good middle-class jobs any more. Gig work doesn't pay FICA taxes. Low-paying work doesn't pay much into it. And the low income cap ensures that higher-paid workers are not putting in their fair share.
3) Congress -- specifically the Republicans, no surprise there -- absolutely refuse to raise the FICA tax now, so that Boomers (who are still working) can help increase the Trust Fund to the size it needs to be before they retire. They have also refused to move the income cap. They have not been shy about making old people work longer, though that -- of course -- keeps younger people out of the top-paying positions.
The actuaries have worked all this out, and a 2% increase on the FICA rate, had it been enacted ten or fifteen years ago when they started floating the idea, would have completely resolved the problem. Increasing the income cap could also completely cover the problem.
Republicans have blocked all of that with the "no new taxes" balderdash they've been peddling for two decades.
So Social Security won't actually fail. But under Republican leadership, it will step off a cliff in somewhere around 2032 -- only 12 years away -- when the too-small Trust Fund starts making sucking sounds, and they'll have no choice but to raise the income cap, the FICA rate, AND cut benefits. As someone who is going to get hit by this, I find it hard to construct a bitter enough curse to lay on these ... these ... (exhale). Let's keep it clean here. They are sociopaths.
The key seems to be removing the income cap from OASDI taxes. According to the IRS, half of all reported income is not subject to that tax and the change would generate in excess of $1 trillion annually. Simply doing that and retaining the current payment structure would ensure the stability of the Trust Fund for the reasonable actuarial future. As for the rest of the budget, buying fewer F-35s would be a good start.
Exactly: the ceiling for paying into SocSec is way too low. People who can well afford to pay more in both SocSec and Medicare withholding are getting a free pass, and making use of a system that has been paid for by the working class. Dems have been pushing for reform to the income cap for decades. The Greedy Old Poo-Suckers are the ones who have been resisting. Because the Koch Brothers are against it.
I know an incredibly wealthy person who was in need of cataract surgery. He could easily have afforded the $7,000 needed for it. But he waited 3 years for his medicare to kick in so he would not have to pay for it. I could not understand why he would suffer and not be able to see well when he owned multiple houses and boats and yet he was so stingy he had to suck off our govt. He spent more money per year having his giant grass lawns mowed than that surgery would have cost him. He will never be able to spend all his money in multiple lifetimes. I think our wealthy elite might look into their hearts and suffer, ever so slightly, for the benefit of the whole system. I do it willingly to pay for schools and roads and the welfare of my fellow citizens. I have just enough to live on.
But my parents taught me to always give--- and we raised money for Meals for Millions or Easter Seals, Head Start programs, Native American schools or orphanages in Mexico over the border. We proudly planted trees on Arbor Day and picked up trash and flotsam because it made our beaches and the world more beautiful.
They taught us children to give because we have enough, do not forget those who do not, because it could be you in crisis one day. That is how empathy is born. Those acts may be where I learned discernment and critical thinking skills to analyze the world around me. THAT IS HOW SELF-ABSORBED, EGO-DRIVEN, RACIST NARCISSISTS ARE NOT BORN. Respectful, empathic, caring qualities begin in early childhood.
Thinking on this today, I am very proud of my parents who worked hard in different ways and were economically privileged whites, but did not think they were superior to their fellow humans or the earth. I noticed the racism in a few elder family members but my mother's teachings counteracted that. I saw her argue vehemently with my grandfathers when they made racist/sexist/homophobic jokes or statements. She taught us (and probably my dad) the plight of black Americans via her volunteer work at Headstart and why black people were rioting in Watts an hour and half north of us. My grandmother taught me about REAL Native American history not taught in school and what happened to them and took me to reservations in the south and we purchased things they made from trading posts. It was mostly from my mother and my grandmothers that I learned to respect everyone and that when all of us do well, the whole world is a better place for everyone. I am very grateful to my parents but more so for coming from a long line of very strong, conscious women. They taught me well despite their own oppression.
And so it is with “Grandmothers” and should be.
("Mr. Rogers voice"): Can you say "Greedy fucking pig"? I knew you could.
Such a clear and helpful explanation. Maybe we should send it around to Congress...
Oh I think they understand the concept very well - take from the poor and give to the rich! Of course they dont want the SS cap raised!
Thank you for this no nonsense explanation and the accurate assessment of how social security functions. I am a firm believer that personal financial management should be part of the public school educational curriculum as soon as kids are able to count! There is a real lack of structure to help people navigate the complexities of managing personal finances.
We had a class called Consumer Survival when I was in education. Don't know if it still exists. It turned out to be very useful in my government class when a student (the son of one of my colleagues who knew my political preferences) came in suggesting a flat tax. He expected a tirade, but I put up two incomes, one richer than the other and let them choose the categories and amounts. They had had Consumer Survival, so they knew the needs and costs. End of the period, they all decided the flat tax was not a good idea with no input from me.
I like the title "Consumer Survival"! That would be great for the high school level. When one understands the basics and gets a financial foundation (personally and on a macro level), policies can then be discussed from a position of knowledge vs. "sound bites". As we well know, knowledge greatly improves the chances of a more successful outcome.
Thank you for the story! When I was teaching, I found that the lessons that were student-centered, as was this one you tell about, were always the most successful - and, hopefully, were the ones that stayed in the minds (and hearts) of students the longest.
I’m going to cut and paste this and put it in my notes. I also have a couple of friends I’ll send copies to because basically most people don’t understand any of this. I don’t know which I enjoyed reading more, Heather’s letter or your explanation. Thank you so much.
Put this in my notes too! Facts!
Thank you for all this info. 🙂 I too will be hit by whatever shenanigans the R’s are putting in place to sabotage future payouts. I’ve heard more than one person (cynically) suggest that the anti-mask crowd is hoping to reduce the number of social security recipients as much as possible.
I thought for sure Trump letting Covid run amok in America was to get rid of Dem voters and drains on ‘his’ Social Security money.
I’ve thought of that
May not be cynical at all because that seems to be the attitude.
Funny, isn't it, how often cynicism reflects reality?
Great information! Thank you.
The only thing I (a 52 y/o) know most about Social Security is it will never be enough for me to retire. Neither will my 401K because I’ve never been able to contribute to it.
Due to Trickle-UP Economics and rising cost of health insurance, I haven’t had so much as a cost of living salary increase in nine years. Everything costs more now including the product my employer sells, but not the employee salaries (due to rising cost of healthcare, according to employer).
My retirement plan is work until I die and make sure I don’t live to the point where I am a problem for my employer. So I plan to catch a quickly fatal disease if I don’t get some kind of cancer first. (Maybe both if the cancer effects are too inconvenient for my employer to allow me to work).
I’m 70 and when people ask me when I’m going to retire an uncontrollable laugh comes out of my mouth.....”as long as people will have me” is my response. Lately every morning I wake up and think, well, I guess I can do it again today. Tomorrow? Who knows? I just know one thing. If I stop working there’s nothing there for me in order to live. Getting into a subsidize 62 and over takes between two and 10 years now because they are so filled up with baby boomers. It would be nice if the government would mandate building more of them but I guess that’s not gonna happen. My future is a huge question mark. There’s no there there. We are not alone.
Same here
I'm 71 and still an active freelance editor. In just a few minutes, I'll be participating in an online meeting, just as my much younger coworkers do. So far, I assume I will work until I die. But hope springs eternal that I won't have to if I can continue to save, save, save! 😂
I worked until I was 75 - was laid off and thinking I would have to keep working but after 6 months (with unemployment AND severance pay) didnt come up with anything, so retired. I'm really fortunate that the former company I worked for for 29 years had a profit sharing program & they were generous. So between ss & my ira, I'm ok. Now if I just dont have any medical issues!! But thats something I'm sure many of us here have concerns about.
SS, savings, and IRA is about where I am, too, but I would feel insecure if I ever retired. I feel like I might not have enough to live on, much less handle an emergency, if I quit, especially because I have been only freelance for the past 20 years, so my income has always fluctuated. At my age, I have doubts about finding a "real" job. When trump said he wanted to eliminate the payroll taxes so that SS would end in 2023, my heart leapt into my throat.
How do you like retirement?
Thank you for this simple and clear picture.
Joseph, may I share THIS? And if so, How?
This was So Informative. Thank You from a 64yrs.young gal not retiring anytime soon, unfortunately ❣💞
Thank You!!
Thank you for this excellent information.
Thanks so much for this. Very enlightening.
Thank you for this clarifying text!
Or, should those who have more than they can spend in a lifetime not be eligible to collect because they are very well off and were favored in our capitalist system until at least until our debt is paid down?
Here here!
So this might be a dumb question, but can people who earn more than the cap (that is, more than $142,000 per year) collect Social Security after retirement? It seems fair to me that they can't if they didn't pay into it, although I see in Penelope's comment here that wealthy people can use Medicare regardless of their level of wealth.
The income cap only governs the income you get taxed on, while you're working and paying into the system. I've reached a senior level in the tech industry, and for the last several years, I've exceeded the income cap for the first time in my life. What that means is that my FICA taxes are all paid (I've reached the taxable income cap) sometime in late November, so I don't pay FICA for the last six weeks or so. This seems crazy to me: I'd rather be paying the FICA tax and keeping Social Security on a good footing. I've not missed that money all year, since I've never seen it in my paycheck, and I won't miss it for the last few weeks in the year.
This has nothing to do with my benefits after I retire. IF I can retire.
There are certain funds that you can't draw from unless you are destitute. I went through this with my father, when he reached a point of senile dementia and had to be moved to assisted living and then nursing care. Medicaid will pay for that AFTER all your personal funds are gone.
Maybe someone else knows the details of whether you can draw retirement while you are also making high income. Most people who retire, RETIRE, and they go back to work only if a) they're going stir-crazy sitting at home, or b) their retirement benefits aren't enough to live on (increasingly true).
Pretty sure you can draw Social Security while making a high income - but your total taxable amount increases so it may be a draw.
Oh, you're asking a different question. Sorry.
The "income cap" I saw first in this thread was about the maximum amount of income that could be taxed (while you are working) with FICA taxes. That was about $110,000 some years back, and is currently $137,700. So you pay 6.2% of all your income -- a flat tax -- up to $138k, and if you make more than that, you don't pay any FICA tax at all on anything above $138k. Your employer also pays another 6.2% on your income, up to $138k; if you're self-employed, you pay both parts (12.4%).
The payout is on a different schedule having to do with how long you paid into the system ("vesting"), and how much you put in through FICA taxes over that period, and the age at which you start receiving payments. Up to something like 10 years of pay-in, you get nothing back out: you aren't "vested," so you don't get benefits. If anyone starts yakking about illegal immigrants drawing down Social Security, they are ignorant: legal immigrants have to pay in for 10 years to get ANY benefits, and illegal immigrants don't have a Social Security number, so they never get payouts. The current maximum is $3,895/month, or $46,740/year, regardless of what you made during your working life. It was never intended to be a retirement plan: it was to prevent starvation and homelessness.
Medicare is a completely different thing. It doesn't involve Social Security at all. Medicaid is also completely different, and doesn't involve Social Security.
There are a few other programs that provide various benefits for people who have low or no income.
The "income cap" must be raised -- the maximum amount of a salary that gets taxed for SSN -- especially since it's the professional class that seem to have survived the pandemic by shifting work to home.
Increase on a schedule that raises the minimum $2 k / year for a decade or more.
At the same time, start lowering the age for Medicare eligibility in 3-4 month increments and hire more Medicare employees to handle the increase in patients. Even if future administrations were to stop the forward momentum, none could ever take back benefits awarded. Aftere a generation(?), we'd have Medicare-for-all. Radical, I know.
I need to double check, but I believe they pay in but only up to $142,000 of their income.
The 2020 cap is $137,700. In '21 it goes up to $142,800. That still gives a free pass to all those making more than that. Imagine if the cap were significantly raised or even eliminated how much money there would be for the government to use to bolster and increase Social Security and Medicare!
The idea being there is a cap on how much Social Security will eventually be paid out
Frederick, what happened to the rest of your story? I was reading it and was trying to find a way to Share it, and it just disappeared.
What story was that story? That was eight hours ago, so I’ve forgotten ........
Not a quirky question at all!! I’m 70 and when I read those lines I was quite dismayed. Terror And anger ran thru me. I won’t do well with less senior benefits, and btw, that’s OUR money! Why do they always have to threaten our social “security”? I’m shocked and feel betrayed!!
I am 75 and worked (at low pay jobs) until I was 72. I also feel all of these concerns.
Rs have wanted to destroy social security since the New Deal.
They keep castigating it as an "entitlement." Well, yeah, it is, because we worked all our lives to contribute to it, and we are thus entitled to its benefits. It's not a giveaway as the R's would have people believe.
They also keep calling the FICA deduction a "tax". Its a withholding for our futures!
Please offer some history of Christian Nationalism. As a secularist, I am disturbed by the blatant misinterpretation and twisting of the first amendment to suit the purposes of religionists.
Read Jeff Sharlot’s 2008 book The Family for excellent info on Xian Nationalism. There is also a documentary of Sharlot’s research.
But do read "The Family." Important work.
Be prepared to be really bummed.
Another good book is The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart, which came out this year.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Pardon my Christianity but Godspeed and God bless the UPS and FedEx!!
I chuckled (without mirth) at the WH clan clamoring to get vaccinated. As we were on the cusp of getting a vaccine out, I remarked to my husband that it wouldn't surprise me to see the very people who mocked the severity of this virus "pushing and shoving" with a "me first" attitude to get immunized. But this WH crowd probably will have the most influence convincing a significant segment of the population to get vaccinated. So in the long run, that's a good thing for all of us.
Happy Hanukkah 2020 to my friends here on this post celebrating the Festival of Lights!!
Reminds me of scenes from the film Titanic when the wealthy men were pushing and shoving to get onto the few lifeboats;
...that were not sufficient for all aboard because of the wealthy owners of the ship didn't want them on the ship and any regulation for having them was not being enforced!
In principle, the Titanic was "unsinkable" of course and the few lifeboats that they accepted were somewhat "decorative" and considerably easier to access from the first-class accommodation than "stowage" class!
That says it all.
Thank you so much as always. I must say the idea of the Trump Administration being first in line for the vaccine is really quite unbelievable. They get rewarded for causing the virus to spread and for fueling disinformation and ridiculing masks. I know... I read Trump said he would not have the WH first, well he lies. And if for any reason they are not first, I'm sure it is because they are scared. I'm so worried about not taking the Senate as the thought of McConnell thumbing his nose at Biden and Harris makes me ill.
I pray the White House Secret Service is first in line for the vaccine.
Thank you, Heather. I guess tomorrow you might be talking about the Russian hack of federal agencies. Pundits had been predicting there might be some kind of attack during the interregnum, with T**** leaving everything he can put his hands on in disarray, and here it is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/russian-government-spies-are-behind-a-broad-hacking-campaign-that-has-breached-us-agencies-and-a-top-cyber-firm/2020/12/13/d5a53b88-3d7d-11eb-9453-fc36ba051781_story.html?fbclid=IwAR0neimY83ublp5K6wjJff0TL_8s0muVPfCsI3U3C_089bs8xwNJhthj3DA
I’ll never forget this, from 2017:
“Putin & I discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded and safe,” he said following their talks at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.“
Most folks were outraged that Tя☭mp even suggested that maybe our Cold War enemies should have a key to our house, and he backed down. Or did he? Several times Russia has told us about private phone calls between the two men (there never seems to be a transcript from the WH). Now we’ve been hacked.....do we have a fox guarding the henhouse?
Source for the above quote: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-germany-putin-trump-idUSKBN19U0HX
I read this article earlier and cannot, will not, let it slide that Putin has a heavy hand in this hacking. He messed with the election(s), infiltrated our government, and now this. There is no decency to be found with this administration. We have but 37 days to go for a new beginning.
With TЯ☭mp, all roads lead to Putin as Nancy Pelosi would remind us.
OK Cathy, WHERE on the Apple keyboard do you find the fun letters???
When I found Tя☭mp posted on twitter, I copied it and pasted it into keyboard shortcuts. Every time I type “tru” it suggests “Tя☭mp” which saves a lot of effort since I type it a lot. 🙂
genius! lol (this minor how-to results in a disproportionate amount of glee, I confess, but there has been little to laugh at these past 4 years...)
I feel the same way every time I use it. 👍🏼
Tя☭mp.....love it! Thank you!
Done! Thank you, Yvonne!
They are Unicode characters U+042F for the reverse R and U+262D for the hammer and sickle. I typed U+042F or 042F into Word and then did Alt X and it replaced the Unicode with the character symbol. Now I just copy the word TЯ☭mp and paste it here. Just wondering what would happen if I used it when writing to my Senator on his contact form. Would it flag it as a security threat? A Russian bot? Might try that.
I wondered if Putin hacked the vote for a certain Republican Senator (Mitch McConnell).
That's an interesting notion to check out. Mitch has certainly sold Kentucky to the Russian Oligarchs to the point I'm surprised Putin hasn't annexed it yet.
Was the election last month any part of this hack?
IMHO, yes, absolutely. Potusboy is fighting his loss so vigorously because the down ballot hacking worked so well. What a crew of crazies was elected and re-elected.
When I hear about the execution of Federal death row inmates, I keep thinking about the Central Park Five and it makes me shudder at the callousness of the current administration.