I use this blog to share and save things that interest me - ideas I'm experimenting with, my artistic expressions, concepts, rants, raves, and whatever else tickles my fancy. Think of it as sort of a digital sketchbook or scrapbook. This allows me to freely express myself without forcing it down anyone's throat.
Would someone please explain how the largest and most powerful military force in history has "withered" because of spending cuts? Yes, it has been stretched thin and we are overextending our resources. The solution is to get us out of the needless wars we are presently tied up in, not continuing to throw more and more money at them!
In a rare and hastily called Saturday press conference with fellow Republicans in the Capitol, Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, of California, said Democrats were “shortchanging” the U.S. military and threatening readiness.
McKeon defended the House bill sponsored by Speaker John Boehner, R.-Ohio, that narrowly passed late Friday. The Senate rejected that bill within hours and Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, hoped to pass his alternative bill after midnight Saturday. Leaders from both chambers would then have to negotiate a single compromise bill and put it to another vote.
While members are battling to pass a bill by Aug. 2 to keep troop paychecks coming, House Republicans sought to highlight the longer-term stakes: hundreds of millions of dollars in defense cuts over the next 10 years.
“Let me put this plainly,” McKeon said, flanked by other Republicans. “If Senator Reid’s plan passes, if we stand idly by while this Administration pays down its domestic spending spree with the blood and sweat of our troops, our military will break.”
“We are determined we will provide for national defense,'' said Rep. Bill Young, R.-Fla., a Republican defense stalwart.
McKeon, in prepared remarks, said, “Our debt has exploded, while our military has withered. …We owe them our liberty, but this Administration treats them as just another number on the chalkboard.”
Boenher's office, on the speaker's blog, wrote, "It is time for Democrats in the Senate to get serious and…begin putting America on a more sustainable fiscal path without compromising our national security."
I rely on Social Security Disability Insurance just to survive. I paid a large portion of my earnings into the system all through my life. I served 6 years in the U.S. Coast Guard with an honorable discharge, I've worked in the healthcare system, and my last job before becoming disabled was working as an Emergency Medical Technician for the local 911 system. I've done my share of volunteer and pro-bono work. I've spent most of my life trying to help others.
There are many people who take advantage of the Social Security system. Some take advantage because it is easier than working. Some take advantage simply because they can. But there are far more people who depend on it for their day to day survival. Barak Obama made some significant promises related to Social Security, which he now seems poised to renege on. I understand politics. It sometimes becomes necessary to make concessions. But this issue is too big and the probable ramifications are being ignored. So here are my suggestions, based on my own first hand experiences.
1. Drastically cut the administrative costs of running the system. The bureaucracy is insane and often contributes negatively to the well being of the people they are supposed to be serving.
2. Do more to be proactive about getting disabled workers back to work instead of being an impediment to any attempts. Hire the disabled to work the front windows at the SSA. The people I have encountered are often rude, ignorant about their own job, and have no ability to actually do anything. Any deaf or blind person could do an equally good job, if not better.
3. Stop focusing on AGE as a qualifying factor. Some people, like myself, will probably never be able to work for wages again. I am only 50 years old. Other people, by choice and good fortune, will choose to work their entire lives without retiring. Social Security, whether needed by the disabled like myself, or by the retired like my mother, should be a "need based" benefit. In my mind, those who are wealthy or were fortunate enough to stack pension plans have no need for Social Security retirement benefits and should not receive them.
4. Revisit the COLA (cost of living allowance) and the reasons they were put in place. I haven't received an increase in years because there was "no inflation." The funny thing is, the price for everything has been going up steeply all this time. Now they tell me that any COLA increase coming for 2012 will probably be eaten up by increased Medicare premiums. How does this help people on fixed incomes live a worthwhile life? I'm already making decisions about my healthcare based on what medications and treatments I can afford.
5. I think the pay, perks, and benefits received by politicians is an outrage. Reform in that area will most likely never happen in my lifetime. But here is one place they could start. Put all federal employees, from soldiers to statesmen, on Medicare. Do away with concierge healthcare and on-site medical staff for the "privileged." If We the People have to sit for hours in overcrowded Emergency Rooms, then so should everyone that works for the government that created this situation.
6. Stop trying to balance the budget on the backs of the unfortunate and needy! Cut useless bureaucracy wherever it is found. Equalize social programs and provide them to U.S. Citizens and withhold them from illegal aliens. Cut back significantly on military and intelligence gathering costs and expenditures. Cut back on foreign aid. Put an end to special interests and lobbyists, and make behind the door agreements against the law. Then enforce the law and penalize those who break it.
