History Lesson on Your Social Security Card

 

Your Social Security Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn't know this.  It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it.  Be sure and show it to your kids.  They need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican.  Facts are Facts!!! Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes.  Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message was removed.         An old Social Security card with the "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION" message.     Our Social Security  Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social  Security (FICA) Program. He promised:  1.) That participation in the Program would be  Completely voluntary,  No longer Voluntary 2.) That the participants would only have to pay  1% of the first $1,400 of their annual  Incomes into the Program,  Now 7.65% on the first $90,000    3.) That the money the participants elected to put  into the Program would be deductible from  their income for tax purposes each year,  No longer tax deductible 4.) That the money the participants put into the  independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the  general operating fund, and therefore, would  only be used to fund the Social Security  Retirement Program, and no other  Government program, and,  Under Johnson the money was moved to  The General Fund and Spent 5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.  Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are  now receiving a Social Security check every month --  and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of  the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put  away' -- you may be interested in the following:  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----  Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the  independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the  general fund so that Congress could spend it?  A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically  controlled House and Senate.  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --  Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax  deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?  A: The Democratic Party.  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----  Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social  Security annuities?  A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the  'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the  Senate, while he was Vice President of the  US  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -  Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?  AND MY FAVORITE:  A: That's right!  Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.  Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,  began to receive Social Security payments! The  Democratic Party gave these payments to them,  even though they never paid a dime into it!  ------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------  Then, after violating the original contract (FICA),  the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!  And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!  If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of  awareness will be planted and maybe changes will  evolve.  Maybe not, some Democrats are awfully  sure of what isn't so.  But it's worth a try. How many people can YOU send this to?  Actions speak louder than bumper stickers.  AND CONGRESS GIVES THEMSELVES 100% RETIREMENT FOR ONLY SERVING ONE TERM!!!

Preparation for Memorial Day

MEMORIAL DAY

It is the  VETERAN,  not the preacher,  who has given us freedom of religion.  It is the VETERAN,  not the reporter,   who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN,  not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.     It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.      It is the VETERAN,  not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.   It is the VETERAN,  not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote. It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag, It is the VETERAN who serves under the Flag,  ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

God 
Bless them all!!!

Makes you proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!

width=467 height=381> ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM. God Bless them all!!! Makes you proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!     ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON  THEM God Bless them all!!! Makes you proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!

Arizona Corporation Commission Letter to LA Mayor Villaraigosa

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Santee School in LA Unified School District

With the uproar over the video of Ron Gochez, a look at the performance level of the school where the ranting Mr. Ron Gochez is employed might provide some insight.  Does it appear that the students are well served at this school?

Here are the results of the students on the California Standards Test.  Only 8% of students at the Santee school achieved a 'Proficient or Advanced' level in the latest school year, 2008-2009, which means meeting or exceeding the state standards.  Amazingly, that is up from 5% in 2006-2007.  I would bet that the education establishment would brag about the 60% increase in proficiency in that area without regard to the raw numbers.  The state-wide result was 41%, over 5-times the average for the Santee school.

The California high school exit exam is used as a graduation requirement.  Just 22% of those tested achieved a graduation level in math, however, this is up from an astonishing 12.3%, two years prior.  The state-wide rate is a bit over half at 53.3%.  The English Arts passing rate was under 19%.

The breakdown shows that 81% of Hispanics are 'Not Proficient' in English-Language Arts and 77.2% are 'Not Proficient' in Mathematics.  Both are close to the overall average since the school is largely Hispanic.

The Average Yearly Progress is defined by the No Child Left Behind Act.  The Santee school failed in all areas but one, the 'API'.  The 'API' indicates the school made some year-to-year progress.  They went from pathetic, to a bit less than pathetic.

One-third of the students failed the English and math portions of the state exam required to receive a diploma.  That is much worse than the 89% that passed in this sub-standard school district.

Sadly, the school's dropout rate is over 41%, more than double the state average which is just under 19%. 

What these students need is a real hero and role model like, Jaime Escalante, the inspiration for the 1988 movie, Stand and Deliver, who passed away several weeks ago.  School vouchers anyone?

Arizona immigration law SB 1070 and ammending legislation HB 2162

SB 1070

HB 2162

Video of Al Sharpton and friends marching for illegal immigration.

Al Sharpton march in Phoenix.

May 5, 2010 Immigration March

Some Great Quotes

"My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates 
 

"Failure is success if we learn from it." Malcolm S. Forbes 
 

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Henry Miller
 

"Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile."  Franklin P. 
Jones
 

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow" 
 

"Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." Thomas Jefferson 
 

"Don't open a shop unless you like to smile."
 

"An election is a bet on the future, not a popularity test of the past." James Barrett Scotty Reston 
 

"Do not worry if others do not understand you. Worry if you do not understand them." Confucius
 

"Before you try to keep up with the Joneses, be sure they're not trying to keep up with you." E.Bombeck
 

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." Robert Brault
 

"Thousands of years ago the Egyptians worshiped cats as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." Charles Herbig
 

"Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still." Lou Erickson
 

"The person who knows how will always have a job. The person who knows why will always be his boss." - Diane Ravitch 
 

"Marriage: It's not a word, it's a sentence."
 

"Happiness is a stock that doubles in a year." Ira Cobleigh 
 

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." Mark Twain
 

“No on ever choked to death swallowing his pride” Anon 
 

"Everything is changing. People are taking the comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke." Will Rogers
 

"Guns don't kill people. Dads with pretty daughters do." Bumper Sticker

Phoenix Suns on Immigration Policy and Paperwork

Dear Mr. Sarver,

I have been a Phoenix resident since before the Phoenix Suns existed and I fully support your position on the "flawed" Arizona immigration law.  As a 42 year fan, I have attended many games and have bought countless pieces of merchandise over the years for me and now, for my family.  I may not have tickets for tonight's game and have not had the opportunity to attend a playoff game for many years.  Given your position, I'm sure you will not insist on me presenting my 'paperwork' when I arrive to enjoy what is sure to be an exciting game 2 of this important series.  I also have a number of friends that would also enjoy the opportunity to watch this game along with the many other games that we hope will occur this year and in the future. 

I know a very small minority of those like us have murdered police officers, transported drugs and broken many laws, we are all law abiding citizens and do not intend to break any laws, just enjoy the game and cheer our team.  I can assure you that our group will never be involved in a luxury suite invasion.  Just please, don't single us out; no need to check our 'paperwork'.  I'm sure my friends and I will be great and supportive fans.  We just need the opportunity.  It would only be fair, over time, that we also have a path to become season 'ticket' holders.  At that point we feel we will be fully accepted as true fans and can embrace the team we've enjoyed for so long.

One additional, small request.  My friends and I are not of great wealth and the food and drinks at the games are rather expensive.  It would only seem fair that some dispensation could be made in this regard.  I bet you agree that enjoying the food and beverages during the game provide the full fan experience.  Of course, for all of us to be able to wear those profound, "Los Suns" jerseys during this landmark game, would be sensational.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration.  We look forward to cheering "Our Suns" on to victory with you tonight.

Best Regards,

Ken Hand

Tempe, AZ

FW: Enduring ObamaCare Week #5

 

 

Dear Policy Patriots, With every week that passes, we learn more about ObamaCare and it just gets worse.  The recent report on the practical effects of ObamaCare from the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is devastating. Here are the salient findings of this report: Health care costs will go up, not down. National health expenditures will increase from 17 percent of GDP now to 21 percent under the new law and will be higher than without the legislation. Net federal spending on health care will also increase. Health care shortages are "plausible and even probable." Because of the increased demand for health care, "supply constraints might initially interfere with providing the services desired by the additional 34 million insured persons." 14 million employees will lose their employer coverage. Employees of small firms are especially at risk (despite small employer tax credit subsidies). 2 million employees who lose coverage will have to enroll in Medicaid. A Medicaid insurance card is not a guarantee of care. An estimated 18 million people will be added to Medicaid. However, because there is no corresponding increase in the supply of caregivers, "it is reasonable to expect that a significant portion of the increased demand for Medicaid would be difficult to meet, particularly over the first few years." One in ten insured workers will see their health benefits taxed. By 2019, more than 10% of insured workers will "be in employer plans with benefit values in excess of the thresholds (before changes to reduce benefits) and this percentage would increase rapidly thereafter." Higher taxes will lead to higher premiums. The new taxes on medical devices, prescription drugs, and insurance plans "would generally be passed on through to health consumers in the form of higher drug and device prices and higher insurance premiums." There are more than one-half trillion in Medicare cuts. The new health law cuts "$575 billion" from Medicare. Medicare cuts would threaten almost one in every seven hospitals. About "15 percent of Part A providers would become unprofitable within the 10-year projection period." Overall access to care for seniors would go down. Because of the law's payment reductions, "providers for whom Medicare constitutes a substantive portion of their business could find it difficult to remain profitable and, absent legislative intervention, might end their participation in the program. 7.4 million people will lose access to Medicare Advantage plans. Enrollment in MA plans will be cut in half (from its projected level of 14.8 million under the current law to 7.4 million under the new law). False advertising: The new "Medicare Tax" doesn't go to Medicare. "Despite the title of this tax, this provision is unrelated to Medicare; in particular, the revenues generated by the tax on unearned income are not allocated to the Medicare trust funds." False advertising: Budgetary double-counting does not improve Medicare's solvency. Medicare cuts "cannot be simultaneously used to finance other federal outlays (such as the coverage expansions) and to extend the [life of the Medicare] trust fund, despite the appearance of this result from the respective accounting conventions." The new long-term care insurance plan (CLASS Act) is unsound. The program faces "a significant risk of failure" because the high costs will attract sicker people and lead to low participation. The promise to those with pre-existing conditions is unfunded. "By 2011 and 2012 the initial $5 billion in Federal funding for [high risk pools] would be exhausted, resulting in substantial premium increases to sustain the program." The law does almost nothing to limit actual fraud and abuse. The fraud provisions in the law will save only about two percent of $47 billion in suspect claims.

Mothers are Heaven's Scent

Mother's Day

Recyling Jumps the Shark

Click on image to enlarge

Reported Income Taxes and Income Taxes Paid

Pension Time Bomb

 

California's $500-billion pension time bomb

The staggering amount of unfunded debt stands to crowd out funding for many popular programs. Reform will take something sadly lacking in the Legislature: political courage.

The state of California's real unfunded pension debt clocks in at more than $500 billion, nearly eight times greater than officially reported.

That's the finding from a study released Monday by Stanford University's public policy program, confirming a recent report with similar, stunning findings from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

To put that number in perspective, it's almost seven times greater than all the outstanding voter-approved state general obligation bonds in California.

Why should Californians care? Because this year's unfunded pension liability is next year's budget cut to important programs. For a glimpse of California's budgetary future, look no further than the $5.5 billion diverted this year from higher education, transit, parks and other programs in order to pay just a tiny bit toward current unfunded pension and healthcare promises. That figure is set to triple within 10 years and -- absent reform -- to continue to grow, crowding out funding for many programs vital to the overwhelming majority of Californians.

How did we get here? The answer is simple: For decades -- and without voter consent -- state leaders have been issuing billions of dollars of debt in the form of unfunded pension and healthcare promises, then gaming accounting rules in order to understate the size of those promises.

As we saw during the recent financial crisis, hiding debt is not a new phenomenon. Indeed, General Motors did something similar to obscure the true cost of its retirement promises. Through aggressive accounting, for a while it, too, got away with making pension contributions that were a fraction of what it really needed to make, thereby reporting better earnings than was truly the case.

But eventually the pension promises come due, and for GM, that meant having to add extra costs to its cars, making its prices less attractive to consumers and contributing to its eventual bankruptcy.

In California's case, past pension underfunding means reduced funding of current programs. This explains why pension costs rose 2,000% from 1999 to 2009, while state funding for higher education declined over the same period.

What can we do about this? For the promises already made, nothing. They are contractual, and because that $500 billion of debt must be paid, retirement costs will rise dramatically no matter what we do. But we can reduce the sizes of promises made to new employees and require full and truthful disclosure so that pension debt can never again be hidden.

Last summer Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed exactly that. Since then? Silence. State legislators are afraid even to utter the words "pension reform" for fear of alienating what has become -- since passage of the Dills Act in 1978, which endowed state public employees with collective bargaining rights on top of their civil service protections -- the single most politically influential constituency in our state: government employees.

Because legislators are unwilling to raise issues that might offend that constituency, they have effectively turned the peroration of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on its head: Instead of a government of the people, by the people and for the people, we have become a government of its employees, by its employees and for its employees.

This explains why legislators fight harder to overturn employee furloughs than to reform pensions and elect to pay more in compensation to just 65,000 employees in one single department -- corrections -- than they spend on a higher education system serving 10 times as many people.

Simply put, the single most important step a legislator can take to protect programs and taxpayers is to embrace pension reform. There is no structural impediment to pension reform, and no initiative has forced legislators to issue all that pension debt. All of the damage has been caused by legislation, most notoriously SB 400 in 1999, which retroactively and prospectively boosted pension promises by billions of dollars without boosting contributions. Likewise, all the remediation can be accomplished by legislation.

Even the state legislature of Illinois -- a legendary poster state for pension misbehavior -- has now passed pension reform. There's no reason the California Legislature cannot do the same.

Call or write your legislator about pension reform, and while you're at it, remind him or her that we are indeed a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

David Crane is special advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for jobs and economic growth.

Social Security = An Excellent Summary........

Social Security  Your Social Security Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn't know this. It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it.   Be sure and show it to your kids. They need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts!!!   Our Social Security Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised: 1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary,   No longer Voluntary   2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program,   Now 7.65%   3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,   No longer tax deductible   4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,   Under Johnson the money was moved to   The General Fund and Spent   5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.   Under Clinton & Gore   Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed   Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put away' -- you may be interested in the following: ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---- Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it? A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -- Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding? A: The Democratic Party.  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----- Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities? A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the 'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the  US  ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- - Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants? AND MY FAVORITE: A: That's right!   Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!  ------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- --------- Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!  And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!   If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe changes will evolve. Maybe not, some Democrats are awfully sure of what isn't so. But it's worth a try. How many people can YOU send this to? Actions speak louder than bumper stickers.   AND CONGRESS GIVES THEMSELVES 100% RETIREMENT FOR ONLY SERVING ONE TERM!!!   A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -Thomas Jefferson