"Where's My Money?"

Pay As You Go

     Entitlement is a word designed to characterize beneficiaries as a drain on the Nation's treasury and her taxpaying citizens. We paid into Social Security, some of us, starting in childhood. People, we are being subjected to a storm of falsehood regarding Social Security. And it is shameful to call it an "entitlement program." 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
     
    We must make it clear to elected officials we understand the myth(s) involved here and demand the term 'entitlement' cease to be used, particularly with regard to Social Security.
     Let us dispel the notion Social Security is doomed because people are living longer, and there are too few workers, to support those who have retired. Here is the plain truth. Social Security was established, during the 1930s as a "pay as you go" program. During Franklin Roosevelt's administration, it seemed reasonable.
      Had benefits been guaranteed by the federal government, beneficiaries would have been paid, if necessary, out of the General Fund, irrespective of the ratio between active workers and retirees. In other words, Social Security would have remained secure. To make Social Security secure we'd have to have demanded the federal government guarantee all retirees, present and future, receive the federal benefits they earned. (The same applies to Medicare.) 

     As to the impending crisis in Social Security, the $2.7 trillion dollar reserve in the Social Security Trust gives us pause. What happened to our money, i.e., our cash payroll tax contri-butions? The contributions have been exchanged for non-negotiable Treasury IOUs. They are in are in the Social Security Trust Fund, but they can't be sold or redeemed. What is the result? Should there be a deficit in the Trust Fund, the U.S. government would have to sell bonds to the private sector, increasing government debt by $2.7 trillion. It is extremely unlikely to happen, however. 

     Had the Trust Fund monies been invested, it could have generated income, to be added to the cash in the fund. Government officials cover themselves by saying they traded payroll tax-generated monies for treasury bonds. -Sound good? Sure, there are treasury bonds but, again, they are bonds, which cannot be sold to generate cash. If they do generate cash returns, these are also taken from the fund, like the payroll tax cash. Should a true deficit occur in the Trust Fund, there will be no cash and no way to cash in the treasury bonds. Some experts believe this could come as soon as 2016 (sooner, if payroll tax cuts continue.) The crisis would mean the issuance of new bonds, increasing the federal deficit by at least another $250 billion a year over ten years ... a highly unlikely outcome. This is why we are unilaterally offered benefit cuts as the only alternative to avoid crisis. 
     The anticipated effects will will come first to those with five years to go before retirement and earlier. Those of us already retired, of course, are affected now by cuts in cost of living adjustments, which may be cut altogether, or which may be tied to the Chained Consumer Price Index, which will cause a cascade of negative results to beneficiaries. Last, but by no means least, social security disability is on the chopping block. -Seems to me, we have to get busy!

   
          

No Benediction for You!

The Face of Goodness, of Infallibility?

      The Pope has come out. Yep. That's right. He's announced, for the season of peace, I presume, in the name of The Prince of Peace, an alliance of many religions. My God, it's a new Ecumenical Council! He's going the extra distance to unite those who would ban the marriage of homosexual couples.

      -"Where's the surprise," you ask. Clearly the Roman Catholic Church has never indicated even a remote un-derstanding of the separation of church and state. American Catholics seeking civil union, who wish to enjoy the same civil rights as others, repent now, or, not. If you live in a state that honors the United States Constitution and your civil rights, marry before a judge. On the other hand, marriage may not appeal.

One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. 

Oscar Wilde

      According to my gay neighbors, Pope Benedict may be offering a gift. One neighbor said he'd never considered marrying, anyway ... he's enjoying his partnership, enjoying their life free from marriage. Other gay couples may not share this, because they need the secure knowledge that their domestic partnerships and partners are honored, protected by law, in the event of  calamity. Gays and lesbians seeking for their unions, the blessings of the Church have been shown the exit, along with those who cherish notions of acceptance by their churches, even, progressive churches and temples ... need we continue?

      I'd submit a symbolic withdrawal from the Catholic Church, or the Christian faith, in light of this Christmas message, but cannot. I think there would be nothing more refreshing, just now, than self-excommunication. - It is a missed opportunity. I blew it decades ago, when my former spouse was granted permission by the Catholic Church, to declare our marriage invalid and our children, illegitimate ... another story for another place and time.

      We see Benedict XVI confirming his arcane role in spiritual leadership in a Catholic Church that has lost even its elder congregants. He has descended from his ivory tower in Vatican City, to offer the least timely, least  apropos message of Christmas 2012.

Slammed

The three coins of the ancient Chinese book of Changes.

How we older people do love to reminisce, and how we humans do love the status quo. By now our Christmas nostalgia is drowning in the wake of the Newton, Connecticut, shootings. The commentary, political and otherwise, is widespread and deafening. This post is about the only constant, change ... for, it is not exclusively the realm of the young to be in the present. Two of the most concerning messages I have encountered in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre have come from older celebrities, actors whose work I regard highly. Morgan Freeman expressed the ever-popular, media exploitation and fifteen-minutes of fame, arguments. Next Samuel Jackson rang in with teaching the value of life. With respect, these good ideas are partial solutions, at best.

We are not merely confronted with change; we're being slammed into reality. We must respond with clear-headed views of present realities. In an increasingly crowded world, quality of life and mental health issues are magnified. Regardless of what good, sincere parents teach children, there are parents in our communities who cannot get themselves and their children early, effective, mental health services.

Regardless of how we feel about excessive press coverage and giving instant notoriety to perpetrators of horrific crimes, journalists will chronicle events, and they will name names. Not all this information is superfluous, and, by no mean should all of it be suppressed, even were it lawful to do so. At some point do we need to re-examine our national conscience about media overkill? Absolutely. Right now, however, we are responding poorly, as a nation, to the needs of the mentally ill, regardless of age. 

It matters not what part of the country you are from or whether you grew up with hunters imbued with profound reverence for life. Weapons, accessories and ammunition have become incrementally more sophisticated over a few decades. I am talking about guns designed to kill as many people as possible, with as much destructive force as possible, from a maximal distance, in the shortest possible length of time. 

I believe in the concept of the perfect storm. The question is, will we cling to the past, or acknowledge and address the present? Will we fail to implement security measures in our schools, reform our mental health systems, ban assault weapons? If we fail, it will not matter whether we implement background checks and waiting periods for gun sales. It will not matter whether we put a stop to media exploitation and curb our rapacious national appetite for violence, because we will not have done what we must do first. Here's another thought, from Bill Maher.

"Maybe every other American movie shouldn't be based on a comic book. Other countries will think Americans live in an infantile fantasy land where reality is whatever we say it is and every problem can be solved with violence."

Something Sweet

Would we not love to recapture the sweetness, the sweet dreams of childhood? Some of my own sweet dreams were prompted by The Sugar Plumb Fairy from the Nutcracker Ballet. Sugar plumbs, it seems, weren't plumbs, after all; they were Christmas candies. While I looked for the story of the famous fairy and a recipe for the confections, I ran across the most delightful children's poem by Eugene Field. Here it is. I offer it as an antidote to the cares of the season.
This illustration is on a precious old scrap of linen, origin unknown. (The gingerbread dog and chocolate cat cannot be seen, but it is a lovely little vignette.


THE SUGAR-PLUM TREE by: Eugene Field (1850-1895)

AVE you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?

'T is a marvel of great renown!

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.

 

When you 've got to the tree, you would have a hard time

To capture the fruit which I sing;

The tree is so tall that no person could climb

To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!

But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,

And a gingerbread dog prowls below--

And this is the way you contrive to get at

Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

 

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog

And he barks with such terrible zest

That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,

As her swelling proportions attest.

And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around

From this leafy limb unto that,

And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground--

Hurrah for that chocolate cat!

 

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,

With stripings of scarlet or gold,

And you carry away of the treasure that rains

As much as your apron can hold!

So come, little child, cuddle closer to me

In your dainty white nightcap and gown,

And I 'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

Twelve Days ... Phew!

The neighbors began to decorate for Christmas. Harriet got out her gun.


Here's an updated version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, age appropriate. I'll start with the final verse, for the sake of brevity, as is appropriate for those with ADD ... or the senior singalong.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Twelve Zanacs Numbing,
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Eleven kiddies griping,
On the Tenth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Ten nodes a' seeping,
On the Ninth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Nine brokers romancing,
On the Eighth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Eight charities milking,
On the Seventh Day of Christmas,
My True Love Gave to me,
Seven aches beginning,
On the Sixth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Six pundits braying,
On the Fifth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Five hemorrhoid cremes,
On the Fourth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Four unkind words,
On the Third Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Three EpiPens,
On the Second Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Two latex gloves,
On the First Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
One Ace Bandage for my knee

-Sounds better, if you sing it. By now, you're laughing or crying. We'll get through it all, I promise!

'Tis the Season

Now I'm an old Christmas tree, the roots of which have died. They just come along and while the little needles fall off me replace them with medallions.  Orson Welles

For the elderly, or those of us who are getting there, this has to be the toughest season. Some of us will have suffered great loss in 2012; the loss of friends and loved ones is accelerated, reminiscent of a fifty-year or one hundred year storm. Many will find ourselves more vulnerable to the elements, crowds, traffic, pleas from charities, scams and rips offs. That's before the obligatory family celebration. It is a given. Someone will choose the family celebration to go on a political rant, evangelize, pick a bone or just behave like a prat. 

      

      Elder veterans of family events are not all jaded, but we are often mis-understood. I've personally been chastened for seeming 'manic' at festive family gatherings. It resulted in, not so much an explanation from me, as a retort. So, without further ado, here are tips for the family, and for you.

  

        First, ask, rather than tell. (If you aren't genuine in your concern, don't ask, either.) Offer some comfort and reassurance without hovering. Maybe Dad or Mom would just like a sit down with a couple of fingers of good brandy. Maybe it took all the stamina (emotionally and physically) your elder had, just to get to the party. Once the coffee or pain killer, or both, wears out, there may be a bit of a downswing. -Don't give it more weight than it deserves.

      Second, if an elder family member suffers from a degenerative disease, chronic or acute pain, this wouldn't be the time to talk about why or how the condition developed or how it is devolving. "Your Aunt Georgia had a toe amputation in September. I think it would help you." Or, another of my favorites, "Maybe, if you'd taken better care of yourself (your teeth, your feet, your nutrition, your cuticles) this would not have happened." How could this be relevant? With regard to my arthritic joints, I'll gladly pledge to faithfully drink my milk and lose my fear of the dentist's chair, but it'll have to wait for another incarnation. In that incarnation I also pledge not to beat the hell out of my knees competing in a sport.

   

    Look, this is also a good rule to apply to younger people with chronic ailments. Condemnation is almost as bad as fawning over someone. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is medically erroneous, as well. It's a little like saying, "Oh, no, you stepped on a crack, and, now, your mother has spondylosis."

      Please, if you are entertaining an elder on an occasion, this isn't the time to issue reminders about diet, drinking, smoking ... just let it be. You're probably not speeding the grandparent along toward the grave. Don't reminisce, either, about the Christmas the dog died and Grandmother was found sitting in the living room stark naked. Face it. There must be better topics, and, maybe a quiet reading from a beloved book would be better than a walk down memory lane.

       Is one of your parents or grandparents a perfect curmudgeon? Try kindness, not the saccharine kind. Try, "I'm glad you're here, Dad, but you may not play "pull my finger" with the kids again."

       Yep, family is family.

Cost of Living

       Alone and Elderly

If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? William Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice

Have you been to the grocery store yet this week? While we're hearing the news of the GOP's latest submission concerning the Fiscal Cliff, it costs us the farm to live day-to-day. My timing is always just perfect, so I got the news of GOP's latest proposal to cut cost of living adjustments for Social Security beneficiaries, just as I returned from a trip to the supermarket.

My grocery shopping trip was eye-popping! The cheery weekly brochure and ubiquitous sale tags did not fulfill their promise. Everything, from the coffee creamer, formerly $2.49, on sale this week for $3.49, seemed to have gone up a dollar.  Some familiar products have, simply, shrunk by a third or a fourth and are priced the same.

It is a wondrous place the grocery store, many new products, some of them better and healthier ... albeit incrementally pricey. Gluten free products galore, marketed, if one can believe the medical statistics, to to the 1% of the population who must have them, priced for the 1%, who can afford them (not necessarily the same people.) Meanwhile we use every strategy in the book, from coupons to the weekly brochure, to sticking with a list, never shopping, while hungry.

So ... in a time of (already) record lows in cost of living increases, here comes the GOP, to save the day. Here's a link to the Social Security Administration's figures for years, from 1975 to 2013:  http://www.ssa.gov/cola/automatic-cola.htm



Of course cuts to Social Security affect women (not to mention ethnic minorities and the disabled) disproportionately, because our earnings have been lower than those of men doing the same jobs. Many have pursued careers in fields dominated by women and earned less, as a result. My friends, many of whom were teachers or nurses, are in this group. Consider, too,the job of wife and mother many held without compensation, for most, if not all, our peak earning years.

What is it the GOP so despises about American elders? -Have we not contributed to the strength and substance of a nation? Are we not still doing so, in volunteer capacities and, for that matter, in jobs to which many have had to return?  I am hard-pressed to understand, but, say I were to accept my role as a drain on the system. Then how do I justify my children and grandchildren or local charities backing me up, when I fail financially. The sacrifices are real. Somebody else loses, when I fail.

Will Shakespeare spoke of revenge in the Merchant of Venice -- that's not happenin', but, every senior citizen in this country should be outraged. Our families should be screaming, right along with us! I like a non-profit, Bread for the World, which has stood up to Republican legislators, who insist churches should see to it impoverished people in their communities be fed.