Another e-mail message worth sharing.

[dorminWS]

Just in case you forgot!

Perhaps Social Security and Medicare needs to be reformed but....
Remember, not only did we contribute to Social Security but our employer did too. It totaled around 15% of our income before taxes.
If we averaged only 30K over our working lives, that's close to $220,500..
If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (mine & my employer's contribution) compounded at a simple 5% after 49 years of working, you'd have $892,919.98.

If you bought an annuity and it paid only 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month. Average S.S. recipient in 2011 gets around $1200/month.

The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever thought of. And they put HIM in jail.

Entitlement my rear, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout !! Congressional benefits, aka. free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement entitlements.

They call Social Security and Medicare "living on the dole" even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when it’s time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from our fund in the first place? Most seniors will agree we must do something about our national debt but don't put the bulk of the burden on us.

Why doesn't the congress get together a group of non-lawyer - non government - retired blue collar workers and let us pare down the budget - it wouldn't take long!

If you are over 55 or if you really care - pass this on and remember this at election time!

[zephyp]

Yep, well said....what irks me is how the word "entitlement" has been turned into a dirty thing...damned right I'm entitled to that money and those benefits...I paid for them and its my money.

If these twit politicians want to make things right then stop handing that money and benefits out to those who havent paid their fair share and keep their stinking hands out of our cookie jar...

[Sensai]

You guys just don't understand. Once money is stolen from the working people it is the sole property of the government to do with as they please. They are free to give it to foreign countries that hate us, to domestic persons with no visible means or desire of support, even to people who criminally cross the borders into this country expressly for the purpose of collecting said money. You are acting like there should be some kind of accountability for this money. That's just not the way our government works. Once elected, government officials become royalty and automatically know more about how the governments money should be distributed. And, of course, the first priority is to get them re-elected. What possible difference could it make whether you have been a productive member of society and paid your so called "fair share" all of your life, or if you are a total ward of the state with no contribution to the funding of anything but your own wants ,needs and desires? You guys better get your thinking straight, or our wonderful government will surely reduce or completely do away with your "entitlements".

[wylde007]

The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever thought of.

Don't you wonder where he got the idea from?