Our Senators and Congressmen don't pay in to Social Security, and, of course, they don't collect from it. The reason is that they have a special retirement plan that they voted for themselves many years ago. For all practical purposes, it works like this.

When they retire, they continue to draw their same pay, until they die, except that it may be increased from time to time, by cost of living adjustments. For instance, former Senator Bradley, and his wife, may be expected to draw $7,900,000, with Mrs. Bradley drawing $275,000 during the last year of her life. This is calculated on an average life span for each.

This would be well and good, except that they paid nothing in on any kind of retirement, and neither does any other Senator or Congressman. This fine retirement comes right out of the General Fund: our tax money. While we who pay for it all, draw an average of $1000/month from Social Security.

Imagine for a moment if you can structure a retirement plan so desirable that people have extra deducted so that they may increase their own personal retirement income. A retirement plan that works so well, that Railroad employees, Postal Workers, and others who aren't in it, are clamoring to get in it.

That is how good Social Security could be, if only one change were made, and that change is to jerk the Golden Fleece retirement out from under the Senators and Congressmen, and put them in Social Security, wit the rest of us, and watch how fast they fix it.

-- SK (mewquat@hotmail.com), May 04, 2000

Answers

Yes, it's a hoax. Go to

http://www.kumite.com/myths/

for details.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), May 04, 2000.