Are we stupid or what?

[JohnP]

Letter to My Boss:

I have enjoyed working here these past several years. You have paid me very well, and given me benefit's beyond belief.
Have 3-4 months off per year, and a pension plan that will pay my salary, till the day I die, & then pay my estate one year
salary death bonus, & then continue to pay my spouse my salary, with increase's until he / she die's, & a health plan, that
most people can only dream of having i.e., no deductible whatsoever.

Despite this, I plan to take the next 12-18 months to find a new position. During this time I will show up for work when it's
convenient for me. In addition, I fully expect to draw my full salary, & all the other perk's associated with my current job.
Oh yes, if my search for this new job proves fruit-less, I will be coming back, with no loss in pay, or status. Before you say
anything, remember that you have no choice in this matter. I can, and I will do this.

Sincerely,
Every Congressman/Senator running for re-election.

Are we stupid or what?

[Todd Rahm]

We are at the top of the stupid list, yes. 

[nastygunz]

"YES"

[Hawks Feather]

John,

I am sure that you researched the facts of your post, but I am also sure that my cousin (who is a U S Congressman representing the district that I live in) would love to have the benefits that you have outlined.  For some reason he is paying for insurance under obamacare. He would rather have his old Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage that he was also paying premiums on, but it was no longer an option.  His medical costs for prescriptions went from around $75 per month to over $400 under his obamacare package (that he is making payments for) and unless he reaches around $20,000 in yearly prescriptions he will not be getting an additional reduction in his prescription costs. Remember that obamacare is based on salary and since he is getting just under $175,000 per year he will not be getting any type of 'free' stuff from health care.  He is not paying for all of it, but a majority which is similar to what many people get where they work - part paid by the company and a copay by the worker.  He will get his full salary when he retires, but he will need to have about 70 years (35 terms) in congress to reach that amount.  But the good news is that he has been in Congress for five years so he will be able to collect a percentage of his contribution to his retirement package.  Had he worked under five years he would not get ANY benefits of ANY kind. Also, he is paying into Social Security at the same rate as any other person so if he gets his 40 quarters he will be able to collect that when he reaches social security retirement age. The list goes on. . . .

Some people are pressing for term limits and personally if term limits are good for Washington, they should be good for everyone.  Personally I don't want a doctor opening up my chest that just took over for the doctor that had four years of service and needed to change to a different profession. 

Yes, there are some politicians that I would love to see out of office. Yes, there are some CEO's that I would like to see out of office. Yes, there are many professional athletes that I would like to see being paid the same as a teacher.  But there are also some good politicians that are actually trying to improve things in this country and removing them might not be the best thing.  Basically there are some rotten apples in every profession that has more than one person. In the case of one-person shops, they are both the best and the worst.

What I would like to see is people working to get rid of the trash that is in EVERY profession so that the decent working people can do their job.

Just my two cents,

Jerry

[Okanagan]

For many years I have strongly believed that the single law that would do the most good for the nation and all Americans would be that every Congressman and Senator would have to obey and live by exactly the same laws that they pass for everyone else.

[Hawks Feather]

For many years I have strongly believed that the single law that would do the most good for the nation and all Americans would be that every Congressman and Senator would have to obey and live by exactly the same laws that they pass for everyone else.

I totally agree.  That is the reason that Bob is under obamacare.  My daughter babysat for Bob's daughters about 20 years ago and it was probably less than 10 times during a two year period. At the end of each year she would get a 1099 showing the amount that she made and the amount that Bob had paid to social security for her.  I asked him about it once and said that I never did that when the girls were little and we had a sitter. Bob commented that it was the law and he was just doing what was required.  About five years later is when some of the members of Congress were found to be having undocumented service workers - none of which were paying taxes or having social security paid by the member of Congress.  I said something to Bob and he just smiled and said that it wouldn't happen to him.  While members are allowed to receive some gifts that they need to report (obama was found to not be doing this and had to change) Bob, nor anyone in his office is allowed to accept any gifts - be it small or big. Bob does support many raffles, etc. in the district and in cases where he has had a ticket drawn he immediately has the item donated back to the group.

Jerry

[JohnP]

Jerry - I would be willing to bet a dollar to a doughnut hole your cousin is the exception to our current crop of politicians, both parties.  It would be interesting to compare net worth of any of them from the day they enter "the race" to the day they retire.  Then try to figure out how they became so damn rich. 

Like I have said before the right wing and the left wing are both wings on the same bird.   

[Hawks Feather]

John,

I agree that there are many that run for office looking for an easy life and they give the ones that aren't a bad name.  It would be good to see anyone in any profession gone if they are not doing what they should be.


Jerry

[JohnP]

Agreed!  What really pizzs me off is that many times, in all professions, the good guys know who the bad guys are and they elect to do nothing about it.  They know who the cheaters are, the liars, those who steal from the company and yet they elect to look the other way.

[Hawks Feather]

Agreed!  What really pizzs me off is that many times, in all professions, the good guys know who the bad guys are and they elect to do nothing about it.  They know who the cheaters are, the liars, those who steal from the company and yet they elect to look the other way.

Yep. If everyone would just step up and do the right thing.

Jerry

[nastygunz]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/secret-new-rule-allows-house-members-to-hide-records-from-ethics-probes_us_58746aefe4b099cdb0ff34eb

[nastygunz]

https://m.ranker.com/list/all-corrupt-congressmen/lstone

[FinsnFur]

...it's getting worse

[pitw]

Are we stupid or what?

I'll take the "or what" %99 of the time but on this question I'm going with the 1 percent.

[Hawks Feather]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/secret-new-rule-allows-house-members-to-hide-records-from-ethics-probes_us_58746aefe4b099cdb0ff34eb

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/house-shield-from-prosecution/

[JohnP]

What I find really hard to believe is that nastygunz reads huffingtonpost!!!!!!!!!!!!  That should be cause for a thirty day ban from F&F.

[nastygunz]

Random research!....snopes does not say its NOT true, who checks up on them!?.....🕵👊😇