I think that most of my friends would agree that our country is going in the wrong direction. There are very serious assaults on our very way of life, many from within. It is great that there are so many who are interested in turning things around, but please people, we have to stop regurgitating things that are misleading or even materially false just because we saw it in an email. It makes us look foolish and hurts our chances to be taken seriously. In the last two days Ive seen two instances of false or misleading information about the pensions of congressmen. One in a forwarded email from a dear friend and one from a congressional candidate who I still call a friend, but the jury is out on his end. Look, I get it. There is discontent with our government, but cant we stick to things that are true? The truth is that congressmen do not get 100% of their salary for life after 5 years. Anyone who says so is ignorant or trying to drum up distaste for government, not unlike when we decry Obama for engaging in class warfare. Really, there is plenty to choose from that is legit, why go the ignorant route? Just so you know, a full pension is paid at 62 and is calculated by taking their years of service, multiplying by a yearly factor, and multiplying that by their three year average pay. For those elected before 1984 the pension was rather generous, at 2.5% per year. A 5 term congressman in that era would get a quarter of their pay at age 62. That is a full pension. Members of congress paid 8% of their salary to have the CSRS plan. After 1984 it got much stingier. Those members are on FERS, and for the first 20 years a member gets 1.7% of their salary each year. After that they get 1% per year. The same 5 term congressman would get, at age 62, 17% of their salary. They pay in as well, but it is less than the CSRS member. Out congressman in Staten Island, if he was re elected, would receive 10.2% of his salary, almost 20 years from now, for life. That would be roughly 18,000 per year and its not free to the member. Does anyone really think this is a GOLDEN LIFETIME PENSION? Am I the only one who sees how much damage we do by not knowing the facts, not doing our own homework, and just passing on drivel? I hope my friend who wants to be elected to congress steps up his game. My dear friend in Florida, well he means well.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 01:47:41 +0000
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